Georgia Bulldogs Picture Day 1980
Boy did I get a blast from the past today. I received this picture from a “young” man who had his picture taken with me on picture day 1980. Mark was nine then, that would make him 37 now. I see pictures like this from time to time and I always wonder where those folks are now.
Mark S. is an software sales guy with his own blog too. We apparently had spoken on Dawgvent or something and recently he found this photo. It made me do some searching and I broke out the pictures my mother took on that same day.
I found a picture of a very young Bill Hartman and Lindsey Scott behind him. Also below you will see a picture of Hershel before we knew what was in store. No one knew what lay ahead. What a great year… Thanks Mark!
Georgia High School Football
Most folks I know are bu…uh…woofing in anticipation of College Football. I am the same way, because I believe the Georgia Bulldogs will be a different team with a whole new outlook from a year ago. But more on that in another blog. Only slightly behind college football is my love for high school football. The State of Georgia has as strong a tradition as any other state and with the growth our state experiences, there are always new schools looking to make their mark.
I just received my copies of Georgia High School Football Magazine. It’s a great resource for coaches and fans alike. I have known the publisher, David Patterson for several years. I could never get my old employer to support David, but when I started Total Team Sports, I jumped on board. My ad is on page 86 with the AAAAA Pre-season All-State Team. Get your copy at www.highschoolfootballmagazine.com .
Trion HS, A Kickers Reunion
Last summer, I received an email from a Dad I know. I had worked with his son before and he was very happy. I work with a lot of young guys each summer, mostly young kickers who have grown up playing soccer. That is a plus but not a guarantee of success. Kicking soccer balls and a football are very different. Every once in a while I will hear from someone that has never kicked anything, and that was pretty much the case with the Carons.
Rex,
I want to let you know how much I appreciate your having taught my son Corey two years ago. As a novice, with his hard work and your instruction, he was very successful in his only year as a place-kicker.
I, the coaches, and the other Trion fans were impressed enough that I would like to send my younger son, Craig, for lessons this summer. He, too, is a novice and I fully anticipate similar results. Thanks again for your help.
Sincerely,
Douglas E. Caron, M.D.
Things have gone well with Craig as well, and it illustrates a point I try to make with coaches. Don’t accept the idea that if you don’t have a great kicker, your stuck. I always say you can take a good athlete and make them a solid high school kicker. Many great south Georgia football programs breeze through the regular season only to suffer in the playoffs with a sub-par kicking game. For that matter, any school in an area without much of a soccer influence can suffer.
All these two have done is everything their coaches have asked of them. Consistent extra points and short field goals can be a valuable thing to a high school coach. Corey kicked a last minute 43 yard field goal against Jefferson his senior year. Trion was down 20-17 and the kick sent the game to overtime. Clutch. Craig’s longest attempt last year was a 37 yarder, and yes he made it.
Corey and Craig Caron
We worked out today to make sure we are ready for the season. Craig will be ready. Call me if you have a young kicker that needs help.
Georgia Football, A Real Family
I was reminded of some simple truths yesterday. The Georgia Football Lettermen are emailed with announcements of news of illness, surgeries and sometimes deaths in the family. Yesterday was one of the bad days. One of my old team mates Tim Morrison lost his mother to cancer two nights ago. It was another reality check regarding priorities in life. It’s about the rightful place that our loved ones occupy versus the game we love. Sometimes I think we as fans fail to understand the way we can effect a family and even a kid(player).
The kids were cheer and jeer have moms and dads that want the very best for their sons, but don’t always get it. Sometimes it just circumstances like an injury. Sometimes they just get passed on the depth chart by a better player. Whatever the reason, it’s rarely as simple as we might think. But still we criticize. That can be hurtful to parents and other loved ones.
I always think about the mamas…I have witnessed parents at UGA who never got to enjoy the college experience because of the criticism and the anxiety it produces. Heck, I never knew how bad kicker’s moms had it until I started coaching them. It’s no picnic, even when they are successful.
Anyway when I heard about Tim’s mom, it reminded me of my own mother who passed away in 1983. About how much she supported me no matter what. My Dad confirmed how difficult it was for her back then, but she still came week after week, home and away. The only game she ever missed was the Senior Bowl. She was in Mobile but was too sick to leave the hotel room. Five months later she grew ill again, went into cardiac arrest. She was revived but lay in a vegetative state/coma for two and a half years before she died in November, 1983.
