Depending on what time or where the away game is going to be played, we will ask the 5th period teachers to release our players in the middle of 5th period.
This week, we play at Hoover at 3:30 pm. Coach Lococo will put an announcement asking the 5th period teachers to release the players at 12:50 pm. Only eligible players will be excused from 5th period. The players need to suit up ASAP and the bus leaves to Hoover at 1:15 pm.
I explained to my players that they are not allowed to leave their classes early. 12:50 means 12:50. If a players leaves class early and is caught in the hallways, he is subject to disciplinary action from the security staff on campus. That disciplinary action could and has resulted in the students not being allowed to play in the game that day.
On a final note, I want all our players to touch base with their 5th (and in some cases, 6th) period teachers on Tuesdays to let them know we will be travelling and leaving class early. That gives the teachers time to get our players assignments for their class.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Travel Arrangements for Away Games
We have one home game left for the remainder of the season. That means we will be travelling by bus to 6 of our remaining games (Talk about road warriors).
Due to budgetary constraints, the Freshman Team will only be allotted one bus for each away game. That means we try to put as many players into one bus. With that being said, we have to look at the best way to get the best bang for our travelling buck.
First, as a school rule, ineligible players will not be allowed to travel on the bus. Sorry, but those are the rules set forth by the school and my boss, Athletic Director Jack Lococo. If you as a parent or guardian want to furnish transportation for your son who is ineligible, I have no objection. I would like everyone be at the games to help root on the Patriots and I feel it builds our community of men to stick together.
Second, a new District rule has come into effect this year. If you are a parent and you wish to help the team out with transportation, you need to take a TB test and carry a TB test Blue Card at all times. I am a father of two players that went through the ranks in High School Baseball and I was always available to furnish rides for my sons and their team mates. But those days are over. Football is one of the few sports that provides bus rides for the players. The remaining sports will have to rely on transportaion from parents.
I suggest those of you that have sons that are going to play another sport at PHHS, you might want to get a TB test and Blue Card. The test take a few minutes and you have to return to the testing location 48 hours after the test is administered. Once you get the Blue Card, it is good for two years. If you are interested in helping out with transportation for us or down the road, please call the school nurse at PHHS for details.
Last, I have five injured players. To make room on the bus, I will bring my GMC Suburban and transport them and the managers to the game. It's going to be tight and I will make the decisions that are best for the team.
Due to budgetary constraints, the Freshman Team will only be allotted one bus for each away game. That means we try to put as many players into one bus. With that being said, we have to look at the best way to get the best bang for our travelling buck.
First, as a school rule, ineligible players will not be allowed to travel on the bus. Sorry, but those are the rules set forth by the school and my boss, Athletic Director Jack Lococo. If you as a parent or guardian want to furnish transportation for your son who is ineligible, I have no objection. I would like everyone be at the games to help root on the Patriots and I feel it builds our community of men to stick together.
Second, a new District rule has come into effect this year. If you are a parent and you wish to help the team out with transportation, you need to take a TB test and carry a TB test Blue Card at all times. I am a father of two players that went through the ranks in High School Baseball and I was always available to furnish rides for my sons and their team mates. But those days are over. Football is one of the few sports that provides bus rides for the players. The remaining sports will have to rely on transportaion from parents.
I suggest those of you that have sons that are going to play another sport at PHHS, you might want to get a TB test and Blue Card. The test take a few minutes and you have to return to the testing location 48 hours after the test is administered. Once you get the Blue Card, it is good for two years. If you are interested in helping out with transportation for us or down the road, please call the school nurse at PHHS for details.
Last, I have five injured players. To make room on the bus, I will bring my GMC Suburban and transport them and the managers to the game. It's going to be tight and I will make the decisions that are best for the team.
In The Locker Room
Several parents and players have contacted me in regards to football gear being taken in the locker room. Players and parents have relayed to me that 'somebody' is opening the lockers and putting the gear into other players lockers or just plain taking the gear out of the locker.
I want to assure the players and the parents that we have taken steps to insure the locker room is a safe place for our players. When the Varsity or the JV are in the locker room, the Freshmen are not allowed in until they are all out of the locker room. Conversely, if the Freshmen are in the locker room, I do not allow the Varsity and JV in the locker room.
Second, we always have a coach in the locker room to monitor the safety of all the players. Mostly, it will be Coach Bushardt or myself monitoring the locker room for our players.
To give you folks some perspective, the locker room is 54 feet long and 12 feet wide. We have 75 players in 6th Period PE in an area (Length X Width for you math freaks like me) of 648 square feet. That is a tight squeeze and it is wall to wall players and gear and clothes in the locker room. There are times when a player inadvertently taken a black backpack and put in in their locker.
