Week 2 Prep.

I may not have a lot to offer with X's and O's anymore, but I can make Coach Jankowski's life a little easier with my mechanical ability and knowledge of what makes a coaches job less difficult.  If there is an issue, I will generally find a way to solve the problem.  I am thankful to have a wife (Marty) who is pretty crafty, and she can generally make my visions come to life.  I can't understand why she helps me the way she does, for I am selfish, arrogant, and difficult during the season.  I do not have much time (during the season) for her either...and she understands this and rarely complains.  I have a great coach's wife.  

On Field Communication Signs

Marty has made me (and the team) all these professional looking signs you see all over the field during our games.  These signs have become crucial to communicate with our players because it is very noisy on our sideline, and verbal communication is very difficult.   These signs are made from plastic waffle board  and custom lettered to my specifications.  They would be very difficult to replace. I needed a way to carry the signs and protect them from damage.  Once again, I turned to Marty.  After showing her exactly what I needed, Marty made me this cool waterproof carrying case which was just what we needed. Notice the cool VB Logo?  Pretty cool huh?  

'Cool Hand Joe'

These days, one of the best parts of coaching (for me) is the personal relationships I have with some of the kids.  I try to nickname some of my kids for this very reason.  I have nicked kids with names which they still answer to during their adult life.  For me, it is a term of love.  The bag above is named for such a player.  Joey Rahal is just a good kid.  He is our third team QB,  so I recruited him to help with the signs on the sideline. I truly identify with Joe in more ways than one.....and he is always willing to help me with anything I need.  Joey is sooo cool when he gets on the field, so I call him 'Cool Hand Joe'...named after a old movie called 'Cool Hand Luke'  Joey will be handling this bag (and the contents) on the sideline, so I named the bag in his honor.  I can always depend on Joe when I need him.   Be sure to look for Cool Hand Joe on the sideline. 

Tonight I am working on these special team cards.  I have hand written the 2-deep depth chart and taped them to the back of each appropriate sign.   This way if we need to make a quick change, the information is right here in front of us and easy to perform.  Its old-school, clean and efficient.  We are organized on our sideline.....and that makes me feel better.  Afterall, you cannot hear a thing when the band is playing.  

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Week 2: Wellington High School at Home:  

We had a decent week of practice, but we had a few distractions.  This time of year always brings storms and lightning.  A few times this week we were delayed or run off the fields all together by these annoyances.  However, I thought Lenny (and our coaches) did a superb job of keeping the kids focused, and we tried to keep practices as normal as possible.  I thought today's practice was very good with no delays.  

Wellington High School is a very good ball club.  They seem to be very athletic, and the game should be more than competitive.  The team with the fewest mistakes will win this game.  We have been working very hard to clean up our mental mistakes and on-field errors.  We seem to be very healthy and ready to play.  Today I had a good chance to sit back and watch our defense work on the field.  I would really hate to prepare for Coach Leslie's unit, for they really fly to the ball.  Randy Bethel, Pete DeLuke, Brian Rahal, and Teddy Floyd make up  make up the rest of the defensive coaching staff...and I consider them to be the best in the business.  

Thanks for reading.....more after the game tomorrow night.  

GZ  

VB vs Venice....Game Wrap Up.

Photo borrowed from our great booster club's FB page 

The score board says it all.  Last night we beat Venice 42-20 in a hard fought showdown with last year's 7A State champion.  I won't lie....it was a great game against a quality opponent, and the victory was still in doubt until the mid  third quarter.   It was a brutal trip for us.  After a quick (on the go) lunch provided by our excellent booster club,  we hit the road at 10:30 for the three hour + trip across the state to Venice Florida.  The actual trip over in the motor coach was not too bad, and the time passed quickly.  We arrived at a local hotel and facility at 1:45 pm to just chill and relax a little before the 7:30 pm kickoff.  The hotel arranged for us to use a large carpeted meeting space while we were ther.  This air conditioned room had a large movie screen, dining tables,   ice water and lemonade, and plenty of room to stretch out and relax.  At 3:45 they fed our kids a pre-game meal of grilled chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, and salad.  Our players ate dinner, got dressed, and we went through our normal routine of getting taped, meetings, etc.... before leaving the complex at 5:00 pm and heading for the field about two miles away.  This diversion kept everything as normal as possible and routine for all the players.  Every coach hates the unexpected before a game.  