I will be going to Boaz, Alabama today to be with Tim and his family.
Football brought us together, but it’s not what keeps us together.
Hey Georgia, You Gotta Have the Gear!
It really sounds like it’s been a great week for UGA Football…practice started and the entire DawgNation has been a-woof…I was going to say a-buzz but that Dawg won’t hunt. Let’s just hope we can maintain the focus and energy til January…whaddaya think?
Just this week I have updated the links to the right. These are my sources to everything from uniforms to workout gear to letter jackets. Some of these sites are e-tailers, but I can sell their gear at “TEAM” prices(25%=30% off) for orders of 12 or more(Teams) duh! You may have heard of some of these companies, but I’m betting you have not heard of all of them. A couple of the links are online catalogs for your convenience.
Check them out and call me if you have questions….404.455.0393
Georgia Fans…A Little Something Sweet
Georgia Football fans should know. This blog will never “rival” the big boys for news and numbers. That’s the meat and potatoes of an online fan feast. I don’t want it to be like all the other blogs. Many have good well rounded information, like a helping of your favorite veggies. There are a few of these blogs with enough flavor to pass as a really good dessert. But I want Roughing the Kicker to be that place that when you are too full from the main course, you hold off. Then on your way home you stop by for something a little different…a special treat. I call it Blaagen Dazs. It may not be something you want to consume every day, or maybe your metabolism can take a daily helping. Who knows?
Below you will find a listing of flavors you can expect in the future:
*One flavor that has been discontinued is the Rocky Road…too much of that last year* Some new favorites are expected to be the Joe Cox Strawberry… The A.J. Green “Mint Chocolate”… The Blair Walsh Irish Cream… Justin Anderson Vanilla Bean? …and introducing Rookies and Cream for freshman only…. and all Dawg Fans love Bark Chocolate…lol…Boy, I amuse myself sometimes.
Have You Seen My Baseball?
I feel like Warren from There’s Something About Mary…wandering the streets desperately looking for my baseball. I lost my baseball back in 1994, when the players went on strike and ultimately both the season and World Series were cancelled. That’s about the same time the steroid era was in “full swing”, so to speak. Nope, that’s not my baseball either.
Baseball was my first love growing up. Both the Braves and Falcons became the focal point of a youngster’s hopes and dreams back in the mid sixties. I started playing baseball at Custer Park in Marietta, Georgia when I was nine years old. That was 1968 and I grew up watching Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda and my real hero, Rico Carty! The Beeg Boy! I was one of those that tried to emulate his style of batting with a modicum of success.
Now I am not naive enough to think that all baseball players in my youth were angels and deacons, but I do know that money was not the predominant issue it is today. Not a day goes by that a player’s salary or a team’s salary cap is not in the news. Money plays as important a role in management decisions as batting or earned run averages. So it will never be the same.
My Dad and older brother never miss a Braves game on TV. I still cruise by games from time to time, but only for a few minutes. I still admire athletic excellence in any sport. I listen to 680 the Fan and stay abreast of all the sports in Atlanta. That’s where I heard that today was the anniversary of the 1994 strike. It was mentioned that Major League Baseball lost a lot of fans in ’94, but Leo Mazzone said the fans came back when Mark Maguire and Sammy Sosa went on the home run tear of 1998. Oh, you mean the pumped up Roid Rangers? Well you can kiss my asterisk.
Nope that was a brief reprieve from the port-a-party baseball became, with the full knowledge and consent of the powers that be. Don’t try to tell me different, because I’m not really Warren from the movie. I love sports pure and simple. Too bad they can’t be that way ever again. Because when I lost my baseball, it lost me too.
Dirty Harry Was Right
Clint Eastwood is one of my favorite actors and he’s an even better director. I could do an entire blog on the great one liners he spouted over the years. From Dirty Harry to Josie Wales he has always had just the right words for any situation he found himself in. This kind of wisdom is hard to find and certainly words to live by.
“A man’s gotta know his limitations”…Dirty Harry
Consider this blog my attempt at an intervention of sorts. An old friend and former team mate has exercised less than good judgement in his professional life and if I don’t say something now, I will regret it for the rest of my life. He was a two sport star in college and even splits time between radio and TV now. But Buck Belue is no triple threat. He can’t sing.