Players on the Freshman team have to share a locker to secure their own gear. So it is the responsibility of both players to ensure the locker is locked properly. Today, after our players suited up, I found 3 lockers left unlocked: Two had the unlocked locks in the latch and one did not have a lock at all.
I spoke to the players today and I left the responsibility to lock their lockers to them. As a police officer, I have worked in schools for many years. In all occasions where I had to investigate a locker theft, the suspect told me the reason the broke into the locker was because it was unlocked or unsecured. I have never arrested a suspect that "picked" the victim's lock to gain access into the locker.
We, as a staff, will continue to monitor this problem the best we can.
I want to assure the players and the parents that we have taken steps to insure the locker room is a safe place for our players. When the Varsity or the JV are in the locker room, the Freshmen are not allowed in until they are all out of the locker room. Conversely, if the Freshmen are in the locker room, I do not allow the Varsity and JV in the locker room.
Second, we always have a coach in the locker room to monitor the safety of all the players. Mostly, it will be Coach Bushardt or myself monitoring the locker room for our players.
To give you folks some perspective, the locker room is 54 feet long and 12 feet wide. We have 75 players in 6th Period PE in an area (Length X Width for you math freaks like me) of 648 square feet. That is a tight squeeze and it is wall to wall players and gear and clothes in the locker room. There are times when a player inadvertently taken a black backpack and put in in their locker.
Players on the Freshman team have to share a locker to secure their own gear. So it is the responsibility of both players to ensure the locker is locked properly. Today, after our players suited up, I found 3 lockers left unlocked: Two had the unlocked locks in the latch and one did not have a lock at all.
I spoke to the players today and I left the responsibility to lock their lockers to them. As a police officer, I have worked in schools for many years. In all occasions where I had to investigate a locker theft, the suspect told me the reason the broke into the locker was because it was unlocked or unsecured. I have never arrested a suspect that "picked" the victim's lock to gain access into the locker.
We, as a staff, will continue to monitor this problem the best we can.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
A Few Rotten Apples
For those of you that don't know, I am a police officer for the San Diego Police Department. I currently am assigned to the Field Training Administration and I volunteer my time as a coach during my off duty time.
There are several parents and family members of our players that are also in Law Enforcement. I speak for all of those parents by saying once we are away from work, that is where we want to leave work, away from our children's activities.
A friend of mine, who was a former partner, came to the last game in his police uniform to watch his nephew play against Hilltop. While he was in the stands, he was flagged down by a parent who told him there was a gentleman drinking alcohol in the stands.
My officer friend had to talk to the gentleman who claimed to be an uncle of our of players. He was indeed drinking an alcoholic beverage not only in the stands, but on a school campus. While the officer was talking to the uncle, his wife became verbally abusive as if to say, "Don't you cops have anything better to do?"
The answer is no, we don't. We are building men for the future and setting examples for our young men. Besides, you're breaking the law and acting inappropriately. My former partner was able to talk to the man and his wife and explain the reasons they shouldn't be drinking alcohol at a school function and they were let go with a warning.
In the future, if any of you see anything that deserves the attention of the authorities, please find a school administrator or let me know and I will find somebody to take care of the problem. I don't want to do police work while I'm coaching or while I'm off duty, but I want to insure a safe and enjoyable experience for our fans and players.
I will be talking to our players about this incident on Monday in the hopes our players can shame these few rotten apples into compliance.
There are several parents and family members of our players that are also in Law Enforcement. I speak for all of those parents by saying once we are away from work, that is where we want to leave work, away from our children's activities.
A friend of mine, who was a former partner, came to the last game in his police uniform to watch his nephew play against Hilltop. While he was in the stands, he was flagged down by a parent who told him there was a gentleman drinking alcohol in the stands.
My officer friend had to talk to the gentleman who claimed to be an uncle of our of players. He was indeed drinking an alcoholic beverage not only in the stands, but on a school campus. While the officer was talking to the uncle, his wife became verbally abusive as if to say, "Don't you cops have anything better to do?"
The answer is no, we don't. We are building men for the future and setting examples for our young men. Besides, you're breaking the law and acting inappropriately. My former partner was able to talk to the man and his wife and explain the reasons they shouldn't be drinking alcohol at a school function and they were let go with a warning.
In the future, if any of you see anything that deserves the attention of the authorities, please find a school administrator or let me know and I will find somebody to take care of the problem. I don't want to do police work while I'm coaching or while I'm off duty, but I want to insure a safe and enjoyable experience for our fans and players.