We arrived to the stadium and was greeted by an immediate lightning delay.  We could not get to the field and set up.  We fought this weather related on and off the field thing all night long.  We had two long delays during the game, and I was worried that it would affect our momentum.  I thought the coaching staff did a masterful job at keeping the kids focused with all the distractions.  The game itself was very rewarding. We jumped on them pretty quickly, but they answered with a score of their own to tie it up 7-7.  This physical game went back and forth for the first two quarters.  We had a touchdown called back, but we still went into half time leading 21-20 despite the two long delays oth teams endured.  It was a loooooong half of football.  Coach Jankowski (Coach J) gave a fantastic halftime talk with the players, and we came out ready to play and eventually pulled away 42-20 to secure the win.  It was a great quality win against a great program over in Venice.  We arrived home around 4 am this morning.  

Remember the special team's confusion we had (in week 1) when playing Viera?  Did you see us (Coach Dale Dawkins and myself) using these signs?   I made these signs to use during the game.  Marty lettered these signs, and on the back of each sign I had all the depth chart information adhered.  We would simply hold up the sign, call out the players on that particular special team, and quickly get on the field.  Worked like a charm.  

One final thing.  I will never be talking much (on this blog) about who is or isn't starting, or who may or may not be injured, or the severity of the injury.  I will not be talking about the game plan, and I will never talk about what is being said behind the closed doors of the program.  I just intended this blog to be generic information about our wonderful program....and you never know who may be reading this blog.  Thank You for all the positive words I hear about my writing.  

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TURNOVER CAPE  

Miami Hurricane's Turnover Chain  

A defensive turnover is very special.  Last year, the University of Miami started rewarding the player who caused the turnover, with a big, gold and gaudy gold chain to wear on the sideline.  The players adopted this new award, and they fought hard to get it each week.  Coach Manny Diaz's  new award was quickly copied by what seems like every high school team in the country with their version of this special award.  It became very watered down.  It was crazy.  

Within the past couple weeks, our defensive backs Coach Brian Rahal approached me about making something for the defense to celebrate turnovers of possession.  He knew how much fun the kids were having on the offensive line with "The Belt"  I told him that the turnover chain was overdone, and we needed to think of something else.  I said we needed to do a Ric Flair/ James Brown type of thing with a robe or cape of some type.  Brian simply said to bling it up as much as possible....then double that amount; thus, an idea was born.   I was married to the right girl to get this done....but she just did not know it.  I have a great football wife.  Marty got right to work.  

Ric Flair Robe and Cape 

James Brown Cape 

Marty found the perfect fabric to use for the cape.  She designed a pattern to use, while I expressed our vision for this beauty.  She spent a week (spare time) just cutting fabric and sewing this beauty trying to make our vision come to life.  Coach Rahal found a silver box to keep it in.  Marty covered this box with emblems to make it look special....almost secretive.  The cape was folded in the box and locked down... remember, the players knew nothing about this cape.  Coach Rahal carried this silver decorative box around with his all day Friday making sure the players seen him doing so.  Of course, the players curiosity grew and the question kept coming up: "Coach, Whats In The Box?"   Rahal demanded they make a play to find out!   Then it happened....a fumble recovery!   He opens the box and......

So, this is the story on the cape.  I am sure you will be seeing it many more times this year.  I am also sure you will be seeing "The Belt" a lot again this year as well.  Makes my heart feel good to see these kids having fun with this stuff.  

Talk Later:  

GZ  

After Game Wrap Up

Pregame Warm up.  