I am on the road alot with my job(selling sporting goods), and even though I did not listen to 680 the Fan or Buck and Kincaid in the beginning, I listen consistently now. I have seen and talked to Buck more in the last year than the previous 25 combined. He contacted me last year about doing some clinics and we now have done a total of four in the last year. It’s been fun. We will probably tweak some things and try again next year, or after this post maybe not.
If you listen to Buck and Kincaid you probably know what I’m talking about. Buck likes music and actually alot of the same music I love. Maybe thats why I feel led to draw attention to his intermittent outburst into song. It happened again Thursday. The Black-Eyed Peas did a song a couple of years ago called “Lets get it started”. Great song. He sang a little bit at the beginning of the show today, apparently trying to get Kincaid fired up for the show. I am so glad I have heard the song many times before and like it. Otherwise, I would never want to hear it again.
I don’t think Buck considers himself a great singer, I just don’t think he cares. You have probably seen people like that at karaoke, but it’s one thing to go to a sports bar and do karaoke. It’s another to cause a pile-up on I-285 during rush hour. Both Buck and Kincaid join together to sing their rendition of Meet the Mets when the Braves beat New York. It’s called Beat the Mets, and the disharmony rivals my first marriage. That’s bad.
I’m pretty sure Buck does not read my blog, but even if he did I think he would take this post in the spirit it is intended…please quit singing!
Total Team Sports, From Georgia to Germany
I don’t want to annoy readers with posts about my businesses. But if I don’t sometimes, I will not be able to afford to keep them going or keep this blogging experiment alive. For those of you that don’t know, I sell sporting goods, uniforms and other athletic apparel. Congressman Phil Gingrey is seen wearing a baseball uniform I provided for him recently. I started Total Team Sports to try and provide an alternative to traditional dealers and the same old products they provide. I have posted a link for the first time to my online catalog for corporate apparel. My primary customers have always been schools and youth organizations, but when I started Total Team Sports in January I wanted to do more with small businesses. I can do all types of screen-printing and custom embroidery. I have a couple of great companies that I contract with to do these services for me. Both have top-notch artists and production people. Traditional sporting goods dealers are usually very limited in their screen-printing capabilities and with their artwork.
I have virtually no limitations on artwork…try me!
Many smaller screen-printers may only provide up to four to six colors in their printing options, if that. How many do you need? 10…12…14? Okay, I can do that with no problem. No matter where you are located, I am as close as the computer. Emailing of orders is common place. From Georgia to Germany, I can help. That’s right I have customers at the American schools in Germany. A few years ago I had the opportunity to coach at a football camp in Wurzburg, Germany. The camp was for the Department of Defense schools in Europe. There were over 400 campers and I worked with 25-30 kickers, including Lones Seiber, who now is the the kicker for the University of Kentucky. Now several of those “DoDDS” teams are customers.
I sell a lot of hats, including custom hats. A few months ago I established a new relationship with a hat manufacturer that allows me to obtain custom hats at a ridiculous price. How about $5.99 for a custom hat. Not just some generic hat with your logo slapped on, but truly custom. The price can go even lower for larger purchases. It’s almost factory direct from China, where most of the world’s quality hats are made. This supplier is great option for booster club purchases and corporate applications where you need greater quantities. Custom hats made by The Game will always be my mainstay. You just cannot beat the quality and the minimum is just eighteen hats.
Lastly the newest addition to my product mix is a new type of lettermen’s jacket. Although these are not shown in the catalog, they warrant a mention. They soon will be a major part of what I do. From traditional looks to an awesome hooded version, these are some great award jackets, something your school or team or even company will be proud of. I have already gotten commitments from two new schools for these great jackets and one local company in Roswell will buy them as Christmas gifts for employees. Great idea!
Okie State Cowboys Say Get Along Little Dawgies
Every once in a while I will meet a college recruiter at the high schools where I do business. It happened again during spring practice back in May. I was at my old Alma mater Marietta HS and toward the end of my meeting with Coach Richards, in walked Glenn Spencer.
Do you know that name? Originally from Lithia Springs, Georgia, Glenn played defensive tackle for Georgia Tech from 1982-1985. Glenn started coaching at West Georgia ultimately becoming Head Coach in 1998. From 1998-2000 West Georgia compiled a 28-7 record. In 1998 he was NCAA Division II Region Coach of the Year. He left to coach at his old Alma mater, Georgia Tech from 2001 til 2003. When Coach Ted Roof got the Duke Head Coaching job, Glenn followed as Asst. Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator and coached the defensive backs. When Duke fired the staff, Glenn headed west.
