Dragon Football 2018

This is it.  The first home game of the season for the Duxbury Dragons.  The last season for the seniors.  These are the guys I had the privilege of coaching for 7 years.  I am excited to see them play.  I am excited to see them excel.  It has been such a great time watching these boys grow into fine young men.  They likely have no idea how happy I am for them.  They do seem to love playing the game.  That is all I ever wanted for them.  Sure, winning is great.  But the love of the game should keep them together for years to come.  Much like the bonds I developed with my teammates, way back in the day.
     A lot of these guys are Coco’s friends.  They have been such solid, stand up guys over the years.  I hope Coco keeps these friendships for many years, decades to come.  It will be exciting to see how they fare after graduation.  It will be nerve wracking too.  Some of these friendships may not last.  This group seems like they will endure though.  If I had to bet, I would bet on them.  Go forth and conquer lads.  Carpe Diem.

Opening Day 2014

The 8th grade Dragons opened their season today.  A 1 PM kickoff (conflicting with the Pats), at home.  It was sunny and 70.  You can't ask for more than that.
     Although we lost, the boys played hard.  It was close.  I really felt they could win this came.  I don't care about winning for me.  I want them to win for them.  They deserve a little success.  They deserve to show the teammates that decided not to play this year, that they can succeed without them.  They have worked for 4 weeks and today is pay day.  I told them to keep their heads high.  They have a great effort.  And there is always next week.....

Vuja De

Haven't I already been through this enough?  I had to confer with some of my assistant coaches and then ask one of them not to come back.  It was a tough decision.  It certainly wasn't made lightly.  But the interests of the kids have to come first.
     The reason really doesn't matter.  The possibility that something might happen had been keeping me up nights.  I was lulled into a false sense of security.  The season was going along well.  Actually better than I could have hoped for with this particular coach.  Then out of nowhere the tide turn.  That was actually a major point.  There was no warning.
     Youth sports is such a circus.  It's almost too mainstream now. I have railed against the system before (and I probably will again).  Parents are to blame.  Not all of them.  But a lot of them.  They take youth sports more seriously than the kids.  It is not right.  It's no wonder kids get burnt out on sports by high school.  Someone needs to do a study.  I bet there are more Marinavich stories now than there once were.  I bet teen rebellion now is more quitting sports because their parents can't force them to play anymore. I bet there is an uptick in kids making poor choices into trouble making just to show mom & dad not only are they no longer an athlete but not the person they were hoping for.  The stories of the Tiger Woods playing golf at 3, or Larry Bird spending hours in a basketball gym growing up,  or Dustin Pedrioa playing baseball all the time.  They didn't do it because someone made them do it.  They were having fun.  Youth sports needs to work the fun a bit more in general.  It is possible to be competitive and have fun at the same time.  Despite popular opinion.

The Start of the Offseason

And so it begins.  Today marked the end of the football season.  We played our arch nemesis, Hanover.  Again.  Two times in one season.  Yes.  We lost.  Again.  But the boys played tough.  We kept it close.  It was a hard hitting, physical game.  This was not a game for the meek.  Coco was tough.  He played though a bad cold.  He was stuffy and miserable.  But he played through it.  I was proud of him.
     I was proud of all of them.  All my boys played well.  It was a long and trying season.  We faced a lot of challenges as a team.  Most of them were not on the gridiron, either.  Sure, more wins would have been nice.  For them.  For the kids, they are now old enough to start using wins as a measure of success.  I still use more in my definition of success.  The boys got better, all season long.  And they had fun.  They formed a team.  I call that a success.

Making Amends

So the coach that went on a tirade stepped up and admitted fault.  He reached out to all the coaches, especially me, by email with a promise to address us and all the kids in person at the next practice.  I was impressed with the fact that he manned up and admitted he was wrong.  There have more egregious incidents where nothing was ever said.  I communicated back immediately that we were good and it was all in the past.  At the next practice, he was a good as his word, if not better.  He spoke well to the boys and apologized profusely.  I tell the boys all the time that when you make a mistake, the first thing you have to do is own it.  Then you make amends and learn from it.  That is how you move forward and past it.

