LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

"There are 364 properties on the market in this county and 11 are under contract" - realtor April 2014.

Prophetic words.  I was unable to sell my house and was stuck with a 2K rent in Midland plus a mortgage, home insurance, etc in VT.  I loved the coaching experience in Texas but the financial burden was too much to endure.  I was fortunate enough to get a teaching position at Hartford Memorial Middle School, so I will be teaching middle school social studies.  This will allow me to commute from my house in West Burke and save 25K.  From a financial standpoint it was a no-brainer.

In the end it is extremely disappointing that my Texas coaching career was so brief, but on the other hand I'm excited to be back in Vermont surrounded by family and friends.  I sincerely hope that the Lee Rebels will have a great season, so too the LI Vikings and the NCU Falcons.

To sum it up, I will be out of the coaching business this fall.  This will give me an opportunity to see what normal people do in the fall and be part of the FFCA - LI Chapter.  Operation Texas is not over, its on hold...   

WORKING HARD EVERYDAY TO BRING THE BELL BACK HOME

This is the sign that has been hanging on the bulletin board above my desk in the football office since the day I arrived here at Lee.  For the longest time, I had no idea what the bell represented that I was working so hard to “bring back home”.  Turns out, it’s the trophy for winning the district championship.  We compete in what is known as “the Little Southwest Conference”, which got its name because of the ferocity of the competition and the intensity of the rivalries.  Abilene High vs Abilene Cooper, Permian vs Lee, and Lee vs Midland High are just a few examples of the battles that take place every year in the Little Southwest Conference.  Every team in the district is competitive and there is never an easy win on anyone’s district schedule.   

            So what have we been doing to “bring the bell back home?”  Our offseason began the moment the 2014 season ended – the Lee Rebel coaches and players alike immediately turned their attention to getting back on track and making sure that the 2015 season would not be a repeat of 2014.  Its important to remember that here in Texas, football meets every day during the school year for the entire year.  This means that when third period begins at 10:30, our kids are in the turf room (indoor practice facility), on the field, or in the weight room lifting, conditioning, competing, doing agility and speed work, or practicing football skills.  We lifted four times a week in phases 1 and 2, but now that we are in phase 3, we lift 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and practice football skills on Tuesday and Thursday.  The beauty of this for me is that as the running backs coach I get nearly 45 minutes two times a week to work on the individual skills of playing the position – ball security, running, pass protection, run blocking, and receiving.  It is a wonderful luxury and something I could have only dreamed of having back in Vermont.  It also doesn’t hurt that we can get on the field all year round and not have to worry about the weather.

            Our work doesn’t stop during the period however.  All of our kids are expected to workout twice a day.  This means that they will do a winter, and spring sport, or they will workout again “voluntarily” after school.  The kids who play basketball and baseball will remain in the football class and workout with the team during school, then they will go to their practices after school.  Same for anyone who is doing soccer, track, or powerlifting.  The difference is that the basketball and baseball teams have coaches that are dedicated head coaches – meaning that basketball and baseball are the only sports they coach.  Soccer, track, and powerlifting are all coached by football coaches doing a second sport (I’m the powerlifting head coach).  So our kids have pretty full schedules.  Here is an example:

8:00am – arrive at the football office for mandatory team breakfast

10:30am – football workout

4:15pm – workout #2 / second sport practice

6:30pm – head home

            As for the coaches, we have been working pretty hard as well.  Every Monday morning we have a general staff meeting at 6:45am, and we normally have a personnel meeting at lunch later in the week.  In addition, offensive and defensive staff meetings at 6am began in January.  Here is my schedule from this past week – which has pretty much been the norm for the last couple of months.

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
6:45 am – staff meeting 8:30am – class 10:30am – workout 12:30pm – class 3:00pm – powerlifting 4:15pm – workout	6:00am – offensive staff 8:30am – class 10:30am – football practice 12:30pm – class 3:00pm – powerlifting 4:15pm - workout	6:00am – offensive staff 8:30am – class 10:30am – workout 12:30pm – class 3:00pm – powerlifting 4:15pm - workout	6:00am – offensive staff 8:30am – class 10:30am – football practice 12:30pm – class 3:00pm – powerlifting 4:15pm – Junior high track meet timer	8:30am – class 10:30am – football practice 11:30am – staff meeting 12:30pm – class 3:00pm – powerlifting

      In addition, during the powerlifting season I would have a meet to attend on Saturday.  There is no question that it’s a busy schedule and that the Midland Independent School District gets its money’s worth from its football coaches – at least on the Lee side of town!

It does snow in Texas.