Oklahoma State hired him last season and Coach Spencer coached the defensive line and this year will be working with the linebackers. He realizes that their defense has got to improve to have a chance to beat Georgia. He was extremely confident in Okie State’s offensive prowess, and says they may be better than last year’s group.
It is getting closer and closer. I can’t wait! I just traded emails with Glenn and he says he’ll be losing sleep “thinking about slowing down Georgia”.
Let’s GATA Dawgs!
Georgia’s Redcoat Marching Band Finds a Piece of Land
Here’s a sentence you never heard before….I was perusing some Tweets…and noticed a mention of the Georgia Redcoat Marching Band getting a much deserved practice facility. It is scheduled to be ready by the end of the summer. Back in the day the band used the same practice fields we did. I always admired the dedication evident during our two-a-day practices. They usually practiced on the astro-turf field, probably to reduce wear and tear on the grass fields. Except sometimes they would practice on the kicker’s field, the one that is now closest to Butts-Mehre. Who cares about the kicker’s field right? Anyhoo, instead of two-a-days they had what seemed like five-a- days, I swear.
I don’t think they went out before our morning practice, but they were out between practices(in the heat of the day) and then after our second practice. I can still remember all the times seeing the lights on and hearing them as late as 9 or 10 oclock at night. Truly amazing. I remember being called over one evening to where the band was practicing.
Roger Dancz was the Director and he wanted me to hear something. I had no clue what was in store. As a few of my kicker buddies and I listened, the band played “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkel and the movie, The Graduate. I thought, “that’s pretty cool”, but when they told me of their plans to play it after each successful kick that year(1979); how cool was that! Too bad 1979 was a down year, we might have heard it more, but my mom really loved it. Just one more great memory from the center of the known universe, Athens,Ga.
Congratulations on your new facility Redcoats and Go Dawgs!
It’s Uncle Remus, Put Another Log on the Fire!
When you put over one hundred athletes together in an athletics dorm like the now deceased McWhorter Hall, it’s going to house a few characters. I say deceased because that place was a living, breathing entity, and yes those walls could talk. I actually got a piece of the rubble from the demolition of the old dorm. It whispers to me sometimes in the night.
Have you ever known someone who loved to tell stories? I don’t mean just funny jokes, but seemingly everything that came out of the mouth was incredible, if not unbelievable. We had one of those during my four years. He was an offensive lineman dubbed Uncle Remus because of his prolific story telling. I won’t tell you his real name because as always, I’m not trying to embarass the man. He knows and a few of you might as well.
It didn’t matter what was being discussed at dinner, the TV room or in the suite, he had a story to top yours. If Scott Woerner went hunting and got a deer, Remus remembered a time he killed a bigger one, with more points. There was truly no end to his tall tales. It got to the point that one of the guys, upon hearing Remus start his comeback said, “put another log on the fire, Uncle Remus is here”!
I really hate that the players of today don’t have that chance to truly live together. It’s just another example of the NCAA focusing on the wrong issues. Back in those days, it was not just two, three or fours guys rooming together, it was the whole team. For better or worse, we were together.
NCAA Secondary Violations and a Repeat Offender
I had to get this off my chest. After reading of the 14 violations self reported by South Carolina, I can no longer keep it inside. My former team mates have been loyal to keep the secrets for the most part, at least it’s never been discussed in the media as far as I can remember. These are some mistakes of youth that stay with us forever.
I am self reporting what is now known as a secondary violation and that I was a repeat offender in the category of “impermissable snacks”. Whew! That feels so much better! Nobody told me they were performance enhancing, I just felt like I needed them, and it was so easy back then. Just pick up the phone, call Sons of Italy, Steverino’s or even the new Domino’s on Baxter! In 30 minutes or less I could be transformed.
I’m not proud of what I did, I was young, and stupid. The lure of easy pizza was just too much for me, and that’s not all. Two-liter Mountain Dews, there I said it. Hey it was the 70′s and everyone was doing it. But a Georgia Bulldog is supposed to be above this type of thing and I failed, miserably.
This blog has been a catharsis for me. It’s been nearly 30 years, and I’m not sure if the statute of limitatons has run out or not. Fact is I don’t care, I had to do this for my team, my university, my children, but mostly for myself.
I can look myself in the mirror again…ewww….
