Not much to write about in the middle of the week....probably nothing you want to read about anyway. A few weeks ago I had another encounter with a former player in Walmart. After telling my daughter about it, she encouraged me to tell the story once again in this particular blog. I had written about a previous encounter with some former players in a previous blog, so I am borrowing the story once again for this writing. The story is innocent, but now days it would be labeled controversial. Thats a shame too, because sometimes the relationship between a football coach and a player can be life-changing....for both parties.
Coach Lou Holtz
Many years ago, I attended a coaching clinic put on by the now defunct Coaches USA organization in St. Louis Missouri. I was excited to attend a special motivation and Q&A session taught by Lou Holtz who (at the time) was the Head Coach of Notre Dame. If you have never heard this guy speak, put this on your bucket list on things to do. Despite his slight lisp and small stature, Holtz is a powerful speaker. Of course me being a huge Notre Dame fan, it was probably the most exciting day in my coaching career. I am still a huge Holtz fan to this day. I specifically asked Coach Holtz about special teams play....one of his strong points. I stated that I always had issues with finding a good kicker year after year. Coach Holtz said: "If you are looking for a kicker, go visit the soccer team." Hmmmm. Good idea.
Kickoff Team
Some time ago, I did some work out in our Fellsmere Community. I looked outside to my truck, and I saw four of my former football players looking at my truck and obviously waiting for me to come outside. I walked outside to nice reunion with my former Hispanic (Mexican) football players. We laughed and joked around for a couple of minutes...and then one of the players stated: "Coach, Remember the Banditos?" Then another player said: "Coach always loved the Mexican Players!" Last Sunday I was visiting the local #Walmart when a man walked up to me (holding the hand of a young boy) and said: "Hello Coach" ....then he explained to the little boy who I was. For the life of me I could not place the face with a name. Once I discovered who he was, I asked the question: "Were you a Bandito??" He said: "I will ALWAYS be a Bandito Coach! I hugged the young father with genuine love. It was great to get my memories working again.
I was coaching on the JV level at Sebastian River High School with Coach Dan Smith...That year, we had about twenty (20) hard working hispanic kids on our team. I used to ask the kids: "Who can kick?' Of course, hispanic soccer kids will always tell you about the player with the best leg. I would enthusiastically recruit this kid to kick for us....remembering the lesson Coach Holtz taught me previously. Generally, Coach Smith put me in charge of kickoff team, so he left me alone to do the job....as long as the job was done, Dan had nothing to say. he was a great guy to work for.
The Mexican kids WORKED HARD trying to learn football. Facts are that in the hispanic community, its all about soccer....not football. So, the sport is not embedded in their background like it is here. The kids were generally behind the learning curve, but they were like sponges absorbing everything we were teaching. I just loved their work ethic....and they knew I loved them.
Once I found a kicker, I started surrounding him with his friends. next thing ya know, I had an entire Mexican Kickoff Team ready to go. These kids took great pride in their special team...and I nick named them: "The Banditos" The KIDS LOVED the special identity....and each kid fought hard to be a "Bandito" and it was great fun to watch. These kids would actually speak Spanish on the field and point to the opposing players. Naturally, no one else would know what the hell they were talking about. The players would take the field and say: "Los Tiburones: Esta Listo? This means: "SHARKS, are you ready?" They all would yell: "SI" and kick off the ball. MAN it was fun to watch these kids throw their bodies around to make sure the team was successful. I wanted to have Banditos Tee Shirts made and everything.
Soccer Style Kicker
I told Coach Smith I wanted to go with an All-Mexican kickoff team. Dan was not too sure if Coach Bethel would go for it... he was sort of worried about being politically correct and all. Dan told me to ask Bethel. I told Randy of my plans, and he quickly nixed it. Randy said: "MAN, are you trying to get me fired? You can't do that!" So, I officially dismantled the "Banditos"...sort of. I would still use them, but it was a sort-of underground thing on our team. Dan was in charge of the kickoff return team, so I would line up the "Banditos" to run a live kickoff team for our return drill. It was great practice for our team. I think Dan's special team ran back 3 or 4 kicks that year, and I am sure the "Banditos" contributed to the success. Occasionally I would sneak them into a game and they would do just fine.
Now days when I think back on this, I guess it was a little controversial at the time, but it was never intended to be that way. I can see Randy's concern of the feedback possibilities. I was just trying to keep the hispanic players interested and involved with their own special identity...sort of a badge of honor. There was nothing racial about it. Most of these kids rarely saw the field, so I was attempting to get everyone some playing time. Most of you guys know I don't see color or race anyway....if a kid can play...he can play. Now don't laugh at me, but I actually went to Soccer games that year and watched my "Banditos" play their native sport.....and you know something? Coach Holtz was right. It was great fun to watch my kids play a sport that I did not understand.
GZ
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Vero Beach Football
We have began our weekly preparation for this weeks opponent: Ft Lauderdale "The Flying L's" This team is off to a quick start this year as well. They are coming to us with a 3-0 record and scoring a lot of points. This game will be a real test for our team, and I hope we can be competitive. An undefeated football team in Florida should always be taken seriously.
Our kids are practicing very well this week so far. We are getting back most of our injured players, and we seem to be healthy. Tuesday practices are my favorite. We practice in full gear so there is a little more action on the field along with the pad-popping. We do gear-down the hitting a little bit however. No blocking below the waist, no hitting the QB (I think this may be a death sentence) and no taking a tackle to the ground. As hard as we try....boys will be boys and things tend to be a little spicy at times. Wednesday practice is very similar to Tuesday practice. We will practice again in full gear, but hitting will be tapered down. Thursday practice is very light. This day is know as On/Off. The kids are wearing only their helmets with matching cloth for the day. We rehearse all of our special teams, Offensive game plan and a defensive game plans are also rehearsed. This is also the day we start handing out game jerseys for the game. The players are allowed to wear jerseys to school on this day only.
Lineman Of The Week vs Dr Krop.
John Moran
Big John (Senior-Offensive Guard) has been a valuable addition to our team this year. This 6'4" 340lb powerhouse had an outstanding game with several 'Pancake" blocks included. You may see him playing on Saturdays next season.
One final thing. I cannot say enough good things about our booster club. These hard working people actually feed our entire team four days a week after practice. Anything we want or need will be provided for us. The Boosters spoil all of us during the season, and I will be forever be appreciative for their efforts. They are the very best group of volunteers I have ever been around. Believe me, its not this way at all schools.
Thanks for reading.
GZ
I remember that squad! Fun days when coaches could be real with the kids. The relationships were genuine. Too much PC these days!
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