I will be talking to our players about this incident on Monday in the hopes our players can shame these few rotten apples into compliance.
Friday, September 25, 2009
PHHS 26 Hilltop 13
Two teams showed up for the 3:00 kickoff against the Hilltop Lancers. Unfortunately, you need three teams to play a game. Due to a filing error, the refs thought the game was supposed to start at 4:00 pm. Both teams sat in the shade until they arrived.
Once the game started, the Patriots came out hot and were dominant as they beat the mighty Lancers 26-13. The Patriots played with focus and intensity on offense, defense and special teams.
Offensive highlights included a 97 yard TD run by Lee King. The play was so exciting, players and coaches jumped up and down and interfered with referees on the sideline and we were flagged for a 5 yard penalty.
On defense, we had four turnovers with two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, one by Daniel Martin and the other by Arturo Najera. The defense held the Lancers out of the endzone on a terrific goal line stand.
Special Teams were solid as Robert Hammond blocked a punt that led to a Patriot touchdown.
I coached the previous two years at Hilltop and their current Freshman staff consists of guys I coached with and 3 former players of mine who have returned to coach at Hilltop. A friendly rivalry has started between me and their coaching staff. I felt Obi Wan Kanobi going against Anikin Skywalker. It's nice to see my former players getting into coaching football. It was nicer to get a win and shut down my apprentices.
On a sad note, HB Tony Forbes-Murdoch (who scored a TD) was hurt during the 3rd quarter of the game. The defender tackled him from the left side. The left knee then collided with the right knee and Tony suffered a broken tibia and ligament damage to the right knee.
Tony's injury will be a huge loss for us not only as a player, but it's a loss because he is a fine young man. Tony is always positive, works hard and treats his teammates with respect. I make it a point to tell him I love him everyday. I told the team today during weight training and I could see that they were thinking about Tony. We want Tony to know he is still our brother and he will be in our thoughts and prayers. We wish Tony a speedy recovery.
Once the game started, the Patriots came out hot and were dominant as they beat the mighty Lancers 26-13. The Patriots played with focus and intensity on offense, defense and special teams.
Offensive highlights included a 97 yard TD run by Lee King. The play was so exciting, players and coaches jumped up and down and interfered with referees on the sideline and we were flagged for a 5 yard penalty.
On defense, we had four turnovers with two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, one by Daniel Martin and the other by Arturo Najera. The defense held the Lancers out of the endzone on a terrific goal line stand.
Special Teams were solid as Robert Hammond blocked a punt that led to a Patriot touchdown.
I coached the previous two years at Hilltop and their current Freshman staff consists of guys I coached with and 3 former players of mine who have returned to coach at Hilltop. A friendly rivalry has started between me and their coaching staff. I felt Obi Wan Kanobi going against Anikin Skywalker. It's nice to see my former players getting into coaching football. It was nicer to get a win and shut down my apprentices.
On a sad note, HB Tony Forbes-Murdoch (who scored a TD) was hurt during the 3rd quarter of the game. The defender tackled him from the left side. The left knee then collided with the right knee and Tony suffered a broken tibia and ligament damage to the right knee.
Tony's injury will be a huge loss for us not only as a player, but it's a loss because he is a fine young man. Tony is always positive, works hard and treats his teammates with respect. I make it a point to tell him I love him everyday. I told the team today during weight training and I could see that they were thinking about Tony. We want Tony to know he is still our brother and he will be in our thoughts and prayers. We wish Tony a speedy recovery.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Mini Carb Night at the Mineo House
Annemarie Mineo-Lococo sent me an e-mail that she had some of the players over for pasta night at her home last week. She passed a message onto me telling me the players were well behaved gentlemen and they were fun to be around. The players left to right are: Peter Mineo, Peter Vilsaint, Dominick Vergili, Kyle Connor and Charles Lee.
Credit goes to you parents and the way you all raise your sons. I am blessed to be working with such fine young men and parents.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Bedroom Slippers
I'm not slave to fashion trends. My idea of dressing nicely is wearing a collared polo shirt with my board shorts. But I do know what is in bad taste.
I tell my players it is unacceptable to wear their shorts down by their knees. Especially if it's Patrick Henry football shorts. I tell our players they set an impression to the student body, teachers, administrators and to the public and they represent me and the football program. So wear your clothes the way it was meant to be worn.
Yesterday during weight training, two of our players showed up in bedroom slippers. You know, black footie-foot bedroom slippers that you wear after you crawl out of bed on a cold winter morning.