The Tears of a Crown
I just watched the end of a classic Wimbledon tennis final. Roger Federer outlasted an inspired Andy Roddick to win his 15th Gand Slam title. I must admit I shed a few tears for Roddick because he has had the great misfortune of playing in the Federer/Nadal era. As a young player with such promise, most would think his career a disappointment. That makes his resurgence and epic play this fortnight, even in defeat, remarkable. His attempts to hold back the bitter tears of defeat remind me of my favorite moments in sports history. Those moments when the glorious facade of athletics is stripped away and the raw emotion that drives an athlete shines through.
One of my all time favorites is when Michael Jordan won his first NBA title. He could not hold back the tears that stained the championship trophy he clutched so tightly and would not let go. The now crazy Dennis Rodman cried like a baby when he was named the NBA’s most valuable defensive player. I cried with him. I know that sounds ridiculous but when you have the opportunity as a fan to see that it’s not just the money or the fame that drives a man, it’s refreshing.
It comes from the heart. I have seen Roger Federer display it. He is a great champion, but I was pulling for Roddick. Who knows when his chance will come again. You can’t assume that the planets will align themselves and other chances will come. Ask Dan Marino or the now late Steve McNair. They each got Super Bowl chances early in their careers and never went back.
It makes me appreciate our moment in time, 1980. It’s something that is eternal, or as eternal as anything on this earth can be. The old cliche, “they can’t take it away from you”, certainly applies.
Can you remember any times when you saw the heart of a champion revealed?
I would love to hear it.
Discrimination is What We Need
Discrimination has gotten a bad name lately. Just like so many other words that suffer at the hands of political correctness and fear of reprisals, we have lost our ability or even will to discriminate. No I’m not talking anything racial. I am talking about life in these United States where we are accelerating down that path away from freedom and towards “security”.
I don’t get political too often and really this is my first post that could be considered such. With INDEPENDENCE DAY here, how independent are we really? The implication is always a freedom from tyranny of another country. The interdependence that we face in a global economy gone bad is not tyrannical, it’s much worse. If we had one common enemy to focus on we could unite against it. The fact is that forces from within and without keep us guessing as to who the enemy is.
The real enemy is us. Many of you know this. Some of you even care; but our collective apathies have brought us to the brink of losing all we used to love. I say used to because when you truly love something you hold it close, you don’t let it slip away, no matter what the old sappy saying says. If we let our freedoms go, they won’t come back to us; not without a fight. I don’t think America the Beautiful will be back without a great deal of ugliness.
That ugliness could be in the form of a Great Depression or a new American Revolution. Something or Someone has to break us before we regain our priorities. If you poo-poo what I’m saying, you are truly blind and part of the problem that I’m talking about. The demographics in the US are growing in such a way, that certain groups within our country will never, ever vote in an unselfish way, benefitting the many and making sacrifices themselves. It’s not a Republican vs. Democrat thing or even Conservative vs. Liberal. It’s about you and I being Americans and doing what is right, day by day, no matter who sees or even comments.
Discrimination - The ability or power to see or make fine distinctions; discernment.
For Georgia Fans…A Conversation with Brandon Bogotay
A few weeks ago I received a “friend request” on Facebook. Brandon Bogotay, the newly signed JUCO transfer was reaching out to the old guy. You never know who is really in touch with the tradition of a program, but Brandon seems to understand it and embrace it. I gladly accepted, even though I support Blair Walsh as much as anybody, save his family. I certainly don’t harbor any ill will towards the ‘new guy”. He has every right to come in and compete, just like the other hundred some odd guys on Georgia’s roster.
I had a chance to talk to Brandon on the phone Sunday evening and he shared some of what is on the horizon for him. He is coming to Georgia this week and going through some orientation. He’ll take some summer classes to get started on his academic transition. He plans on pursuing a business degree although the specifics have not been decided upon. He has time to decide the details later because right now he has other things on his rather over-sized plate.
If you were to go back two years from the date of this writing, June 28th, 2009, Brandon Bogotay had never played in a football game. He had played alot of futbol, but no football. If you go back just one year when he was preparing to play at Grossmont College, he still had not even attempted a field goal in a game. He kicked off the last five or so games for the Patrick Henry Patriots in 2007, and that’s it. Amazing.
