4th of July Weekend

To start the Fourth of July weekend, we will be off from Friday 7/1/11 and return on Tuesday 7/5/11.

We want our players to enjoy the weekend and have a good time with family and friends.

But I will put a disclaimer on what the player should do to take care of themselves as not to hurt themselves and the team.

Believe me, as a coach, I have seen the most bizarre injuries over the years. Breaking bones by jumping off roofs, jumping down cliffs, skateboarding off 3 flights of stairs, or burning hair by playing with sparklers... I'm not even going to address the '3 Stooges' memorial.

But players will want to do those things. I can only remind them about their obligation to the team and that their injuries will hurt the team.

I hope you and your family will have a happy and safe Fourth of July.

Physicals on Thursday 7/7/11

Dr. Peters will be at Patrick Henry on Thursday 7/7/11 to conduct physicals for all the athletes participating in sports for the 2011-2012 season. Physicals are open to all athletes adn will cost $25 per player. All the procedes will by donated back to the Patrick Henry Football Boosters.

Dr. Peters will set up camp for the Varsity and JV at 3:00 pm in the coach's office. As far as the Freshman football team, we will split the squad in half at the normal parctice time at 5:00 pm. One half will stay with Dr. Peters to get their physical and the other half will report to the weight room for workouts.

At 4:00 pm, we will switch groups so that everybody will have a chance to go through the process.

To obtain the forms needed, click onto this link: Athletic Participation Forms & Eligibilty Information . You will need to fill out the Physical form when you get your physical.

Checks can be made out for $25 and made to the Patrick Henry Football Boosters.

Please keep in mind, I will not be collecting this packet until Tuesday August 9th.

Follow-up Questions From Parent Meeting

It was a pleasure to meet you all yesterday at the Parent Meeting. I saw a lot of good young athletes that are eager to start working of football. Almost all the players came up to me at and shook my hand and introduced themselves. Our coaches and I are very excited about the start of the season.

As typical with any presentation that you make off the top of your head, sometimes things are forgotten or get left off the agenda.

So here are some questions from last night's meeting that I needed to cover:

What kind of cleats should I buy?

Cleats that are mostly white with green or black accents are preferred. Something similar to the cleats shown below.

What should the players wear during the summer camp?

An old white t-shirt that has the players name written on the front and back so coaches can identify who the players are. Gym shorts, running or work-out type shoes and cleats.

You flier says camp is Monday thru Friday. But you wrote on the Blog it's Monday thru Thursday. Which schedule are you going to use?

The summer camp will be Mondays thru Thursdays. We will take Fridays off and Monday July 4th off.

We have planned a family vacation during camp. Will that effect my son's chances of making the team?

Yes, no and maybe. It just depends on the player's ability to pick up on the things we are trying to teach. The summer camp is not mandatory and the players that will be at the camp will have a slight advantage in that they are learning the system we use.

But remember... Our priorities in life are our faith in God, Family, School then football. Family comes before football and it will always remain that way as long as I am coaching.

When is the next physical?

As soon as I hear from Dr. Peters, I will post it on the Blog and pass the word out to you all at practice.

Since the practices will be on the baseball field, is there a place for the parents to sit and watch?

I suggest parents bring a beach chair if you want to watch the practices. There will be days that we are on the baseball field, on the concrete in front of the weight room or in the weight room. Obviously, there is not room for parents in the weight room. But I welcome parents to attend and watch the practices to see what their son is learning.

The only request I have is that parents sit outside of the fenced field or areas we conducting drills.

You want us to say 'yes sir' and 'no sir'. Can't I just say 'yes coach' or 'no coach'?

No sir, you can't. There is a reason for everything I do and this one is goes beyond football. This is about treating everybody, officials, administrators and teachers with respect. Not just coaches. I will respond in kind and I expect my players to do the same.

I have never played football before. What position should I go out for?

We will time our players in the 40 yard dash. Then we will do a series of combine events to assess the talents of our players. After the combine, the coaches will sit down and draft players where they see a fit at the particular position they are coaching. Size, speed, athletic ability, mental toughness and how smart a player is goes into where we draft that player.

Like I told you all last night, I wanted to play QB... But God made me an offensive tackle...