Protecting what is valuable

Why is it that so often we take for granted the most valuable aspects of our lives? Relationships, families, our health, our employment, our time? It seems so easy to gloss over these important aspects of our lives sometimes.  And it is not that we necessarily intend to minimize their importance all of the time. However, sometimes conscious decisions are made to put more emphasis on the trivial, the fleeting, the self gratifying.  When this is done it devalues what is important.

In football there are three basic tenets. Block well, tackle well and above all else secure the football.  To be successful at this game those three must have the greatest value.  They are the core of success. Other important aspects have a factor in being successful; throwing, catching, camaraderie  but in the “hierarchic of value”  of football, those three rein supreme especially protecting the football.   And I can hear the argument now..”but Coach, shouldn’t effort be the most important?” My response would simply be that effort without direction is mostly pointless.  One could be the best snow shoveler in Florida but what purpose does that really serve.

Last week your Colonels faced a very solid St. Paul Lutheran squad out of Concordia, Mo. While our boys played most of the game with great effort, we did not value the football and ended up with far-far too many turnovers. A young team such as ours cannot expect to have success without retaining the ball against such a good opponent. 

This week we will face an undefeated California, Mo team that is ranked #1 in our district. It should pose a formidable challenge but it also a tremendous opportunity  This will be the first playoff game, on the road, and with it being against a #1 seed, will truly be a test of our character. I am anxious to see our boys approach the game with focus, confidence and knowing what to value. Thursday nights game can be another positive step in the direction of this program.

Lastly, I wanted to share some thoughts that were shared with your boys this week from MMA Alumnus Paul Petit ’85:

“At the end of the day, when you are about to close your eyes, ask yourself, these two simple questions:

·        Did I do my best….. ?   

·        Could I have done it better…. ?”  

If we can answer that in the affirmative then we will know we have been a success.

ON ACADEMY!

Embracing Adversity

Challenging, difficult, tough.  The conditioning, changes in weather, injuries large and small, eligibility issues and losses all take a toll. That is a normal football season for most teams, coaches, and players. For your young men at MMA it generally is even tougher than most. The early wake ups, the inspections, leadership opportunities, being led by your peers, the multiple-multiple time demands, the rigid academics, being away from home, shortened and condensed practice schedules. All of these contribute to a difficult environment.

AND THAT IS NOT A BAD THING!

That is what we want. What we desire for these young men. We want them put in challenging situations so that they can learn to excel. We want them to do tasks faster, better, cleaner and more correct than their peers. We expect them to achieve a higher standard in what they do. This is why high school Academies such as MMA exist. It is why the service academies and military colleges have continually produced leaders over the past 150 years. Because we not only demand excellence, but we teach our cadets how to embrace adversity.

Adversity is not something to shy away from. When presented it should be ran at full throttle, given a bear hug and thrown to the ground with confidence!  Flinching and floundering when the task at hand is difficult is commonplace. Any soul can do that. What we want is our young men to attack the challenge, knowing full well that each challenge defeated brings growth. That growth defeats discouragement as well as increases learning, confidence and future success.

So far this season has not been easy, and at times we collectively have withered in the face of adversity, preferring the easy task over the hard one.  But that is changing. Those that have attended the games have seen the resiliency of these young men displayed. Perhaps not as often as desired, but they continue to fight strongly throughout the duration of each game. With youngsters contributing and thriving during difficult times,  as well as a solid core of juniors and seniors providing leadership and beginning to attack and thrive on adversity, we are pleased with the “process” of the season so far. We, as a school and as a coaching staff, are asking a tremendous amount from your boys, and our expectations are very high. I know they will continue to rise to meet them as the leadership matures and as they grow in strength as a team to approach adversity with excitement and vigor, anticipating the next challenge overcome.

Running for the Prize

What a tremendous, tremendous week it has been for your Colonels. Scoreboard aside (we will get to that in a second), our football boys have had an excellent week. Starting with last Friday’s game against Grandview. For those of you unable to attend, it was by far the best game (or at least 1st half) of the season. Enthausiausm, intensity, gang tackles, much better assignment & alignment discipline, in a word EFFORT! There were still a few too many mental mistakes that led to scoring by Grandview and negated good drives by the Fighting Colonels. But those are being minimized and will continue to be decreased.

The game ended in a 43-6 defeat after a 20-0 halftime score. John O’Leary ’13, returned a kickoff 65 yards for a TD. Conner Wilkinson ’14 led an improved passing attack but threw 2 interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and put the game out of reach late in the 2nd half. However the far most pleasing part of the day was the continued effort and enthiausium the carried the name “Fighting Colonels” proudly throughout the evening.   I am uncertain if this is a turning point for this program or not, but what we witnessed out there was a conscious and collective decision to have fun and give their physical best on each play. And the results on the field and in the stands were noticeable. Every team goes out competing each weekend with the “hope” and “intent” to win, but those who come out on top do so because of the mental and physical effort expended. All of what they do is simply to win, on the field and in life, with minimal wasted effort.  One of my all time favorite verses states: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” We hope that we can continue to practice and play this Saturday with the same passion against the Principia Panthers this Saturday, so that we know we have competed hard enough to be eligible for the prize.