As many of you know he went 15-23 on field goals last fall which is very respectable for his first year EVER. He had a long kick of 52 yards. His claim to fame is his strong leg on kick-offs. He kicked twenty touchbacks on fifty-two kick-offs. That’s a 38% success rate which is well above average.
I still question if it will be enough to change the philosophy of directional kick-offs….
I hope the coaches take the harnesses off. I’ve talked enough about that before, so I’ll leave it alone for now. Brandon has been working on all aspects of his game with San Diego kicking coaches, Lance Ortega and John Coker. He says John in particular has helped a great deal. Georgia’s overall philosophy is to allow and encourage competition at every position, so he and Blair Walsh will be competing on field goals as well.
Both of these guys are good kids as well as quality kickers. There will be no “KICKER CONTROVERSY” at the University of Georgia. No drama here. Both competitors are going about their business in a mature fashion. Believe me, that was not always true with all the guys in recents years at UGA. So this will be a pleasure to watch unfold. The kicker’s contribution to special teams will be much better in 2009, I guarantee it.
Oh, on a side note. I made some predictions as to what Brandon’s eventual nickname might be, but I decided to keep it between he and I. It might be an RTK Poll for down the road.
Kicking Camps vs. Private Instruction
One of the nations cottage industries is kicking camps. If you do a google search you will find more choices than Carter’s has pills to use an old cliche. In Atlanta alone their will be a half dozen camps/clinics and the like. Some with names you know, some I never even heard of, but still they come. Many parents send their kids to these camps, holding out hope that the promise of a college scholarship might come their way.
The promise is implied usually, because they have a list of college coaches that “listen to them”. So if you come to camp and “do well”, they will put you on the list of kicking prospects. Most major universities hold kicking camps. There are too many of these that are nothing more than glorified tryouts for the cream of the crop and the rest of the kickers are left to learn from a college “counselor”. This “counselor” may be a very good college kicker but that does not mean he can coach.
In 1996, I moved back to my home town of Marietta Georgia. It was not long before I met few of the guys who were kicking for the Blue Devils. They expressed mixed feelings about their “camping” experiences and felt that the big camps were just that, too big. I decided I would try and help a few guys on a small group basis and after 13 years I have coached literally hundreds of kids from 10-25. But never more than 5-6 at a time and these days more often than not, one on one.
This summer I will have kickers I have worked with, either kicking or competing for jobs at Kentucky, Florida, Georgia Tech, Miami of Ohio, Wofford, Air Force Academy, The Naval Academy, and Tennessee Tech. Click here to learn more. I have resisted going the way of the big camp, which is the only way to really make any money. I want to maintain my level of involvement with each guy, and not rely on a kid to do my job. If you know a young kicker or their parent, I can help them improve. That’s all I guarantee, a better kicker.
The Lettermen’s Jacket…More Than a Symbol
There is little that signifies the pride of accomplishment for an athlete more than THE LETTERMEN”S JACKET. As far back as the 1950′s I guess, these jackets were a symbol of being a part of an exclusive club. A well deserved award for the sacrifice and dedication inherent in not only making the TEAM, but making a contribution to the success of the TEAM.
I am very excited to be able to provide Custom Lettermen’s Jackets for guys and girls at very, very competitive prices. Remember I said “CUSTOM”. Lots of people can sell stock lettermen’s jackets, and I do as well. But there is nothing like a one of a kind jacket for your school or even as a gift for your customers or employees.
The other thing I’m extremely excited about is a new style of letter jacket. I now have access to a true “hooded” jacket that is really in tune with todays styles that kids love. They are really cool jackets.
Call me today at 404.455.0393 for a great alternative for this year’s team.
Jack Nicklaus suggested “Practicing with Purpose”
Tiger Woods dominates the sports pages these days, at least as far as golf goes, but one of my heroes as a young athlete was Jack Nicklaus. You know, the one Tiger aspires to equal and possibly surpass in career wins. He influenced my thinking as much as anyone.
As I began to take kicking and football more seriously, Jack Nicklaus impressed upon me the two principles that guided my steps. The first was the idea that every off season he went back to his old coach and said these words,” Teach me to play golf, all over again“. The focus on the fundamentals was the hallmark of his stellar career. He never took for granted that he knew it all. We shouldn’t either. As a kicker and as a coach, I never want to settle for the status quo. I want to get better.
The other aspect of his teaching was actually the name of one of his videos. Practicing with purpose became my mantra. I never went out the same way again. I never settled for kicking one hundred balls and actually felt like I had accomplished something special. From that point on my focus became quality vs. quantity.