Biting Your Tounge

To me, there are times when it shows more strength to bite your tongue and not say something, than to start a fight - verbal or otherwise.  It could be based on that being my general style.  It was a decision that I was faced with today.
     During Coco's football game, another coach of ours was losing his mind.  The team played awful.  The game frustrated everyone.  Plays were made that had me shaking my head.  I had coached them better than that, hadn't I?  What happened today?  Why today?  Sure, they usually get psyched out by this team.  But all of them tuning out this whole weekend?  What's up with that?
     I am not sure why this coach was anymore frustrated than the rest of us.  We were all unhappy about what was unfolding in front of us.  But it is not acceptable to be dropping F-bombs around or at the kids.  Then he turned on me.  With 90 seconds left in the game.  I had a choice to make then and there.  Do I let it go?  Or do I fire back?  I felt like firing back would escalate the situation, and set a poor example for the boys.  I glared back and stayed silent.  Did I do the right thing?  Did I appear weak?  I don't know for sure.  It felt like the right decision.

K Train Starts Rollin'!

The 7th grade Dragons opened our football season today.  I was really anxious about how we would perform.  The team passed with flying colors.  Besides winning 20-6, they just played flat out hard.  Our boys wore them down.  It was hot.  We were down at the half.  But we kept going, full out.  And it paid off. What an effort!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

It is that time of year.  The season started today.  Yes, we practiced the last two nights, but today was double sessions.  Full pads.  Team bonding.  It is really a good idea.  It brings the kids together.  We were in the sun from 8 AM to 2 PM.  Running.  Banging.  We actually got to run full plays.  We practiced tackling. We ran through the defense.
     In between sessions, the boys got to sit in the shade, eat & talk together.  This is the time that will bond them.  To go through the exertion of a double session together, is something that builds teams.  It builds character.  I really don't believe any other sport has anything close to that.  The boys will be better for it.  The team will be better for it.

Cramping Up

Coco started his "I am not feeling good" routine yesterday but it carried into today.  It is really hard to gauge the authenticity of it all.  He does need to toughen up a bit and push through it (so to speak).  It is very difficult to empathize with him, when he doesn't do what he is supposed to do.  He didn't eat well.  He didn't drink nearly enough water.  I suspect the same happened yesterday.  I don't know for sure that he took his medicine.

I am trying to ignore the cost of the camp.  I know his health is more important.  But I really think he can get through camp.  He definitely needs to exercise.  That is part of his recovery too.

Coco ended up going.  And he ran 1 1/2 miles in football pads.  Clearly he was up to the physical challenge.  I am glad Demi and I pushed him to go.

Patriot Camp 2013

The local high school football camp started today.  It is a good opportunity for the young kids, my 7th grade team, to practice side by side with the high school kids.  Of course I didn't realize when they invited the team that all the coaches would have to work at the camp. Sure, why not?  Start the season early this year.  I haven't started this early, since Caz played Pop Warner.  What's another week, right?

The 7th graders held their own.  If I can be a proud papa for a moment, I must say that Coco did well.  He was very receptive to coaching by dad and made that dad to coach transition quickly this year.  He accepted the feedback and put it into action on his next attempt.  That is all you can ask from any player.  The boys really held up well during conditioning at the end.  They ran side by side with the high school kids.  The did all the sprints, push ups, slammers, and rolls.  It was really something to behold.

Well done, kids!

The End of an Era

Well, Caz's football season is done.  His last youth game has been played.  Hard to believe.  It seems like just a short time ago, that he was a Mighty Mite. 
     I put together a memento of his youth playing days today.  A photo journal from his first Mighty Mite days to his final 8th grade game.  It was fun for me to go through the pictures.  I got to relive a lot of those times.  That was my first foray into coaching kids.  I have said it before and I will say it again, you may think you know a lot about football (or any subject for that matter) but trying to explain and teach it to kids is a whole other matter.  Here I am, 7 season later and I am still learning to do it. 
     I really enjoyed seeing all the old pictures.  Caz has grown so much.  Not just in size.  He has grown to love the sport.  I think he will miss the youth days soon.  He's training for next year already.  And he was eager to do it.  He couldn't wait for Dragon's Lair (the strength and conditioning program offered by the high school coach) to begin. 
     This project is going to be a Christmas gift.  I hope he enjoys looking through it, as much as I have putting it all together. 

