Fun Stuff

Sort of a slow news week this week. I hear there’s a kind of big game this week though….who do you have? Although I think that if anyone has the ability to slow down the Panthers offense it is Denver, it’s not like Carolina’s defense is trash. They’re pretty dang good! So I think that Carolina will be able to outscore the Broncos.

People have been bagging on Cam Newton for being too cocky. I dunno – I just don’t see it. I see a big kid having fun playing a game, and playing it well. We should all have so much fun at our jobs. I wonder though…..how many kids will be in the stands to receive a game ball? Not sure I spend a couple grand to take a small child to a Super Bowl…..

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I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I started individually training a local high school OL, my first time undertaking solo training like that. I found quickly that I had to enlist my son to come out a be a shield holder. Not sure he’s too happy about that. He’s a strong kid, and good-sized, but at just under 200 pounds he’s giving up about 90 pounds to the kid I’m training.

Anyway, the kid and I are having a blast. He was OK as a sophomore last season, showed good mobility with good size and a bit of a mean streak which is something you often have to coach a kid into. You know, kids that are bigger than their friends are always told before they go out to play, “Now play nice and don’t hurt anyone.” So a lot of times I’ve found that kids like that have to be encouraged to be a bit of a nasty SOB on the field. This kid seems to have that, albeit often times last year it was against physically overmatched opponents. His high school is going into a tougher league next year, so we’ve been gearing up for that.

Watching him on film last year, he was typical of a young offensive lineman – it was only his second year of football – in that his footwork wasn’t consistent and he didn’t have a great punch. He’d go up and shove people, or bump them, and because he was so much bigger, a lot of times they’d just fall down. But he got stalemated at the LOS often, because he’d “reach” instead of “punch”. So we’ve been working a ton on his punch, and this past week I think the light finally started going on. That is as rewarding a feeling for a coach as there is.

We’ll just continue to refine his techniques and consistency. I keep telling him that being a successful OL just means doing the “same boring (stuff) hundreds, if not thousands of times.”

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I was also recently contacted by a high school coach in Las Vegas, who just got hired and needs to do some rebuilding after a 2-8 or 3-7 season. Road trips to Vegas are always fun, so I’m looking forward to setting that up – getting what he wants to run, what he wants to emphasize, etc. so I can come up with a mini-camp plan for his guys.

Then, I was just called on Monday by an old friend who I coached with at Fountain Valley in the 90’s. He just got the Offensive Coordinator job at one of the top programs in Orange County and wants to meet up so he can pick my brain (I told him it would only take as long to drink a glass of water, but for some reason he still wants to meet). In this case, knowing that the program is already at a very high level (the previous Head Coach retired after 37 seasons – they’ll probably either name a building on campus for him or erect a statue) and knowing how tough the competition is and how well they’re coached gets my adrenaline going a bit! I definitely want to do everything I can for him to make sure he gets going on the right foot. Heck, his OL coach may be way better than me – neither of us have any idea yet – but if nothing else I can help him get conversant on a nuts and bolts level with current trends in OL play.

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Finally, my men’s team, the Nighthawks, had our orientation last Saturday. We had 41 guys show up, with another 10-15 contacting coaches to offer their apologies for not making it. For an initial meet ‘n greet, that’s pretty good, considering the same type of meeting last year at my former team netted 10 players. The competition for spots on this team will be intense, and will go a long way to getting San Diego semi-pro ball back where it was back in the mid-to-late 2000’s when the San Diego Thunder was winning everything in sight.

OK, all – enjoy the last game of the football season!