It has been said that practice makes perfect, but many of you know that only perfect practice makes perfect. Go out next time with a specific goal in mind for that day…Perfect on field goals inside 40 yards…better hang-time on punts or kickoffs…improve your directional abilities on punts or kickoffs…control your emotions better…the list goes on and on.
So many young kickers go about their business in an unconscious manner. Be aware of everything you do and don’t do to achieve your goals. I have coached very talented kickers who thought they were all that and they have underachieved because of their attitude. One is 20 and out of football completely because he wanted to do it his way. Be coach-able, seek to understand rather than be understood. Work hard, be the best.
This article was originally published on kicking.com on April 19, 2003…RR
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Buck Belue to Lindsey Scott, the greatest play I never saw
It’s Saturday morning and I am driving up Georgia 400 to see my old team mates Buck Belue and Lindsay Scott. We are having our third and final Champions Clinic of 2009 at Forsyth Central High School this morning. Here it is, 29 years later and we are still a team, working together. How different things might have been if not for the greatest play I never saw.
Nobody expected 1980 to be a special year. Most predicted Georgia to finish in the middle of the pack, maybe barely above average, and those were the ones that liked us. Yet here we were, 8-0 going to the “WLOCP”…shhhh, and ranked number 2 in the country. We arrived in Jacksonville, just like every year, with electricity in the air. Little did anyone know that history was about to be made.
I always loved the Florida game; it was like a rest stop 2/3 of the way on a long road trip. There was nothing like it. It was neither a home or away game, it was THE game. A game we usually won. But Florida was waiting for us this year.
I always prepared especially hard for the “F”, because of Chris Collinsworth, the Gators great wide receiver and return man. I hated giving him a chance to return kick-offs against us and most of the time I succeeded by kicking it deep. Chris and I had actually become friends at the Playboy All American week-end in early 1980.
Howard Richards(Missouri)
EJ Junior(Alabama)
(The Blogger)
Chris Collinsworth(Florida)
Let’s get back to the game. It started off well enough, with Herschel bursting up our side-line on the fourth play for 73 yards and a touchdown. But Florida kept coming back and at half-time I told my holder Jim Broadway, “Be ready, we may have to win this thing with a field goal”. I was a senior, but Jim was a sophomore in his first year of varsity action. He had done a great job, but we had not faced this kind of situation all year.
When the drama unfolded late in the game, Florida had gone ahead 21-20 on a Brian Clark field goal. Then on our last drive, a Florida punt had pinned us back inside our 10 yard line. As everyone in the Dawg Nation knows by now, we actually lost a yard on one of our first two downs. Third and eleven from our own seven yard line. I think there were 63 seconds to go in the game, as Larry would say. As the play began, I could see the ball in the air, Lindsay caught it and turned up field…I thought, “He’s going to get in field goal range, I have to get my tee”! So as I turned to go get it, everyone else was jumping up and down cheering, but I had my back turned and missed it. I was actually trying to keep it together for what might be coming up.
As ole Lady Luck would have it Lindsay kept running, thanks to Larry’s encouragement from on high. He might still be running if not for the “bowl” in Gator Bowl. I was happy to see it all on the news the next day and about a thousand times since on video. “The Play” was the last great springboard to the National Championship, as we moved to number one in the country the next day(Thanks Tech!).
Chris and I just moments after Belue to Scott…He was not happy…heehee.