Do The Right Thing

Part Two of the DYF annual meeting debacle:  I had tried to offer a decent compromise to the emotional uproar apparent during the meeting.  I raised my hand, then offered the thought that all head coaching positions were currently open by terms of the bylaw.  I proposed that since I had not made an official decision on coaching, I would withdraw my name in favor of bringing in a Pop Warner coach to act as head coach.  I would assist and help build a new coaching staff and team.  Since I had been coaching in both leagues for the past few years, I felt I had a unique perspective that would be valuable to this proposed merger.  It sounded good, but the Board glossed over it to put it politely.  One board member openly hissed at it.
     However, the gesture was not lost on the crowd.  It garnered a lot of talk after the meeting.  It seemed sensible to most, if I was willing.  And I am.  So why not?  I went so far as to say I would put my offer in writing to the board and reiterate it.  Which I did.  Then I sent the same note off to the DPW Board.  One thing about back room deals.  They don't really like the bright spotlight.  They tend to whither and die when faced with publicity.  I guess we will see.

Grown Ups Behaving Badly

The dark, slimy underbelly of youth sports reared it's ugly head again tonight.  DYF held it's annual meeting.  Finally.  It was only 4 months past due.  This was going to be an interesting meeting.  The main purposes of this gathering was for the association to vote to merge with DPW.  I suspected going into it that it was going to be a slam dunk for the merger.  However, true to form, the board went about the whole thing bass ackwards.  They didn't present all the details and facts for the merger.
     They were bold enough to ask for carte blanche on amending bylaws as needed to "facilitate the merger".  Yet, they had secretly met on Sunday to try and name all the head coaches.  This was not only against the parameters of he merger, but against their own DYF bylaws.  In doing so, they took the opportunity to oust a long time head coach.  This coach didn't have a child in the program (and hasn't for year), was on the board, and invested extensive hours into the programs including an annual clinic.  The short version here is that some board members didn't like the offense this guy ran.  Petty.  Which, unfortunately, is not surprising.
     The thing about backroom deal is that their Kryptonite is publicity.  These tend to wilt when they see the light of day.  Well, this group would never be mistaken for the CIA.  The outcome of that meeting was known almost immediately and circulating around our small town.  The focus of everyone's discussion during the annual meeting was "the kids".  Well, the kids were impacted by this decision.  They were furious.  And the board tried to sweep it all under the rug.  To say the annual meeting was a firestorm would be an understatement.  But finally people got to see how this board operates.  The emotion was centered around the coaching issues.  The issue was trust.  The board operated in bad faith, and presented a small amount of the facts, and got caught.  Amazing isn't it?  What is more amazing is that the motion passed to trust these individuals to amend the bylaws willy nilly.

The Real End to the Season

If you thought that the end of the regular season for a non-playoff team was THE END of the season, think again. DYF was granted by the governing leauge, OCYFL, a weekend playoff and a weekend Super Bowl slate of games to host. Demi and I worked our tails off those two weekends. The first weekend was about 7 hours on a cold, dark night, with the boys in tow. It wasn't supposed to be that long but it never goes as planned. We took the boys to breakfast the next day as a thank you. We tried to explain that what it means to volunteer, and how it allows them to play football. Oh, and did I mention that I squeaked in a limited equipment hand in before the Super Bowl games. So today is the big Equipment Hand in day. So far the total number of volunteers? 2. I recruited/drafted a part time helper to relieve one of my 2 volunteers. You think I haven't had enough of volunteering by this time but seriously, how do people think volunteer organizations run? It's crazy. I keep saying it. What ruins youth sports is the adults.

Super Bowl Saturday 2010

DHS was back in the Super Bowl today, completing another undefeated season. They are really quite a team to watch. Caz was really fired up to go to the game. Coco, for some reason, just wanted to stay home and watch it on TV. Caz and I went up with our cousins, the Garfields- Adie and James. The 4 of us had a really great time. It was an easy ride it. The atmosphere was electric, the weather was better than expected for this time of year. The game was exciting. The crowd was into it. And we finished up at 5 Guys. What else is there?
Caz and I, though, had a really excellent Father/Son day. He was so well behaved. So much so, I okayed a Mountain Dew and Nachos. He got to hang with his buddies at bit. But every good play, he'd turn to me and smile or high five. I just couldn't ask for a better day. I think he sensed it too.

One and Done

Well, it was a good ride. Who would have thought that we would have made the playoffs at this time last year? Again, wins are the primary measure of success for kids this age. The fact is they improved from last year. They improved as individual and as a team from the start of the season to the finish. So I am not disappointed, here at the end. I do wish we could have gone out on a better note. Not a win, but just a better team effort. We just didn't' show up. But this playoff loss is just one factor in the whole equation. And the sum of all the parts equals a successful season. The kids and the coaches feel good at the end of the day.