Sorry for not writing sooner.  I sort of shut down after a tough game, and I do not feel like doing much else but keeping to myself and sleeping.  It started with my wife late on Friday night after the game.  Marty just left me alone and simply said "there is food in the fridge if you want something to eat"....then she quietly left the room.   My daughter Kristin called today and asked if the communication shutdown was over.  She has been through this with me many times before, and she knows when it is safe to call me.  Kristin knows me better than anyone else when it comes to this stuff.  Finally, Coach Pete Deluke sort of prodded me today at our meeting...simply asking if I was considering going back to the press box?  Pete said I have been deathly quiet on text messaging and social media since the game was over.   I guess they are all correct....I don't take losing very well.  I am not very mature sometimes.  

"PawPaw: Sometimes your team looks very very good.  Sometimes they look very very bad!"

Today when Kristin called, I talked with my grandson Grice as well.  I was wanting to find out how his first jamboree game went yesterday.  We talked for a little bit, then he hit me with the little gem of a statement above.  All I could really say is....."thanks buddy"  Then, I chuckled to myself.  I guess I will be OK afterall.   

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The Game: 

We lost the pre-season kickoff classic 35-28 to a talented Viera football team.  We could have/should have won the game.  We had four turnover during the game...and we clearly left at least three additional touchdowns in the red zone.  Offensively we were like a roller coaster...up and down all night long.  We did not rush the ball very well, so we have some work to do.  But adjustments these are all very fixable. Defensively we played very well in spite of the final score.  Our guys are going to be very good...sometimes a hard game like this is exactly what a team needs.  It does not get any easier this week though. We travel across the state to face last year's 7A State Champion Venice High School.  Should be fun.  

GZ   

The Game Plan Is In.

Austin Maxwell- 2017  Lineman Of The Year  "The Champ" 

Today I was paid again as a football coach.  Not monetarily, but with pride.  Big Ole Austin Maxwell came down to practice today to visit with the team and coaches.  It was so great to see him.  Of course, I greeted him with: "How are you doing Champ"  I saw his eyes light up and he stuck out that big mit (his hand) of his and firmly grasped my hand.  He looked me straight in the eye and greeted me with pride.  Austin asked me: "Coach, you bringing back the belt?"  "Did you see what I did with my belt?"  The young man has mounted the belt onto a decorative board and mounted it onto his wall.  I hope someday he will show the belt to his children and think fondly of me.  

I remember asking myself if kid's today would consider the belt stupid?  I often wondered if my dreams for motivating them was my pipe dream, or did they actually take some pride in winning the weekly award.  I knew the big boys enjoyed the additional press they received from the local media, but I wondered if they really took pride in their 'Linemen Only' award given by their position coaches.  Today, all my wonders and worries were put to rest.  I guess the 'The Strap' does mean something, and I am glad to bring it back for another year.  

Hudl Sideline Charging Tonight

Today is Wednesday.... The game plan is in.  Everything that could have been added to the plan has been added.  Now, we are in reinforcement mode.  Everything we have been working on as a team is being touched upon.  We are tweaking the little things, and making adjustments when necessary.  Tonight I took home all of our electronic equipment for a good charging before I meet tomorrow with Chris Hiser.  Our game will be broadcast on our YouTube Channel, so Chris is quite busy himself.  I really like this young technical expert, and I would be lost without him.  Between the two of us, we can figure out most any issue with this instant replay system (Hudl Sideline) which as become such a big part of our sideline.  

Tomorrow will be another busy day for me.  Practice itself will be what we call on/off.  We will rehearse the entire game on the field.  Every formation we run, and every defense we run will be touched upon.  We will hit all special teams, and make sure we are covered with backups at each position.  Then,  I will help Coach DeLuke give out game jerseys and uniforms for Friday night's game.  I also have a 4:30 pm meeting with Hiser which should last no more than an hour.  Then, I will go home and not sleep tomorrow night.  Like I said....tomorrow will be a long day.  

I will write when I can.  Its getting hard to put together a complete sentence.  Nerves are setting in.  

GZ  

Game Week Prep.