Get the picture…
What in the world can I say about Larry Munson that hasn’t been said numerous times by more important people in the world of sports and the University of Georgia family in particular? Probably nothing. But, is there anything wrong with a public thank you that I was only able to give Larry in person just a few short years ago. I hope not, because here it comes. (more…)
Memorial Day
War of Independence (1775-1783) 25,000 Dead
Quasi-War (1798-1800) 20 Dead
Barbary Wars (1801-1815) 35 Dead
War of 1812 (1812-1815) 20,000 Dead
1st Seminole War (1817-1818) 30 Dead
2nd Seminole War (1835-1842) 1,500 Dead
Mexican-American War (1846-1848) 13,283 Dead
3rd Seminole War (1855-1858) 26 Dead
Civil War (1861-1865) 623,026 Dead
Indian Wars (1865-1898) 919 Dead
Spanish-American War (1898) 2,446 Dead
Phillipine War (1898-1902) 4,196 Dead
Boxer Rebellion (1900-1901) 37 Dead
Mexican Revolution (1914-1919) 35 Dead
Haiti Occupation (1915-1934) 146 Dead
World War 1 (1917-1918) 116,708 Dead
World War 2 (1941-1945) 407,316 Dead
Korean War (1950-1953) 36,914 Dead
Vietnam War (1964-1973) 58,169 Dead
El Salvador (1980-1992) 20 Dead
Beirut (1982-1984) 266 Dead
Persian Gulf Support (1987-1988) 39 Dead
Invasion of Grenada (1983) 19 Dead
Invasion of Panama (1989) 40 Dead
Gulf War (1991) 269 Dead
Somalia (1992-1993) 43 Dead
Bosnia 1995 12 Dead
Afghanistan (2002-2009) 686+ Dead
Iraqi (2003-2009) 4,299+ Dead
Partial Source: U.S. Army Military History Institute; iCasualties.org
The New F-word…
It’s not what you think. I just wanted to get your attention. I am so sick of hearing about THAT place and THOSE people, I don’t think I’m ever going there on vacation ever again. My dad moved back from PCB last year, I know what Mickey Mouse looks like, I get my oranges from Publix.
We must draw a line in the sand!
It’s all some people can talk about. Can we cross the border and ever win on a regular basis? Uh yeah…it’s not the Bermuda Short Triangle, which some believe exists and is thought to be between Fernandina Beach, McClenny and St Augustine. Apparently great football players, at least those wearing red and black, all of a sudden lose their athletic ability. I think it’s called Ereptile Dysfunction. I call it BS.
Those teams from the F-State have always had great players with tremendous talent. I heard on one radio show or maybe it was on the Dawgvent that stated that the growth in the state of “F” have changed the dynamics of the W.L.O.C.P. shhhh or as some would say, the AA meeting for a beating. Well, unless the next QB is an 80 year old red shirt freshman named Haime Abramowicz, I ain’t making that excuse. The Dynamics that have changed is the Coitch…SS and UM…see I don’t even say their names in mixed company anymore.
See that face! We can make him do it again!
There is a fine line between focus and obsession and an even finer one between obsession and you are just being stupid. Are you one of those that has lost all perspective? I have talked about it once in the past week, because of someone else’s(MR) comments regarding the “F”.
Believe me, we should be worried about the “OS”.
What is Herschel Walker really like?
This ranks as THE most asked question by Georgia fans and friends I come into contact with day to day. I don’t mind, he was and is a one of a kind character in UGA history. As they say, The Man, The Myth, The Legend. His recent appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice was yet another example of how unique he is, in the context of celebrity. As Jesse James said, “He’s better in person than you expect”. The problem is, I thought I had a good answer to this question until I read his book. That threw me for a loop.
I did not see Herschel from 1980 to about 2003. Since then I have seen him on average about once a year or so. I have never seen anything like what he described in his book. Now, there is no doubt he marches to the beat of a different drummer. The only thing I’m familiar with is his unusual hours, needing very little sleep. I have heard Tiger Woods is the same way.
There have been times when we would attend the same autograph events and the vast majority of those in attendance would sign for a few hours late in the day, possibly 5-8 PM…Herschel shows up and signs from 12:00 midnight and signs stuff all night long. As you might imagine, there is a greater demand for Heisman Trophy winner swag than has-been kicker swag.
Herschel and I did not interact much in 1980 as we were both the type to keep to ourselves for the most part. The one exception was the Sugar Bowl when we first arrived. We ended up sitting together on the bus-ride from the airport. He was talking about being on Good Morning America the next morning, somewhat lamenting the pull from all directions for his time. I am still amazed at the apparent absence of affect from his life of what I would call “true celebrity”. Herschel has been a national celebrity for 30 years now. An international celebrity for much of that time.
He’s the same guy.
How can that be? I can’t imagine being on the level where you can’t go anywhere and not be recognized, with no down time to speak of. Some people are apparently made for that kind of life, while others freak out and become recluses or abusers of various and sundry mood alterers. I can’t say we’re close, but I’m glad to know him, even if it is on a somewhat superficial level. Some reasons are obvious with the NC and all, while other might not be so obvious.
I just admire his ability to achieve in whatever arena he’s chosen, and still looks for challenges both physical and otherwise.
I wish I could be more like that.
Tell me what you really think!