SMC BLOG 45

By
July 17, 2006

I am sorry. I posted on the last blog that I would be posting on July 18th. Icouldn’t wait. It is just a day early and I hope you will forgive me.

Well I have seen Lubbock in my review mirror! I am back in Abilene, home of the
SIX-MAN CENTRAL operation. I have pictures on the web at http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/sixmancentral/. Drop by and visit and join up if you like. It is free.
This is no surprise here but I just have to say six-man people are the nicest people you would ever want to be around. FRIENDLY folks!

I visited with veteran coaches as well as coaches that will be coaching for the first time. All are excited to get the season started. There were great speakers sharing their knowledge with anyone who would listen.

The very first speaker I heard was a good friend of mine. His name is Otto Sonnenberg and he was speaking about Booster Club Fund Raising. Otto is from Richland Springs and folks, there is not a better person to learn from on this subject than Otto. Does your school have a booster club? If it doesn’t, my all means get one. If your school has a booster club and needs help then you must contact this guy. Otto will come to your school and present the program he just presented at the coaching clinic. All you have to do is contact this fine gentleman. To be honest, this segment was not well attended and that is too bad. Some folks just don’t understand how important this is.

The second speaker I heard was another friend of mine, Coach Kevin Ray. Coach Ray’s topic was ‘Trinidad Football“. No surprise there as he is the HC at Trinidad. What may surprise some folks is that Coach Ray has been in the business for 22 years! He looks much too young to have been coaching for 22 years. He has done pretty well in the Six-Man coaching ranks. He wears a ring that shows how well he has done. A State Championship ring to be exact. Coach Ray enjoys coaching but it is way more than that to him. He believes it is a calling. That’s right. A calling just like a minister receives. He makes a huge difference in the lives of the young men he comes in contact with. Isn’t that what coaching is all about?

The third speaker I heard was none other than Coach Jerry Burkhart, yes, another friend. Jerry has a passion for football and he comes across just like an evangelist. He loves the Lord and he loves football. Why would he come across any other way? You better believe he loves his kids at Richland Springs too. Come to think about it Jerry loves everything EXCEPT losing.

The fourth speaker I heard was Coach Larry Reid from Guthrie. Larry spoke on running a “3-2� defense. He said he was just a simple guy and if it was simple for him, it was simple for the kids. The 3-2 is just like any defense, it has strengths and weaknesses. Coach Reid knows how to make it work. His speech was entertaining and productive.

The next speaker I heard was Coach Danny Davis. I only met Coach Davis right before he spoke. Coach Davis is now the HC at Rankin. He coached the Throckmorton team for the last two season where he compiled a record of 28-1 and of course led the Greyhounds to the 2005 Six-Man State Championship. Not much more that needs to be said about his credentials. About the first thing he said was that all coaches like to win and that included himself. What he said next impressed me. He said that when he looks back at kids that come through his program he doesn’t automatically look at the wins and losses. What he says concerns him most his are those kids a better kid because of the influence he has had on them. If not, he doesn’t feel he has done his job regardless of the wins and losses. Coaches, if you choose to follow the path that Coach Davis walks, you best realize that he has set the bar high. It is attainable, but it isn’t easy.

Coach Davis went on to speak and diagram “the gun� offense that his team ran last season at Throckmorton. All who followed Six-Man last season know how explosive that offense was. Coach Davis pointed out quickly and often that it is a great offense but that he had the perfect personnel to run it. The key point to other coaches in the room was don’t run the gun just because it was so successful for the Greyhounds. If you don’t have the players at the key positions you will be better off running something else.

I found it interesting that he suggested that your younger kids should not run the spread. He says 7th graders or whoever you work with should only run tight formations. Why? Learn the fundamental of blocking and tackling. Coach Davis was the HC for the East All Star team and he said even during the week leading up to the all star game that some of his players said they did not know how to block. Some said they had never blocked in their life. Can you believe that?

Speaking of the All Star game played Saturday night, the East won 50-42. The East had both the Offensive MVP and the Defensive MVP. Braxton Oliver of Throckmorton threw 5 TD passes to garner the Offensive MVP award and Trinidad’s Malcom Smith who was all over the field won the Defensive MVP award. Both were well deserved.

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