I asked both players if they wore them to school. They said yes. I was thrown for a loop. They looked like extras for the next episode of the 'Jerry Springer Show'.
The impression these players made to me was they were too lazy to put a pair of shoes on. It was too hard to slide on a pair of shoes and it was way too hard to tie the shoe laces in a knot. For goodness sakes, who wears bedroom slippers out in public let alone school?
So to make the decision making process easier for my players, I said the next person who wears bedroom slippers to school will be suspended for the team for the week. Any second offense will result in the removal from the team.
Bedroom slippers! For the love of....
I tell my players it is unacceptable to wear their shorts down by their knees. Especially if it's Patrick Henry football shorts. I tell our players they set an impression to the student body, teachers, administrators and to the public and they represent me and the football program. So wear your clothes the way it was meant to be worn.
Yesterday during weight training, two of our players showed up in bedroom slippers. You know, black footie-foot bedroom slippers that you wear after you crawl out of bed on a cold winter morning.
I asked both players if they wore them to school. They said yes. I was thrown for a loop. They looked like extras for the next episode of the 'Jerry Springer Show'.
The impression these players made to me was they were too lazy to put a pair of shoes on. It was too hard to slide on a pair of shoes and it was way too hard to tie the shoe laces in a knot. For goodness sakes, who wears bedroom slippers out in public let alone school?
So to make the decision making process easier for my players, I said the next person who wears bedroom slippers to school will be suspended for the team for the week. Any second offense will result in the removal from the team.
Bedroom slippers! For the love of....
Thursday, September 17, 2009
An Invitation to Military Personnel
I grew up in a Navy family. My father was a career Navy man and we moved from place to place every three years. My junior and senior years were at Patrick Henry while my father was stationed on the USS Enterprise based out of Alameda, CA.
Due to deployments and the fact my father was stationed out of town, he was only able to make one my football games. I never gave it a thought until recently, but I wish I could have done more for my father when he was here for that one game.
One of our players mentioned his father was coming back from a recent deployment in Afghanistan.
With that being said, I would like to extend an invitation to all my parents that currently serve in the military to watch the freshmen football games from the sideline as my guest. It is just a small token of appreciation to those who make sacrifices while ensuring the freedom of which we live under.
Due to deployments and the fact my father was stationed out of town, he was only able to make one my football games. I never gave it a thought until recently, but I wish I could have done more for my father when he was here for that one game.
One of our players mentioned his father was coming back from a recent deployment in Afghanistan.
With that being said, I would like to extend an invitation to all my parents that currently serve in the military to watch the freshmen football games from the sideline as my guest. It is just a small token of appreciation to those who make sacrifices while ensuring the freedom of which we live under.
Lean On Me
One of my all time favorite songs is 'Lean on Me' by Bill Withers. From time to time, I find myself singing the song as I walk down to the football stadium before practice.
The song is a message of hope and humility. It speaks of helping one another during times of dispair and reaching out to those that feel they can't go on anymore.
I was watching ESPN this morning and I saw a story on the USC Football team. In the story, a USC freshman sang the song as a rite of passage into joining the team. As a prank, Head Coach Pete Carroll had Bill Withers meet the team while posing as an NCAA official.
When Withers finally let the cat out of the bag and identified himself, all the players knew who he was and they sang the song. It brought unity to the team and all the players.
I have attached the link from Youtube for you to view.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T2QRpmjRmQ&feature=player_embedded
The song is a message of hope and humility. It speaks of helping one another during times of dispair and reaching out to those that feel they can't go on anymore.
I was watching ESPN this morning and I saw a story on the USC Football team. In the story, a USC freshman sang the song as a rite of passage into joining the team. As a prank, Head Coach Pete Carroll had Bill Withers meet the team while posing as an NCAA official.
When Withers finally let the cat out of the bag and identified himself, all the players knew who he was and they sang the song. It brought unity to the team and all the players.
I have attached the link from Youtube for you to view.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T2QRpmjRmQ&feature=player_embedded
Sunday, September 13, 2009
PHHS 16 Pt. Loma 7
What an outstanding job turned in by the team as we overcame a 7-0 deficit and come from behind to beat Pt. Loma 16 - 7. That was a hard fought game and the players stepped up and played to the top of their potential earning a hard fought victory over a very good Pt. Loma. Credit goes to the assistant coaches and players for all the preparation and adjustments made at halftime.