Maryland Football Helmet

The worst thing that could possibly happen to a football coach has happened.  The University of Maryland has lost a football player.  The young 19 year old player died from a heat related incident (heat stroke) that was probably preventable with simple measures by the coaching / training staff.  I am sure there is a lot more information to be released about this incident, and I guess the entire Maryland Football system is now in question.  At this point I am not going to comment about how the coaches / trainers allegedly treated their players; however, I will comment on how parents can help insure the safety of their players at home...because it really does start at home.  

1.  Please make sure your athlete is staying hydrated...even at home.  To repeat a cliche...."water taken in today will be used tomorrow at practice."  Drinking the day of practice is too late. Give him a water jug...make sure he is drinking the entire amount every day before allowing any other type of drink (including Gatorade type drinks.)  Sports drinks are fine AFTER practice....but the body needs to stay hydrated with water each day...especially in this sauna we call Florida.  Bottom line?  Just make him drink.  

2. Throw the energy drinks away.  The caffeine (and other drugs) in these type of drinks are dehydrators.  I have seen instances where these type drinks are all the kids consume, so naturally they do not get enough water.  Its a dangerous cycle.  The body needs to replace the water it loses at practice.  

3. Make sure he is eating correctly at home.  The body needs the fuel to burn at football practice.  I wont tell you what to feed your kid, but at this age its really not that important...just make sure he is eating some calories.  

I will finish with this.  Your kids are as safe as possible with every one of our football coaches and athletic trainers here at Vero Beach High School.  We keep a close watch on all the players, and access to water is strictly enforced and never, ever denied.  If there is even a question about the health of one of our kids, the player is pulled from competition and evaluated.  Afterall, these are our kids too.  I cannot imagine what it feels like to lose a player on the field.  

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Today (Monday) we started game week preparation for Friday nights game vs Viera High School.  Coach J has the entire week planned out, and the game plan is in place and will be rehearsed this week.  All of our special teams will be touched on again as well. 

Today we did not practice with the defensive unit at all.  Our defensive coaches (Leslie, Bethel, DeLuke, Rahal, Floyd, and Tim) are all zoned out right now, so I am afraid to talk with them directly.  I won't even ask them a question.  Defensive guys are different, and most of them are pretty aggressive...especially in game week.  They are thinking about defensive alignments, blitzes, coverage etc...   Defense can be considered a battlefield retaliation against an opposing enemy.  Its their job to stop the enemy from advancing.  We laugh and joke around in the locker room, but once the door opens for practice, I quit talking to them.   Afterall, I have my own strange routines.   

Offensive coaches are different.  Offense tends to be more of an attack against the enemy on a battle field.  It is our job to identify the enemy's weaknesses and exploit them to our advantage.  It is our job to make sure all our players are prepared for just about any situation they may encounter on the field.  This is why our practices are well scripted.  Most of the offensive coaches (Jankowski, Harris, Willis, Dawkins, McDonald, Myself) are well seasoned and work well together.  If anything, I am the nervous one before a game.....I am constantly looking for a place to throw up so no one sees me.  The other guys know this and just laugh at me.  I feel so much better after-the-fact though.  

Talk Later.

GZ  

Week 2 Wrap Up

My Dad...10th Grade Football Photo  

Me and Mike (Ft Stewart, GA)  

Mike throwing in Afghanistan somewhere.

The REAL Afghanistan  

Fighting Man  

Football has always been such a large part of my life since I was very little.  My Dad played ball, I played ball, and my son Mike played ball.  When I was younger, I always wanted a big boy to coach and teach.  God blessed me with my boy on on August 1st, 1987.   I coached my 6'4" 220lb QB all the way through high school; consequently,  I know that could not have been easy for him, for I knew it was not easy on me either.  I was not exactly as easy going as I am now.  Quite the opposite I am afraid.   I will not hash out my old stories about our relationship in this blog, but I can tell you Mike is the bravest man I have ever known, and he is my hero.  A true #Army fighting man who chose his profession all on his own....without the inference of a overbearing father.  I let him spread his wings and he flew....much higher than anyone ever expected.  May be the 'Lessons In Life' taught on the football field had something to do with his success.  I sure hope it did.  

