Final Thoughts on The Games

The 2012 Olympics are over and it's time for me to step back, take a look, and give my thoughts. I did enjoy them as always and saw some historical performances. That's what's cool about the Olympics, it's history. Some sports I don't get, but I try to appreciate them all. So, let's go down the list of standouts (and disappointments) for me.

Swimming - The men and women were both exceptional. Missy Franklin is tough and Michael Phelps demonstrated his greatness again. He is truly a historical Olympian and maybe the best ever. Certainly one of the best and absolutely THE most decorated. I can't say he's the greatest ever because swimming has so many events it lends itself to winning a lot of medals. Some sports no matter how great you are you can only win one medal per Olympics.

Women's gymnastics - Wow! Those young ladies of the USA were on. And talk about performing under pressure, that's the epitomy of pressure. Gabby and company were sensational. I was impressed and that balance beam - it makes me nervous.

Men and Womens Track - This was a lot of fun and once again the USA performed well. The stars? Probably the women because of their talent and bubbly personalities. The big star though was a Jamaican named Usain Bolt. I'm telling you, fifty years from now you younger folks will still be telling stories about this guy. We saw a legend run - period!

Basketball - I expected two gold medals and we got 'em. I didn't see anything that amazed me, just business as usual.

Volleyball - We did well, as expected but no Gold. Oh, beach volleyball our women were dominant but I can't quite get excited about it, sorry. I do try to appreciate their talent.

Soccer - The Gold was expected and delivered by the women. Do we have a men's team? I try to appreciate soccer.

Wrestling - We did OK but this is a sport that we have dominated at times. I don't like the new format of winning periods. How long has this been going on? More than ten years? I don't like it, but I do love wrestling, these guys are STUDS.

Boxing - Oh my gosh! Huge disappointment. The USA used to dominate and the men didn't win a single medal, not one. Of course, boxing's not as popular as it used to be, I used to love it. I remember the '76 Olympics with Ray Leonard, Howard Davis, the Spinks brothers and others. Dad, my brothers and me were jumping out of our seats cheering the American boxers. It was thrilling. Those days are gone. Look at the medals these guys hauled:

106:Louis Curtis ,112:Leo Randolph (GOLD) 119: Charles Mooney (SILVER) 125: Davey Lee Armstrong 132: Howard Davis Jr. (GOLD) 139: Ray Leonard (GOLD) 147: Clinton Jackson 156: Charles Walker Jr. 165: Michael Spinks (GOLD) 178: Leon Spinks (GOLD) +178: Johnny Tate, (BRONZE)

Well, there was a lot more, but that's what stands out to me. Now it's wait four more years but isn't that one of the things that make the Olympics special? Chiefpigskin.com

And They're Off!

All across the country high school football is getting underway. It's an exciting time, isn't it? Optimism flows everywhere and all teams are still undefeated. I talked to a coach today who coaches at a small high school (290) and he said, " For the first time ever we have no real holes in our defense. Usually we're hiding at least one linebacker or corner but not this year. We're thin, but solid." Yep, optimism is the order of the day.

Now if you're like me you're probably saying, "We've got two weeks to get ready, how am I going to cover everything we need to get ready?" You look at your list and get overwhelmed. Alignment, responsibilities, technique, coverages, blitzes, fronts, stunts...and that's just defense. Offensively it's the same kind of content except multiple formations, motions, the run game, pass game...you get the idea. Then of course, blocking drills, tackling drills, agility drills, and weight training. Oh, and don't forget special teams, they win and lose ballgames. Punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return, PAT, field goal, onside kick and hands team. All this needs to be ready for game one. How does a coach get to all of this? Remember, you don't need all of your offense and defense installed for the first game. Just the base. You can always put more in as the season goes along every week. Just know your base, believe in it and do it well that first game. Maybe one trick play? Yeah, maybe.

On a side note, have you seen the new $49 million high school football stadium in Allen, Texas? It's got to be the most impressive new high school stadium I've ever seen. Take a look on Maxpreps.com. They are taking some criticism over their priorities. But I've found that schools that have great athletic facilities usually have great academics too. It shows a community cares about their education all around. Also the first week of the season will have some great match ups that I'm looking forward to. Notre Dame and Navy play in Ireland as well as several high school games as preliminaries. Loyola (IL) goes against Jesuit (TX) on Friday night in a match up of high school powers.