Defense was outstanding. Two turnovers with a fumble recovery and an interception (1 short of game goals), a shutout (game goal met) and six 3 & outs (game goal surpassed by 3). Pt. Loma was held to negative yards in the second half with no first downs. Pt. Loma went for it on 4th down 3 times and came away with nothing. One of those stops was made at the goal line. Defense carried us and kept us in the game. Our goal line formation was tough and we dominated the LOS.
Offense had a slow start to the game. During the first half, I lost my composure and threw my hat...(it's my fishing hat, so I need to take care of it!) That is completely unacceptable and I apologize to you all and I apologized to the team. I have to remember, these players are 14/15 years old and most of them never competed in this type of sport before.
I apologized to the team to let them know I am human and I make mistakes too. Now let's not dwell on it. Let's fix it and move forward. When I did that, I could see it in their eyes they were willing to follow us through a wall. It built our credibility as a coaching staff and they bought in to everything we were saying. Good coaching staffs make adjustments at the half. Good coaching staffs pass those changes onto the players and good teams carry out those adjustments.
Well, needless to say, we came out like gangbusters in the second half. We dominated every aspect of the game and it is a tribute the the spirit of the players and their will to compete.
Offensive Line adjustments were right on the money and we dominated the LOS (Line of Scrimmage). Coach Bushardt and Coach Gallion did great job of getting our O-line ready for the second half. When it was crunch time, we ran the ball over our big guys and they got the job done.
Special teams did a good job. We had a couple of guys miss being called out to the game for their assignment, but overall, it was a good day on special teams. We recovered an onside kick and it was a good heads up play and we converted a 27 yard field goal.
The crowd was big and loud. I know it meant alot to the players and the coaching staff to see friends and family at the game. It was sweet to do our 'Victory' jumping jacks in front of our fans and everybody had fun with that.
Nick Lococo has already posted photos from the game on his web site. (His site was posted on an earlier Blog) Please take the time to take a look at it.
Next week is a bye week. Practice next week will be Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday is picture day. Thursday we will have study hall only because the coaching staff will be all over the County scouting our upcoming opponents. Friday is weight training and no practice.
On a final note... I saw some of you parents wearing Hawaiian shirts for the game! As we would say back home in Hawaii, "Mahalo for da aloha!" (Thanks for the love)
Defense was outstanding. Two turnovers with a fumble recovery and an interception (1 short of game goals), a shutout (game goal met) and six 3 & outs (game goal surpassed by 3). Pt. Loma was held to negative yards in the second half with no first downs. Pt. Loma went for it on 4th down 3 times and came away with nothing. One of those stops was made at the goal line. Defense carried us and kept us in the game. Our goal line formation was tough and we dominated the LOS.
Offense had a slow start to the game. During the first half, I lost my composure and threw my hat...(it's my fishing hat, so I need to take care of it!) That is completely unacceptable and I apologize to you all and I apologized to the team. I have to remember, these players are 14/15 years old and most of them never competed in this type of sport before.
I apologized to the team to let them know I am human and I make mistakes too. Now let's not dwell on it. Let's fix it and move forward. When I did that, I could see it in their eyes they were willing to follow us through a wall. It built our credibility as a coaching staff and they bought in to everything we were saying. Good coaching staffs make adjustments at the half. Good coaching staffs pass those changes onto the players and good teams carry out those adjustments.
Well, needless to say, we came out like gangbusters in the second half. We dominated every aspect of the game and it is a tribute the the spirit of the players and their will to compete.
Offensive Line adjustments were right on the money and we dominated the LOS (Line of Scrimmage). Coach Bushardt and Coach Gallion did great job of getting our O-line ready for the second half. When it was crunch time, we ran the ball over our big guys and they got the job done.
Special teams did a good job. We had a couple of guys miss being called out to the game for their assignment, but overall, it was a good day on special teams. We recovered an onside kick and it was a good heads up play and we converted a 27 yard field goal.
The crowd was big and loud. I know it meant alot to the players and the coaching staff to see friends and family at the game. It was sweet to do our 'Victory' jumping jacks in front of our fans and everybody had fun with that.
Nick Lococo has already posted photos from the game on his web site. (His site was posted on an earlier Blog) Please take the time to take a look at it.
Next week is a bye week. Practice next week will be Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday is picture day. Thursday we will have study hall only because the coaching staff will be all over the County scouting our upcoming opponents. Friday is weight training and no practice.
On a final note... I saw some of you parents wearing Hawaiian shirts for the game! As we would say back home in Hawaii, "Mahalo for da aloha!" (Thanks for the love)
Friday, September 11, 2009
False Masculinity
Today is 9/11 and I pause to think of all those who lost their lives on that day 8 years ago. It has changed our daily lives and we must never forget the people that lost lives and the ultimate sacrifices that people made on that day.