www.coach-george.blogspot.com

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Today we finished up our last morning practice before the regular grind of afternoon practice begins. Next week is game week, so we will settle into a normal routine on Monday.  Remember I stated that the defense is normally ahead of the offense at this point of the season....and this year is no different.  I am feeling a little bit better about my kids tonight.  Today, Coach Jankowski scheduled a 'Inside Run' drill toward the end of practice.  Offensive line, and Running backs, vs the Defensive Line and Linebackers.  The entire drill is run between the tackles  For the first time all year, I thought we held our own against the great athletes we have lined up on the other side of the ball.  I can see the progress we are making in the backfield, and I can see my visions for my kids starting to come together.  I am having a lot of fun with these kids, and it is so nice that Coach J just lets me coach.   I really like working for this guy.  

I want to start talking about the players individually, but I also want to get some verbal permissions to use their names first.   

Huge week coming up.  Kickoff Classic Friday night at home vs Viera.  

GZ

Media Day

Kristin (Age 16)  Daughter 

Kelsey (age 13...Almost)  Granddaughter

Got this photo of my granddaughter Kelsey this afternoon and it made my day.  I remembered her mother (Kristin) posing for the same type of photo over 20 years ago. I always knew Kristin and Kelsey looked alike, but to me the resemblance is amazing.  Kelsey represents the forth generation of football in my family (Dad, Me, Kristin, Kelsey) and I am feeling pretty proud tonight.  I don't know if anyone can tell, but I am absolutely crazy, nuts about Kelsey.  She knows how to knock the edges off this grizzled old PawPaw.   I will tell the story on each of my children later in the year when the blog material gets slow.  

Varsity- JV- Freshman  

Today was 'Media Day' in the Citrus Bowl.  All three teams (and coaches) dressed in their game gear and made their way down to the stadium for photos, media interviews and so forth.  I was so excited and I had a great time seeing all the kids together at once.  We sure have some amazing looking young athletes in the pipeline here at Vero Beach High School.  It felt great sitting in the stands with all the coaches together and having all the players at our feet.  I am sitting in the second roll (from the top-down) next to my buddy (and Head JV Coach) Brian Debula.  I will recite this statement once again:  You better have some thick skin to be on this football staff.  Nothing is off limits.  lol  

Offensive Linemen with The Belt

My Kids:

 Bryan Primus Winston - Daonovan Gilchrist- Bobby McMillan - Logan Amaral 

Me and My Kids  

Big Boys with Coach  Pete McDonald  

Today was a nice break from morning practice.  Believe it or not, this stuff is important to a team's success as well.  Just to get all the kids together for a common purpose helps build team unity.  It also gives the young kids a good look at what all of them are striving for....to be a varsity football player for Vero Beach High School.  

I am so blessed to be part of this great program.  I am a lucky man.  

Later 

GZ  

Week 2 Day 1

New Design Lineman Of The Week Belt

Blank Belt. 

 Last year I started what hopefully will be a tradition here at Vero Beach High School (VBHS)  This belt is not a toy.  This heavy metal and leather championship belt is the same one used by boxing or other sports for their champions.  I buy them completely blank.  My wife Marty cuts vinyl graphics and adds them to the large gold plates to personalize the belt for each year's class.  The design is what THEY want.  A few weeks ago, I started asking the seniors what THEY would like to see on their belt.  Our big senior center (Louie Rahal) said he wanted pancakes.  So, what looks like flapjacks with butter running down the sides is indeed pancakes.  Hey, its their belt, so they can have whatever they want, but they have to win it.  After each game, the offensive line coaches (Pete McDonald and Ken Willis) will break down each play for each player.  Each coach has his own grading system, but it generally involves (+ / -) for each play, and some sort of grade is given for correct steps, finishing blocks etc...  Whomever grades the highest for the game will get to keep the belt for the week.  (I remember my Dad giving a railroad spike for his award.)   (By the way.  PANCAKES are what every lineman strives for.  This is when he crushes his opponent over onto his back and lays him flat onto the ground)