Harbinger

Coach is worried. This was not a great week of practice. The kids were distracted. Great kids but come on! It's a playoff game. Duxbury just happens to be hosting the D2 playoffs, so even though we are considered the away team by virtue of our seeding, we get to play in our house. I know we have an uphill battle. I just want the kids to play as well as they possibly can. Not for me. Not for the other coaches. Not for the program. But for them. They have worked hard to get where they are. The last few games have not been our best. I want them to play their best. If that happens, no matter what the outcome is, things will be OK.

The Win

In my mind, I could only see the headline from the Globe after Sox won the 2004 World Series: "FINALLY!!!!" It was almost 3 years in the making, but we finally managed win for Coco's football team. I kept hearing for weeks leading up to our contest with DY, that they were not a strong team. But a team of perennial O-fers cannot claim to be better than anyone until you beat them. I really had to tune that talk out. I didn't want to get my hopes up, let alone the team. Plus, I would never try to give a pep talk by deriding the other team.
The team was ready from the first whistle and owned DY today. They really played well in all aspects of the game. Though we practiced the Wildcat in pregame, it was scrapped since it was not going well. We could have just run up the middle the entire game. But we were actually able to pass. We ran outside. And we pulled off our first ever punt. Yep. A punt. Who'd a thunk it? To be honest the play call made me nervous at first. But I guess if you pull it off, then it's a good call, right?
The boys were really excited after the game. I thought they composed themselves well and didn't excessively celebrate. The showed great sportsmanship. I know I was smiling all the way home. It made that long ride very enjoyable. I was just happy that the kids got experience a win after all their hard work. They have really played well and up until today, didn't have a lot to show for it. They deserved a win. I couldn't wait to get home to upload the game to our website for the kids. I even put it on my IPod, so I could watch it on my way to work. Crazy, I know. But can you really blame me?

Jamboree 2010

A preseason Jamboree. I really didn't think the kids needed three preseason scrimmages. I think at this age, the kids really need to practice and not have to worry about scrimmages. But I must say, this Jamboree was a lot of fun. It helped that the team played well. It was a great team effort. We weren't relying on one or two kids to overachieve. It was perfect football weather. We are playing in Rockland, which is like playing in Yankee Stadium to me. Arch rivals growing up, I am pretty sure they still hate Duxbury. So it was extra sweet beating the home team in the final game of the Mite series.
What really got me was what happened in the parking lot after. Now keep in mind, for me, this was the place that I learned to really lay a lick on someone. While playing youth football, that was the site of one of my hardest hits. The game was the beginning of the rivalry with Rockland for my friends and me. Coach told us to keep our mouths shut and not to draw any stupid penalties. But they built up the rivalry so much, that I couldn't help myself. After I hit that kids, I had to celebrate a bit. I pumped by fist and just lingered a second to long over him and glared. As I walked away I said, "Take that, turkey." I had watched too much Happy Days and we were way to scared of the coaches to curse. That was the best I had. As the years went, coach told that story to the players that came later. What I said kept amping up and became more colorful in each telling.
This was also the place that we had to wear our helmets on the bus going to this stadium because you never knew when a rock might come through the window. This rivalry went too far. So when Coco and I walked through the parking lot and two Rockland kids smiled and said, "good game." It took me complete by surprise. Coco and I returned the sentiment and I smiled to myself for some time after that. It should be all about the sportsmanship. You should be able to go knock a team around for a game and then shake hands after. Maybe we are doing something right.

The Saga Continues

Years after The Super Bowl incident, I am still living with the aftermath. I do hear in the wind the whispers of those who fear DYF because the program is "cut throat" and "only cares about winning." Despite the fact that I got on the Board to make sure the program remains about the kids and not the aspirations of the parents, I still have to deal with the bull generate by what happened to Caz's team years ago. I still get parents that are nervous to sign up for my team because they lump me in with the knuckleheads that chose poorly.
This theme cropped up again just before equipment hand-out. A player new to the team just happened by the shed with his mom, right after I had left. I had just met Demi there with Coco and his friend, Biggie Smalls, to outfit them with equipment. The mom started asking Demi questions about DYF. She communicated that she was nervous about what she had heard about DYF. They had just moved to town and the mom was afraid that her son might not get a fair shake not having been on the team last year. She didn't want him just sitting on the bench. Demi assured her that I didn't run the team like that. If it hadn't been my team, I know Demi might not have said too much and certainly not stumped for DYF. But it was my team and as fate has it, Demi was there to lobby on my behalf. She sold it well. She told the truth. And in the end, this player decided to stay with my team. Thank you dear. I know you always have my back.