Today I will meet with the team and speak about what is important in life... Loving one another. We live in a society where personal accomplishments take the spotlight. Masculinity is based on how much money you make, how many girlfriends you have or how many touchdowns you scored. These are examples of the quick gratification lifestyle we live in these days. But that is not the true meaning of masculinity.
As I think back on that day 8 years ago, I think about those folks on United Flight 93. They knew they were doomed and they were going to die. They knew they had to do something and they made an attempt to take over the plane. They all know the chances were slim to overtake the highjackers and there was a good chance they were going to die. As they tried to overtake the plane, it crashed in rural Pennsylvania and all aboard died.
The point I want to bring up to our players is the phone calls people on Flight 93 made to their families before they tried to overtake the highjackers. They did not call home or their loved ones to boast about how much money they made, what kind of car they drove or how many homeruns they hit. They called their families to let them know they loved them.
To me, that is so important for the development of our young men. Nobody ever took the time to explain that to me and as I look back on my development as a young man, I wish somebody would have. Loving one another and trusting one another is important in our everyday lives.
Today I will meet with the team and speak about what is important in life... Loving one another. We live in a society where personal accomplishments take the spotlight. Masculinity is based on how much money you make, how many girlfriends you have or how many touchdowns you scored. These are examples of the quick gratification lifestyle we live in these days. But that is not the true meaning of masculinity.
As I think back on that day 8 years ago, I think about those folks on United Flight 93. They knew they were doomed and they were going to die. They knew they had to do something and they made an attempt to take over the plane. They all know the chances were slim to overtake the highjackers and there was a good chance they were going to die. As they tried to overtake the plane, it crashed in rural Pennsylvania and all aboard died.
The point I want to bring up to our players is the phone calls people on Flight 93 made to their families before they tried to overtake the highjackers. They did not call home or their loved ones to boast about how much money they made, what kind of car they drove or how many homeruns they hit. They called their families to let them know they loved them.
To me, that is so important for the development of our young men. Nobody ever took the time to explain that to me and as I look back on my development as a young man, I wish somebody would have. Loving one another and trusting one another is important in our everyday lives.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Web Site for Photos
Annemarie Lococo-Mineo sent me an e-mail informing me her brother, Nick Lococo, is a professional photographer. He will be taking photos of our players and has set up a web site for all view the photos.
http://web.mac.com/nicklococophoto/PHHS/Home.html
http://web.mac.com/nicklococophoto/PHHS/Home.html
Dealing with Adversity
Football is not a contact sport, it's a collision sport. We can't play the game without getting bumped or bruised. For most of our young men, it is the first time involved with football or organized sports. But football is hard. It tests our intestinal fortitude and our will to compete.
The last couple of days, we had three players hurt their fingers and one was hit in the stomach during practice. All of them quit and gave up on the task at hand (no pun intended). It is my job as the coach to teach mental toughness and how to deal with adversity.
Last night I was watching a show on the NFL Network about the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers. QB Ben Roethlesburger spoke about the last drive of the game and all the adversity facing him and the Steeler offense. He cited a poem he thought about before taking the field on what would be game winning drive:
"Success is failure, turned inside out.
The silver lining with clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It maybe near, when when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight, when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worse that you mustn't quit."
Life is about competition and we mustn't quit. I'll be sharing this with our players today before practice...
The last couple of days, we had three players hurt their fingers and one was hit in the stomach during practice. All of them quit and gave up on the task at hand (no pun intended). It is my job as the coach to teach mental toughness and how to deal with adversity.
Last night I was watching a show on the NFL Network about the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers. QB Ben Roethlesburger spoke about the last drive of the game and all the adversity facing him and the Steeler offense. He cited a poem he thought about before taking the field on what would be game winning drive:
"Success is failure, turned inside out.
The silver lining with clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It maybe near, when when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight, when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worse that you mustn't quit."
Life is about competition and we mustn't quit. I'll be sharing this with our players today before practice...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Photos of PHHS vs. WHHS
If you folks have any game photos you would like to share, please e-mail them to me at
ldailey@pd.sandiego.gov and I will put them on the Blog!
LeRoy
Not Everybody Gets a Trophy...
A couple of months ago, I went to my daughter Samantha's 2nd grade assembly at her school. She was receiving a reading award for being the top reader in her class. As I sat and waited anxiously for my daughter to get her certificate, I watched as teachers hand out awards to students like "Social Butterfly Award" and "Use of the Most Colors in a Painting".