Well, it's going to be another exciting season and I know we're all looking forward to it. Good luck to all of you coaches and to your teams. http://www.chiefpigskin.com/

Influence

You think youngsters aren't influenced by what they see on television or in other forms of media? They sure are and it's obvious at our house the Olympics are having a positive influence. I have 3 daughters who always liked gymnastics and participated a little bit. A couple of my daughters can do the round off flip-flops and all that other flipping stuff. So of course, when my daughter Olivia and 4 year old granddaughter Lyla were at our house the other night they were glued to the TV watching the USA women's team winning the Gold.

A little later my wife went into our bedroom and Lyla was playing on our bed. And what grandma (my wife) saw was pretty cool. At the foot of our bed is a foot board that has a about a 3 inch wide board at the top that resembles a small balance beam in gymnastics. There was Lyla on the foot board walking and balancing doing her beam routine. She was definitely influenced by what she saw on TV. Well, it just so happens that we had Olivia's old balance beam in our garage. It's only 6 feet long and stands about 6 inches off the ground so it's kind of a mini beam. A good friend of mine built it for Olivia about 25 years ago. Lyla's eyes lit up when she saw a "real" balance beam that was her mom's when she was a little girl. Olivia loaded it up in her van and took it home. Lyla was so excited and couldn't wait to use it.

A little kid can use their imagination and have fun with anything. Who would have thought the foot board of our bed would be turned into a balance beam by a 4 year old? That's the influence of sports and shows the power of sport. Let's always use that power wisely. www.chiefpigskin.com

Yep, I'm Watching the Olympics

Yeah, I'm watching the Olympics. They have lost their luster a little bit over the last 20 years or so; we have so many new competitions that have cropped up and much more international competition that makes the Olympics seem not so special. But I am one of those who will continue to tune in. You see, I don't just like sports or even love sports. For better or worse, sports are a part of me. They are interwoven in my fabric, they run through my body, in my DNA. I have been this way as long as I can remember and it will never change.

I watch sports that I would not ordinarily watch. I never watch swimming, but I really get into Olympic swimming. I've noticed Michael Phelps has lost his fire. He's still great but after living in the pool training like a madman for at least 15 years it's wearing on him. Who can blame him? And how about Missy Franklin? She swims a semi in one event and turns around 10 minutes later and swims in the backstroke finals. And wins the Gold! Do you know how tough that is? It was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in sport. I rarely watch gymnastics but I watch the Olympics. The men had a tough time but the women really turned it on. The pressure on those young ladies is unbelievable and it was great to watch them win the Gold. And what about the parents in the stands? They are so stressed they can't think. I've been there, I know how that is. I will also be watching track and field although I rarely watch track otherwise. The sprinters are sensational as well as many of the other events. If Lolo Jones doesn't win a medal she'll still be a star because of her personality and stunning looks. I haven't watched any basketball and very little boxing, which used to be one of my favorites. I love wrestling but they won't give it much coverage.

Yep, I'm watching for all those reasons and because it's history. It's tradition. It reminds me of when I was a young boy and our whole family would gather around the TV and cheer for the USA. I think it's still fun. Chiefpigskin.com

Controversial Comments

“Johnson Puts Foot In Mouth” was the headline. “Says slavery has benefited athletes” was the byline. Gee whiz, this makes it sounds like Michael Johnson says slavery had a good side? No, no, NO! Of course that’s not what he meant. Slavery is wrong, period. Any right minded person knows that. But is Johnson saying anything out of line? You be the judge.

Four time Olympic gold-medalist sprinter Michael Johnson was quoted as saying he believes slave descendents make superior athletes – and that such a controversial topic shouldn’t be avoided but discussed openly as the world begins to turn its attention to the London Olympics. “All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it’s impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn’t left an imprint through the generations,” he was quoted as saying in an article in the British newspaper the Dailey Mail. Now how could being descended from slaves have anything to do with superior athletes? Simple. Survival of the fittest, selective breeding. “Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me – I believe there is a superior gene in us.” Maybe it’s that word “superior” that makes people uncomfortable. At any rate, Johnson caused quite a stir.

