Not off the Press: One week of a football tour finished
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
I challenge anyone and will call their bluff if they said they saw as many different cornfields as I did last week. In driving to all the different high schools (seven so far), I got to see five different counties of cornfields, as I took a lot of scenic routes to go to the high schools.
I will say I did have a good view of the area, and I did have many relaxing drives this past week.
But these weren't trips to look at the countryside ... these trips had to do with high school football as teams prepare for their upcoming regular seasons, which will kick off on Friday, Aug. 26 for most teams, and Saturday, Aug. 27 for a few teams in the state.
In visiting five South Central Ohio League and two other teams that are in other leagues, I do feel I have a good starting point as to what to expect come the scrimmage season and when Week 1 rolls around. (Hillsboro and McClain will be added to my visits later today).
What was the most interesting thing so far is seeing how teams run practices different ways, and how they end their practices or just how intense each team is when it comes to being prepared for the season.
I know different ways work for different teams, and isn't that the great thing about football? Look at the pro ranks, for an example. Tony Dungy is a quiet, mild-mannered man who didn't use profane language when coaching in the NFL. Mike Ditka was a crazy man who chomped on his bubble gum, and just by watching NFL Films, he used words to his players you wouldn't say to your worst enemy. What do these two coaches have in common? Each won a Super Bowl title while they were coaches in the NFL.
What all of that meant was different coaches have different ways, and sometimes each way can work. Myself, I prefer the Mike Ditka way when it comes to football, but others might dislike hs way of coaching, and again, the diversity the sport of football can bring on a Friday night (or Saturday and Sunday afternoons) is just wonderful. Each team going after the same goal in a different way just interests me.
• Teams wanting to bring back tradition
I have heard the word "tradition" hundreds of times this week. Sometimes it was brought to my attention and sometimes I mentioned it, but what I loved most about the word tradition was how much it means to the players and coaches I spoke to. Especially the players … ones who play for schools who want a tradition in football, and other players who either want to keep an ongoing tradition or bring one back to their community just inspires me to keep covering high school athletics because while sometimes I cover college and pro sports in my free time … I just get the feeling that winning a tradition in the pro ranks matters more to the fans than it does the players.
In high school sports, you know it means a lot to the players. With a lot of the football players I talked to so far, the word "tradition" made them pause for a moment and collect their thoughts, and I could tell they wanted to make sure their words they were about to express came out in a way where people understood just how much football, their school and their community meant to them.
• Random thoughts about the football tour
- When I decided to do my second annual high school football tour, never did I think it was going to be this much fun. I knew I was going to enjoy it when I started, but as I said earlier in one of my SCOL Football Notebooks (at least I think I did; I can't remember) … this is one of the most exciting and one of the best learning experiences I've had in a long time.
- Another thing is I had a good time getting to know future SCOL member East Clinton, and it should make for an even more interesting league when they join.
- What was really fun was watching the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles practice with full contact on their running game. I'm not predicting how many wins or losses they will have because I'm not very good at that … but one thing I can say is they want to win and have a different attitude than in past seasons. Again, that is just from my observations from about an hour's worth of practice time.
- I'm excited to finally see the two teams I cover the most in Hillsboro and McClain this week. It is always a good time seeing teams that I follow all season long progress from the preseason to Week 10 of the regular season.
- In just looking at some of the new faces that will be on the field Friday night, I'm very interested in the new quarterback situations in almost every team in the league. Also, the running back and o-line situations will be very big for some teams too. This is what I love about this time of the year, with all the questions that are in the air in the preseason, and just how they get answered once the regular season starts.
- When I visited one of my former high school coaches in Washington head coach Corey Dye, we realized he'd been with the program as a coach for what will be 12 seasons ( I was a junior in high school). Also in talking to a current player, he said something about the "old days," and I realized the last time the Blue Lions were undefeated were "current days" when I was in high school. (I'm sad now.)
- Communities should be very proud of the student-athletes who are representing their local high school on the football field on Friday nights. Win or lose … support these players. Having a full stands on a Friday night game will be something these players will remember for the rest of their lives. I saw on the web where over 1,000 fans watched the Canton McKinley football team practice (yes, I said practice) on a Friday night. Did I mention the practice was at 1 a.m.?
- Remember, win or lose, these athletes (in all sports) are representing their communities on their own time … for free. Come out and cheer them on this fall.
- I'm also excited to see the new Clinton-Massie rushing attack. They lost their two main ball carriers from a season ago, so again, I'm intrigued with their current situation.