I shook my head in disbelief. I thought these awards might help the self esteem of the recipients and their parents but at the same time it cheapened the Academic awards kids were getting for hard work and achievement. Heck, it made me wish I could have made the Dean's List for "Pencil Sharpening Technologies".
We live in a society where everybody gets a trophy. Personal achievement, hard work and dedication is overlooked for receiving an award for just showing up. This is not a realistic view of the real world.
After Thursday's victory over Westhills, a parent was upset that her son did not play. (He did play the 5th Quarter) She wanted to know why her son wasn't playing in front of the other player and she thought he needed to be a starter over the incumbent.
My policy is not to discuss playing time with parents. It is the responsibility of the player to come to me and discuss what is on their mind. I am trying to teach our young men to be responsible and have a say in their future. This parent refused to listen to my reasoning and insisted since she was the parent, she had the right to know.
The voice in my head started to play, "Everybody gets a trophy." Her ill tempered outburst ruined what would have been a night of celebration for me.
So I will pass on the following information for everybody. My personal goal is to play everybody as much as I possibly can. We have 81 players and we can only put 11 on the field at one time. But if a player does not know his assignments, he will not play. It is not to punish him, it is to insure the safety of the other 10 players on the field.
Also, a player has to earn the right to play in the game. Merely showing up to practice is not enough. Our players need to show their coach during the individual and group periods of our practice that they can compete and earn that right to be on the field.
I shook my head in disbelief. I thought these awards might help the self esteem of the recipients and their parents but at the same time it cheapened the Academic awards kids were getting for hard work and achievement. Heck, it made me wish I could have made the Dean's List for "Pencil Sharpening Technologies".
We live in a society where everybody gets a trophy. Personal achievement, hard work and dedication is overlooked for receiving an award for just showing up. This is not a realistic view of the real world.
After Thursday's victory over Westhills, a parent was upset that her son did not play. (He did play the 5th Quarter) She wanted to know why her son wasn't playing in front of the other player and she thought he needed to be a starter over the incumbent.
My policy is not to discuss playing time with parents. It is the responsibility of the player to come to me and discuss what is on their mind. I am trying to teach our young men to be responsible and have a say in their future. This parent refused to listen to my reasoning and insisted since she was the parent, she had the right to know.
The voice in my head started to play, "Everybody gets a trophy." Her ill tempered outburst ruined what would have been a night of celebration for me.
So I will pass on the following information for everybody. My personal goal is to play everybody as much as I possibly can. We have 81 players and we can only put 11 on the field at one time. But if a player does not know his assignments, he will not play. It is not to punish him, it is to insure the safety of the other 10 players on the field.
Also, a player has to earn the right to play in the game. Merely showing up to practice is not enough. Our players need to show their coach during the individual and group periods of our practice that they can compete and earn that right to be on the field.
Friday, September 4, 2009
PHHS 28 Westhills 26
Congratulations to all the players and parents on the win yesterday against the Wolfpack. There were many highlights to go around and I might miss a play or two. But there were several players that earned their "PH" for their helmet for their hard work, hustle and sacrifices they made for the team:
DT Tysheen Webster for his QB pressure and interception for a TD.
WR/P Brady Esterbrooks for his Mike Scifres imitation of punting the ball down inside the Wolfpack 5 yard line.
RB David Ringgold for his hard running as he barrelled over a DB on a sweep play.
SS Brandon Salgado for his 3 tackles for loss on defense.
OT Alex Giles for his blocking on the line and creating huge holes.
RB Travis Gubbe on his hustle, great attitude and long TD reception.
LB Tucker Caddy for his long snaps and forcing a fumble.
FS Arron Rocha for thinking of others, helping fellow players and coaches.
I had 1 goal for all the players for this 1st game... And that was to COMPETE! In life, everything is about competition and our players did just that, COMPETE! Nobody stood around, everybody hustled and everybody gave their best effort. That is what life is, giving the best effort!
There was a huge crowd for the game and I hope everybody enjoyed themselves. It was a good start but we have a long way to go and a lot of work we still need to put in to do well for the remainder of the season.
I gave the players a well deserved 4 day Holiday weekend and I will see them all on Tuesday at practice. Our next game will be at Pt. Loma HS on Saturday 9/12/09 at 10:00 am.
DT Tysheen Webster for his QB pressure and interception for a TD.
WR/P Brady Esterbrooks for his Mike Scifres imitation of punting the ball down inside the Wolfpack 5 yard line.