I have two thoughts that come to my mind. First of all, isn’t this what we teach in our classrooms of our public schools, Darwin’s theory of evolution? Heck, here in Illinois science teachers MUST teach evolution and survival of the fittest. Creationism can’t even be mentioned. So Johnson brings up a point that we teach to our youngsters and he gets ripped. Well then, don’t we believe what we teach? Secondly, when I was in high school way back in the 60’s we used to throw around this idea. We were a multi cultural community and we were comfortable discussing this idea with all races. None of us, white, black, or Hispanic thought it was a big deal to speculate why the black athletes were so fast and athletic. We never came up with a definitive answer, we just discussed it.

That’s all Johnson is asking. Can we discuss it? Or is this too touchy of a subject? Maybe it is. I’ll be watching the Olympic track and field games because Johnson will be an analyst. I’m curious to see if anyone brings it up to Michael or will they just ignore it? I do enjoy the Olympics and good luck to all the athletes as the games begin this weekend. Chiefpigskin.com

Puttin' on the Uniform

I happened to notice a post on a forum the other day from a football coach who had just handed out equipment to his players. He was so excited and the kids were excited just to get their equipment. It made me think a little bit about the magic of putting on a uniform. It doesn’t just have to be a football uniform but I just happen to believe, based on my own experiences, that the football uniform is the most special. And I can give you a lot of stories to back up my belief. Anyway, one particular story involving my son and me came to mind.

It was early August of 1992 and we had just finished our football camp the week before. We hadn’t handed out equipment yet, that would be done the day before official practice started around August 10th. Now it’s important to know that my son had never played organized football before. I was never sure if he was ready for it so he played a lot of other sports. So here he was 14 years old and he had never put on a real football uniform. I don’t count the one I got him at K-Mart when he was 7. Well, I was on the football staff and I had a key to the equipment room so I asked the head coach if I could get my son’s equipment early. One afternoon I said, “Let’s go get you fitted for your football gear.” He was pumped. He had waited for this day for a long time.

We got to school (which was right across the street) and got out some gear. Helmet, shoulder pads, practice jersey, pants, and pads. Got him all fitted so everything fit well. He only weighed 105 and stood about 5-2 so I had to get some small stuff. Once we got everything fitting well he put it all on and he went and stood in front of a big mirror. We both just stood and looked in the mirror. He with his uniform and me standing next to him. I don’t know who had the bigger smile, him or me. I slapped the top of his shoulder pads a couple of times to simulate a hit. “How’d that feel”? “Good,” he replied. More smiles.

Who would have thought that just putting on a uniform could be so much fun? We had BOTH waited for this day a long time. Practice was just around the corner and he was ready to go. This is the time of year that anticipation for the season starts to mount. The first order of business is “Puttin’ on the uniform!”
Chiefpigskin.com

Team USA

I’m not a basketball coach. I’m a football, wrestling coach of 30 years. But I know this; if the USA basketball team plays as a team, no one will beat them. Heck, LeBron has nothing to prove, Kobe has nothing to prove, everyone knows how good they are. That’s why I was encouraged to see LeBron get only 7 points and Kobe 5 in their exhibition against the Dominican Republic. In my mind, as long as these guys don’t care who gets the glory, no one can beat them.

I’m not a LeBron hater, but I was irritated with the way he handled leaving Cleveland. Made too big of a show of it. And I’m not crazy about superstars getting together to make a super team. Can you imagine Jordan calling Magic and Bird on the phone and saying, “Hey, let’s all sign with the same team and win championships?” Wouldn’t have happened. So, having said all that, those guys ARE free to do as they please professionally and I’m OK with LeBron.

But, I am impressed with his attitude on the Olympic team. I think he is really OK with doing whatever it takes to win. It seems Coach K has these guys buying into that. It’s not about x’s and o’s, and it’s certainly not who can do the fanciest dunk. It’s about being unselfish, and I think these guys will do what it takes. They did in the 2008 Olympics, and I hope they’ll do it again. By the way, did anyone think Deron Williams would be this good? Did anyone think Kevin Love would be as good as he is? Chiefpigskin.com