I am a Lucky Man.

There are people out there who who have an issue with our mascot, and they are trying to force us to change our name much like The Washington Redskins were forced to do.  There is actually an internet page taking votes on whether we should change it or keep it.  The last time I looked, the voting was not even close....I guess we are going to be The Fighting Indians for some time to come.  I would be so disappointed if we caved in and were forced to change our mascot and our name to something stupid.  

I may have one of the best specialty position jobs in the country...let me explain my reasoning.  Vero Beach High School is certainly one of the best football programs in the state of Florida, and perhaps one of the best football programs in the entire country.  I coach the running backs for this program; therefore, according to my reasoning, I must have one of the best coaching positions in the country!  Makes sense...right?  

Bobby McMillan - Senior RB  

The above photo is one of my players when he was a 10th grader.  He was just a pup when this photo was taken, but he has matured into quite an athlete.  Under The Coach Bethel weight program, Bobby has put on about 25 lbs of good football weight, grown a few inches, and has kept his speed....a deadly combination.  If he stays healthy, Bobby will make some real noise this year.  

I do not have photos of the rest of my running back group yet this year, but rest assured I will get some and introduce each of them on this blog.  So, OMAR, REGGIE, QUINCY.....your time is coming.  Nothing is set in stone about the depth chart yet, for this season has not even started.  But I will say this:  We are a talented group.  Probably the deepest backfield I have ever had  to start the season.  

Can I say this???  I love all these boys like they are my own sons.  I care about each of them both on and off the field.  I will coach the hell out of them on the field, but I will treat them like my sons off the field.  

I guess I am getting soft.  

Later  

Changing Times

My daughter Kristin (Westberg) sent me this old photo a couple days ago with a note:  "I remember you running this drill"   This iconic drill was brutal. This head to head tackling drill quickly sorted out who wanted to hit, and who did not. Usually the coach would set up cones, or bags, or players or something to form a chute no wider than five yards.  The two participating players would get on their backs with helmets facing each other.  Usually, the players were separated by five or six yards (helmet to helmet)  One player would be the runner, and the other player would be the tackler.  The coach would give the ball to one player.  The object of the drill would be: When the coach hits the whistle, both players get off the ground quickly, and the runner would try to run through the tackler.  The chutes kept the runner from running around the tackler....had to be head to head.  Nasty drill that worked. YES, I used to run the drill...back in the day, but its been years since I have seen it.  In today's world, we cannot run this type of drill too much.  You may see a few youth league teams running it though.  Today I believe we all would be fired for running this stuff.  

The Meat Grinder:  

My dad was a coach in Kentucky.  His teams were known to be very physical and very tough.  He had a version of the old Oklahoma drills he called the MEAT GRINDER.  One on one, two on ones, three against two and so forth.  We would run this drill at the end of every practice....BEFORE wind sprints.  Dad will yell: "MEAT GRINDER" and we would come running and gather in a group.  Whatever drill he set up we all would participate.  No one was spared.  If you did not jump in the drill, he would single you out and make sure you participated.  Every player on our team quickly learned what it took to excel and survive to be member of our team.  This single drill is still talked about among my teammates today back in Kentucky.  The MEAT GRINDER made players out of us all.  

Intro 2020

Well, here I am again with a new blog for this season.  I was not going to coach again this year...really I wasn't.  After 36 football seasons behind me,  I thought I might retire, take it easy for awhile, go fishing, and maybe enjoy watching high school football from the stands as a regular spectator.   I was worn out from last season.  Really, there is no off season anymore.  At Vero Beach, after the playoffs, we only have about a month off before we go right back into the weight room and conditioning for the next season.  We have football camps, 7 on 7's, and other activities which requires the coaches to be with the kids.  Therefore, this does not leave much time for other things such as MY BUSINESS, MY FAMILY, MY BOATS, working around the house etc...  I had my mind made up.....I was going to retire.  Then, I made a mistake....I opened our locker room door and took a big whiff....the hairs stood up on my neck and my arms.  I saw a few rising seniors in the weight room.  I knew....I wanted to come back for one more season......a season on the brink of disaster.   More on this later.   

I really wanted to start writing again for my grandchildren..Kelsey, Kirby, Grice, and Mason.  Someday, I would love for the kids to read my words for a single day, and what I was thinking, what I was dealing with etc...  This will be my last year coaching, and I wanted the kids to remember me as I used to be....not the same PawPaw who may be peeing and crapping in my diapers and being a pain is the ass....or even dead.  

The Grandchildren:  

Kelsey Age 14  

Kirby Age 9   

Grice:  Age 8   

Mason: Age 3  

Kelsey, Kirby, and Grice are the children of my daughter Kristin and her husband Joe.  They reside in St Augustine, FL. about 2 1/2 hours away.  Kelsey is a cheerleader at NEASE High School.  Kirby is a Level 4 Gymnast and probably the best athlete in the family.  She amazes me with her athleticism.  Grice is my first grandson and quite the athlete himself (Basketball, Baseball, Football)   Finally, MASON is the child of my son Michael and his wife Alex..they reside in Rochester MN.  My son is a military man, so they move around quite a bit. 

All these kids like to watch our games on YouTube, and they look forward to see PawPaw on TV and maybe hearing their name on the air.  I live for these kids...they are my world.  I was a lousy father, but I am trying to make up for that with the babies.  My daughter Kristin is raising her kids on the field and in the gym as well.  Maybe I did something right afterall.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              Football 2020  

Covid 19 

Early February.  This season started out just like any other season.  We were in the weight room working out the kids, and doing normal off-season drills on the field.  Just normal stuff you.  We started hearing about this new Chinese Virus sweeping the world.  All of a sudden, the virus is here in the United States.  The Center For The Disease Control started calling it a Pandemic.  Then, our world as we know it changed forever.  I am just talking about football here.  

All of our workouts were cancelled.  We were not allowed in the locker rooms or weight rooms.  We could not assemble.  School was cancelled.  All sports for the schools were cancelled...including football.  Spring Football was cancelled.  All the 7 on 7's (off season) were cancelled.   All camps were cancelled.  All clinics were cancelled. All college visits were cancelled.  Everything was in limbo.   All we could do as coaches was stay at home, get fat, have Zoom meetings with players, and wait it out.  Finally, things started to open up a little bit.  

Just recently,  we have been allowed to start conditioning our kids under strict COVID social distancing regulations.   We have to keep our assembly limited in all groups.  We must practice social distancing rules.  All the players have their own water on the field (we do have our water cows for emergency.)  We have weight room rules in effect.  We are doing the best we can considering we have 170+ kids in the program.  I am sure all the schools in Florida have the same issue, so we are not alone.  

We are officially allowed to start fall practice  on August 24th RIGHT NOW.  But this could (and probably will) change.  Until it does, we are planning to be in helmets on the 24th.  We will continue our summer workouts until then.     

I will be posting as often as I can....or when I have something to say.  

Thanks 

"Coach" George