RB David Ringgold for his hard running as he barrelled over a DB on a sweep play.
SS Brandon Salgado for his 3 tackles for loss on defense.
OT Alex Giles for his blocking on the line and creating huge holes.
RB Travis Gubbe on his hustle, great attitude and long TD reception.
LB Tucker Caddy for his long snaps and forcing a fumble.
FS Arron Rocha for thinking of others, helping fellow players and coaches.
I had 1 goal for all the players for this 1st game... And that was to COMPETE! In life, everything is about competition and our players did just that, COMPETE! Nobody stood around, everybody hustled and everybody gave their best effort. That is what life is, giving the best effort!
There was a huge crowd for the game and I hope everybody enjoyed themselves. It was a good start but we have a long way to go and a lot of work we still need to put in to do well for the remainder of the season.
I gave the players a well deserved 4 day Holiday weekend and I will see them all on Tuesday at practice. Our next game will be at Pt. Loma HS on Saturday 9/12/09 at 10:00 am.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The 5th Quarter
Freshman Football is a developmental program throughout the State of California. The goal is to introduce players to football and prepare their future to compete not only at the JV level, but if they are physically able to do so, the Varsity level.
My goal is to play everyone during the game. We currently have 81 players on our roster and we will be hard pressed to do so.
After the end of the game, with the permission of the opposing coach, we turn off the score board, put 10 minutes on a running clock and we play all the players that did not get an opportunity to play in the regulation game. It's an instructional session to give players a change to play against an opponent and it will be supervised by coaches and referees.
Our Athletic Director, Coach Lococo, gave us permission to play a 5th Quarter for all out home games and the PHHS Athletic Department will furnish the extra fees for the use of the referees.
My goal is to play everyone during the game. We currently have 81 players on our roster and we will be hard pressed to do so.
After the end of the game, with the permission of the opposing coach, we turn off the score board, put 10 minutes on a running clock and we play all the players that did not get an opportunity to play in the regulation game. It's an instructional session to give players a change to play against an opponent and it will be supervised by coaches and referees.
Our Athletic Director, Coach Lococo, gave us permission to play a 5th Quarter for all out home games and the PHHS Athletic Department will furnish the extra fees for the use of the referees.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Is There a Web Site to Teach Me About Football?
This is a common question with Freshman Parents that have not been involved in football before. Randy Farley, our VP from the PHHS Booster Club, sent me this site that could help you in understanding football.
Enjoy!
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-essentials-of-football-game-play.html
Enjoy!
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-essentials-of-football-game-play.html
What Time Will Pactices Be Once School Starts?
Once school starts, we will be practicing 2:30pm to 4:30 pm Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Our games are on Thursdays. The 4:30 end time ensures those players enrolled in the VEEP will make it to the bus before the 5:00 pm departure.
Those students that have 6th Period PE (1:15 to 2:15 pm) will be with me on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will be holding study hall in Coach Lococo's Room and I will be taking roll everyday. I want our players to take advantage of the study hall to get homework assignments done before practice starts. This makes life a little easier for our student-athletes and lightens their workload once they get home. I will also offer assistance with homework if needed. Goofing off in study hall will result in "Flipping the Tire".
For the same 6th Period Freshman players, we will be introducing our players to weight training on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Parents have been calling to see what they can do to enroll their sons in 6th Period PE. I gave a roster of our players to the Athletic Director, Coach Lococo. He took that roster to the Counselor's office to adjust the schedules for football players to have 6th Period PE. The priority for 6th Period PE will be as follows: Varsity players, JV players and then Freshman players. If you have any questions, please call your son's counselor at PHHS.
Remember, Faith, Family, School all come before Football. Without grades, there is no football!
Those students that have 6th Period PE (1:15 to 2:15 pm) will be with me on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will be holding study hall in Coach Lococo's Room and I will be taking roll everyday. I want our players to take advantage of the study hall to get homework assignments done before practice starts. This makes life a little easier for our student-athletes and lightens their workload once they get home. I will also offer assistance with homework if needed. Goofing off in study hall will result in "Flipping the Tire".
For the same 6th Period Freshman players, we will be introducing our players to weight training on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Parents have been calling to see what they can do to enroll their sons in 6th Period PE. I gave a roster of our players to the Athletic Director, Coach Lococo. He took that roster to the Counselor's office to adjust the schedules for football players to have 6th Period PE. The priority for 6th Period PE will be as follows: Varsity players, JV players and then Freshman players. If you have any questions, please call your son's counselor at PHHS.
Remember, Faith, Family, School all come before Football. Without grades, there is no football!
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