IT'S THAT TIME by Coach Jim Massaro
June.what a great time of year! One month away from a long deserved vacation and baseball is in full swing. As a Yankees fan, I'm finding it hard to watch their poor performance this year. After the great run they had, I guess I just got spoiled. By the way, I know that the Yankees haters out there aren't going to offer me any sympathy, and let's face it.it doesn't matter how good or bad they are playing, they don't put any money in my pocket.
But back to the real reason why I am so excited. It's June, and that means only one thing to me: football is around the corner. All of my athletes are home from their respective colleges and have been in to talk about setting up their summer programs. First things first: I meet them at the track to test them in the forty and pro-agility drills. This is to determine how far they have come over the last season. It also tells me what they have not done since we last met. Next test is in the weight room, again, to see where they are. On the whole, all my guys are very good at keeping up with their training. They have come from a program that has instilled a good work ethic. Through their high school careers, we constantly told them what it takes to be a champion: hard work and dedication to your sport. Not only will this work ethic help them in sports, but it should carry through with their after-school careers.
One of my guys, a linebacker from New Haven University, underwent shoulder surgery in the off season. He was unable to play spring ball, but was cleared by the doctor to start full training. When anyone talks about a warrior, this kid always comes to my mind. During his senior year he played both ways, linebacker and fullback. Jason played on two sprained ankles during the last three games of the regular season and five playoff games right through the state championship. Sometimes he was only able to practice once or twice a week, but when it came to game time, he didn't miss a beat. In the state championship game, with us holding on to a four-point lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter, we depended on our warrior to put the game away. On a 14-play drive covering 88 yards, we gave Jason the ball 14 times in a row using the same play: off-tackle right. See if they could stop him and they didn't. The title was sealed on the 14th play-touchdown. After the game, the opposing coach told me that he couldn't believe Jason's strength. The more they hit him the more he came at them.
This past Thursday we held our team meeting for the high school. This was a particularly rough meeting. This year we are graduating 16 players and of the 16, we had what we called the Super 5. These five kids have been with us for the past four years and helped carry us to a record 42 and 2 record. To the credit of the kids and the program, all five have received scholarships to colleges. And I know, come next June, they too will be coming back for their training programs. At the meeting, as I looked out at all those new young faces peppered in with some of the returning varsity players, I could only wonder who the next Super 5 might be. With an optimistic outlook we say this: we don't rebuild, we reload. At the meeting I give them the workout and running drills that will carry them to July 7 when we meet for our summer conditioning program. We go over what they must do academically to remain eligible. Their education, and not the game, is the number one priority. A red flag has been sent up in our junior varsity program. At this time we only have 11 kids coming out for the team. This small turnout is hard to understand when you consider that we have had such a successful program. In talking to other coaches in the area this seems to be a problem all over. My feeling is that a lot of kids today lack the discipline needed for a sport like football-they lack the work and dedication it takes, five days a week, just to play one game. Unlike baseball or basketball (one or two days of practice then maybe two to three games each week, instant gratification), in football you bust your ass for five days for 48 minutes of game time. It takes a special breed to play this game. That's what makes coaching football so great, seeing all those new young faces and getting them ready for battle. There is always a time in the season when you are in a tough game whether you are battling the opposing team or the refs or both. And at some point you see these young boys transform before your eyes to become young men.
With the start of the pre-season so close I can only sit back and wonder where my next Super 5 will come from. With all that said, I guess it is time to go upstairs and turn on the Yankees game knowing that July 7, when the real fun begins, is not that far away.