Now days, very few kids want to play offensive line.  It generally starts when they are young.  Youth league coaches will gather all the kids up in a huddle. He will announce and pointing to an area:  "Everyone who wants to be a running back go over there"   "Everyone who wants to be a wide receiver go over there!"  "Everyone who wants to play defense go over there!"   The offensive line group is often empty.  (On the rare occasion you do have a kid who wants to play offensive line, you generally have a good player.)  Yet, the offensive line is easily the most important position group on the field.  These kids rarely get any credit in the headlines.  I wanted to create an award especially for them.  No other position is eligible to win the award.  Even though I no longer coach the offensive line, I did not want the award to go away.  Sometimes being a coach is so much fun!

Love These Kids.  

Today was a typical Monday practice.  Today was our first day in full pads, so we all came in a little early to deal with soft pad issues and so forth; thus, we ended the heat acclimation period in the process.  We are cleared to go full pads for now on.  Today was a very hot day, and the heat index was off the charts.  Coach J built in many water breaks; therefore, our kids did just fine.   

Funny thing about kids.  Last week I was feeling pretty good about my group, and went into the weekend thinking about different things we still needed to touch on this week.  Today it looked like we had not practiced at all last week.  Mental mistakes drive me crazy, and I felt agitated since I got out of bed early this morning.  Practice did get better later in the morning, so maybe it was me.  For the record, I still think this running back group is going to be special.  

More later.  

GZ  

First Week Is A Wrap.

I often think about my dad this time of year, because football season has officially began.  Dad was really an old-school coach who modeled himself after his coach in the Army....and Vince Lombardi.  Naturally, this also meant he was somewhat of a tyrant on the football field.  This was not a bad thing during his day, and most all his players dearly loved him then and now.  It was just a sign of the times when kids were a little grittier than they are today.  Coach Dad's practices were unbelievably brutal and physical, and injuries were very common.  We were taught to just "Walk It Off" or just "Work Through It" if we were nicked up a bit.  Truly, the only things that got the coaches attention then were a exposed-bone compound fracture or a gaping blood-gushing wound which would require stitches to close.  Remember, there was no such thing as an MRI to look for internal structural injuries. We were simply taught to shake off an injury and get back into competition.  Knee and ankle injuries were common.  We were wrapped in an ace bandage and instructed to walk it off.    There was no concussion protocol whatsoever. If you hit somebody and had "Your Bell Rung" (stars in your head, blackouts, and severe tingling in your extremities) ammonia capsules shoved up your nose often saved the day.  Back into the practice or game we would go.  In fact, NOT going back into the game was deemed a sign of weakness.  I'm not complaining though, for trainers and coaches just did not know any better back in the day.  I would still run through a wall for any of my coaches without asking why.  Now days, technology is much more advanced, and coaches are much better trained than ever before.  Today's players are safer than they have ever been.  

Some old school football people are often amazed at how a modern football practice is conducted.  The brutal physical football practices in days past are rarely seen anymore.  Now days we try to limit the amount of contact a player receives during the week.  Form tackling and blocking drills are most often done (against bags) with a keen focus on technique.  We often practice in just helmets, or just in shells (Helmet-Shoulder Pads) We still practice in full equipment of course, but for the most part, heavy player to player contact is limited unlike the early days. Our kids are healthier and fresher on game days  In future blog postings, I will describe some of my Dad's old football drills...remember the term: MEAT GRINDER....brutal! 

Now a quick word on VBHS Football  

We finished up day 5 on Friday.  Luckily, the weather at 8am  allowed us to get in all the practices without fear of rain.  Coach J's practices are well scripted, and we got in a lot of work this week.  For me, all the work this week also exposed a few things my kids need to work on next week.  Our defense is flying around the ball pretty good right now which is a great thing.  At this stage of practice, the defense will always be ahead of the offense, and this year is no different.  We have two weeks to prepare for the kickoff classic game vs Melbourne Viera High School.  This game is a real challenge for our young inexperienced team....but I think we will be solid.  

Later: 

GZ