- Another comment on the entire CM football program. It's a pretty cool thing how they can get so many players to their football team. Just amazing how that many players (between 60 and 70 in the offseason program) will show up for one common goal of winning football games.
- When the football preview edition comes out, I hope everyone enjoys the football stories of over 15 players.
• NFL Thoughts
This week I'm taking a break from the current NFL storylines and looking back at players and people who were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
This was one of the better Hall of Fame classes, and Shannon Sharpe's speech was one of the great ones. His story from rags-to-riches was amazing. The stories about his grandmother (and his upbringing) were sad, but very heartfelt, especially with Sterling Sharpe (his brother and former Green Bay wide receiver) inducting him. It was just one of those feel-good moments where you could just tell the honor of being in the Hall of Fame really meant something to him.
I enjoyed all the Hall of Fame speeches, but seeing Ed Sabol get inducted into the Hall of Fame as the founder of NFL Films was long overdue. He's 94 years old, and he made one final film for his induction. It was a great film (had all the great highlights, John Facenda's voice and the great NFL music), and his and the NFL Films work is one of the main reasons I love the game of football as much as I do today.
I've been to two Hall of Fame inductions (2006 and 2007) when Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were inducted, and with Irvin's speech, I've never seen so many grown men cry in public before.
That is the great thing about the Hall of Fame speech … it turns our football heroes into actual people like us, except they get a bronze bust in their honor where they will forever be remembered as one of the greatest to ever play the game of pro football.
• Quote of the Week
"I think we've had one of the best offseason conditionings we've ever had. We had 60-70 kids all offseason." — CM head coach Dan McSurley on his team's offseason.
• (Another) Quote of the Week
"We are ready to roll. We don't like losing here … coaches, players, everybody as a unit has to come together and be a little bit better." — Pete Hollon, PV head coach, on the upcoming season.
• Stat of the Week
The East Clinton Astros have won a football league title (SBAAC) the past three seasons. This will be their final year in that league before switching over to the SCOL in 2012.
• One final thought
I can't thank all the football coaches, players and their communities enough for allowing me to do this high school football tour. This tour, as I like to call it, has been one of the most relaxing and fun "projects" I have ever done. So to everyone who has been involved or who will be involved with this project of what will eventually turn into my 2011 High School Football Preview Edition, I say "Thank You." I hope reading this column and reading the notebooks have been as much fun for you to read as it has been for me to write them.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]
I will say I did have a good view of the area, and I did have many relaxing drives this past week.
But these weren't trips to look at the countryside ... these trips had to do with high school football as teams prepare for their upcoming regular seasons, which will kick off on Friday, Aug. 26 for most teams, and Saturday, Aug. 27 for a few teams in the state.
In visiting five South Central Ohio League and two other teams that are in other leagues, I do feel I have a good starting point as to what to expect come the scrimmage season and when Week 1 rolls around. (Hillsboro and McClain will be added to my visits later today).
What was the most interesting thing so far is seeing how teams run practices different ways, and how they end their practices or just how intense each team is when it comes to being prepared for the season.
I know different ways work for different teams, and isn't that the great thing about football? Look at the pro ranks, for an example. Tony Dungy is a quiet, mild-mannered man who didn't use profane language when coaching in the NFL. Mike Ditka was a crazy man who chomped on his bubble gum, and just by watching NFL Films, he used words to his players you wouldn't say to your worst enemy. What do these two coaches have in common? Each won a Super Bowl title while they were coaches in the NFL.
What all of that meant was different coaches have different ways, and sometimes each way can work. Myself, I prefer the Mike Ditka way when it comes to football, but others might dislike hs way of coaching, and again, the diversity the sport of football can bring on a Friday night (or Saturday and Sunday afternoons) is just wonderful. Each team going after the same goal in a different way just interests me.
• Teams wanting to bring back tradition
I have heard the word "tradition" hundreds of times this week. Sometimes it was brought to my attention and sometimes I mentioned it, but what I loved most about the word tradition was how much it means to the players and coaches I spoke to. Especially the players … ones who play for schools who want a tradition in football, and other players who either want to keep an ongoing tradition or bring one back to their community just inspires me to keep covering high school athletics because while sometimes I cover college and pro sports in my free time … I just get the feeling that winning a tradition in the pro ranks matters more to the fans than it does the players.
In high school sports, you know it means a lot to the players. With a lot of the football players I talked to so far, the word "tradition" made them pause for a moment and collect their thoughts, and I could tell they wanted to make sure their words they were about to express came out in a way where people understood just how much football, their school and their community meant to them.
• Random thoughts about the football tour
- When I decided to do my second annual high school football tour, never did I think it was going to be this much fun. I knew I was going to enjoy it when I started, but as I said earlier in one of my SCOL Football Notebooks (at least I think I did; I can't remember) … this is one of the most exciting and one of the best learning experiences I've had in a long time.
- Another thing is I had a good time getting to know future SCOL member East Clinton, and it should make for an even more interesting league when they join.
- What was really fun was watching the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles practice with full contact on their running game. I'm not predicting how many wins or losses they will have because I'm not very good at that … but one thing I can say is they want to win and have a different attitude than in past seasons. Again, that is just from my observations from about an hour's worth of practice time.
- I'm excited to finally see the two teams I cover the most in Hillsboro and McClain this week. It is always a good time seeing teams that I follow all season long progress from the preseason to Week 10 of the regular season.
- In just looking at some of the new faces that will be on the field Friday night, I'm very interested in the new quarterback situations in almost every team in the league. Also, the running back and o-line situations will be very big for some teams too. This is what I love about this time of the year, with all the questions that are in the air in the preseason, and just how they get answered once the regular season starts.
- When I visited one of my former high school coaches in Washington head coach Corey Dye, we realized he'd been with the program as a coach for what will be 12 seasons ( I was a junior in high school). Also in talking to a current player, he said something about the "old days," and I realized the last time the Blue Lions were undefeated were "current days" when I was in high school. (I'm sad now.)
- Communities should be very proud of the student-athletes who are representing their local high school on the football field on Friday nights. Win or lose … support these players. Having a full stands on a Friday night game will be something these players will remember for the rest of their lives. I saw on the web where over 1,000 fans watched the Canton McKinley football team practice (yes, I said practice) on a Friday night. Did I mention the practice was at 1 a.m.?
- Remember, win or lose, these athletes (in all sports) are representing their communities on their own time … for free. Come out and cheer them on this fall.
- I'm also excited to see the new Clinton-Massie rushing attack. They lost their two main ball carriers from a season ago, so again, I'm intrigued with their current situation.
- Another comment on the entire CM football program. It's a pretty cool thing how they can get so many players to their football team. Just amazing how that many players (between 60 and 70 in the offseason program) will show up for one common goal of winning football games.
- When the football preview edition comes out, I hope everyone enjoys the football stories of over 15 players.
• NFL Thoughts
This week I'm taking a break from the current NFL storylines and looking back at players and people who were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
This was one of the better Hall of Fame classes, and Shannon Sharpe's speech was one of the great ones. His story from rags-to-riches was amazing. The stories about his grandmother (and his upbringing) were sad, but very heartfelt, especially with Sterling Sharpe (his brother and former Green Bay wide receiver) inducting him. It was just one of those feel-good moments where you could just tell the honor of being in the Hall of Fame really meant something to him.
I enjoyed all the Hall of Fame speeches, but seeing Ed Sabol get inducted into the Hall of Fame as the founder of NFL Films was long overdue. He's 94 years old, and he made one final film for his induction. It was a great film (had all the great highlights, John Facenda's voice and the great NFL music), and his and the NFL Films work is one of the main reasons I love the game of football as much as I do today.
I've been to two Hall of Fame inductions (2006 and 2007) when Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were inducted, and with Irvin's speech, I've never seen so many grown men cry in public before.
That is the great thing about the Hall of Fame speech … it turns our football heroes into actual people like us, except they get a bronze bust in their honor where they will forever be remembered as one of the greatest to ever play the game of pro football.
• Quote of the Week
"I think we've had one of the best offseason conditionings we've ever had. We had 60-70 kids all offseason." — CM head coach Dan McSurley on his team's offseason.
• (Another) Quote of the Week
"We are ready to roll. We don't like losing here … coaches, players, everybody as a unit has to come together and be a little bit better." — Pete Hollon, PV head coach, on the upcoming season.
• Stat of the Week
The East Clinton Astros have won a football league title (SBAAC) the past three seasons. This will be their final year in that league before switching over to the SCOL in 2012.
• One final thought
I can't thank all the football coaches, players and their communities enough for allowing me to do this high school football tour. This tour, as I like to call it, has been one of the most relaxing and fun "projects" I have ever done. So to everyone who has been involved or who will be involved with this project of what will eventually turn into my 2011 High School Football Preview Edition, I say "Thank You." I hope reading this column and reading the notebooks have been as much fun for you to read as it has been for me to write them.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]