The host Panthers will be looking for their 2nd win of the season in their first home game of the year. This game will mark the first event on their brand new turf field.  Look for them to try and spread out your Colonels with a varied running attack using HB #2 So Mavrick Holmsley and QB #7 JR Matthew Gilman.  Defensively you can expect to see LB #33 SR Alex Lamie all over the field making plays.

MMA Will continue to try to build their offense behind the running of DT Owens ’15, Brennan Darnell ’14 and Chris Nguyen ’13 while occasionally looking down field to Nick Vanatta ’13, Jacob Preister ’14, John O’ Leary ’13 and Lucas Lowry ’14.  It should be an interesting match-up of two teams attempting to get to the same goal through different means.

Unit next week

-ON ACADEMY!

Continuous Effort

 

Sorry for the delay folks. This will be rather brief, but I wanted to get you come quick information out about last week and today’s game.

Last Friday your Colonels fell in a shut out to the Winfield Warriors. Judging statistically and as a coach it was by far our worst effort of the year. I use that word “effort” intentionally. In the 2nd half, and all week in practice , we have seen a much greater increase in “effort.” At times it seems that our boys and our current culture become too focused on results rather than the process and the effort actually required to obtain those results. As we continue to stress this to these young men it is important to remind them of the positive steps that come along the way. It is also important to impress to them that effort cannot be a switch that is just turned on when we want it to be. Effort must be at all times, good or bad. It must be a continuous  fluid force throughout their daily lives, not just on an athletic field.

As we continue to preach this, we have seen a marked improvement in the tempo and intensity of practice this week and I look forward to seeing the positive aspects of it manifest itself through the team on the field.

This week we will be facing the Grandview Eagles out of Hillsboro, MO. They come into the game with a 2-1 record and will be a solid test for our young men.  However I do expect to see a difference in how our young men play, compete and lead against a solid opponent.

-On Academy!

Full Strength Ahead…Together

This week marks an exciting point for your Colonels football team. For the first time this season we will be able to have all 50 young men eligible for competition!  Several players will be making their first appearance for MMA on the field and several more will be playing organized football for the first time. The addition of several players should greatly benefit us and give us not only more talent on the field but greater depth throughout the game.  Some of the the 18 players who gained there eligibility this week and will be suiting up are:

# 24 John O’Leary ’13: Should see significant action in the defensive back field and adds speed the team offensively.

#21 Chris Nguyen ’13: Will contribute as a running back and returner.

#17 Ethan Rachell ’13: Will add depth to the secondary and will be a special teams standout.

#4 Dillion Dawson ’14 & #38 Jon Johnston ’14: Both will contribute to the secondary and receiving corps and add good speed to the field.

#99 Ivan Quiroz ’14:Will start as a DE. Strong solid hitter who plays the game fiercely.

#9 Jack Moore ’16: Tough freshman RB/LB who will contribute in multiple phases.

And then the Big Boys… #72 Oscar Gutierez ’13, #67 Emeterio Gomez ’13, #55 Daniel Fernandez ’14, # 78 Marcello Gomez ’14 and #56 Juan Carlos Aguirre ’16: These big boys add over 1400lbs of strength and power to our offensive and defensive lines.

 

After a tough outing at Van-Far last week, we are looking to improve on our performance. Several turnovers (5) and sloppy tackling in slippery conditions helped give the home team the edge. After overcoming some difficulties in the first half the boys were hanging tough 18-6. But miscues in ball handling gave the Indians a short field several times and we just couldn’t contain the hard running of their QB, Ethan Gooch. This week we will face a similar hard running team in the Winfield Warriors. First year Coach Keith McGlasson has his run centered team sitting at 1-1 on the season. They will look to feed the ball to Senior # 35 Jerel Hall. On the season he has rushed for almost 300 yards and one touch down.  Coach McGlasson will also rely on another pair of seniors in #45 Dustin Kneemiller and #36 Aaron Aubuchon to lead his team on both sides of the ball.  Though they wont be the biggest team your Colonels face this year, expect tough play from them defensively and lots of misdirection and hard running offensively.

It should be a great week for MMA Football with all of the new faces taking the field and the old boys settling back into game speed.  They are motivated and together and improving greatly every week. As always we are excited for you and for our boys, as our Fight song says: “We’ll stand up for you! Fight and hold for the Maroon and Gold, to these colors we are true.” -On Academy!

The Good and Bad of Sloppy

Sloppy:

1. Marked by a lack of neatness or order; untidy: a sloppy room.

2. Marked by a lack of care or precision; slipshod: sloppy use of language.

Last week’s performance by your Colonels was sloppy. It was un-focused, un-sure, un-precise. It was also very much “un-MMA.” Our boys started out in a very quick 20 point hole in the first quarter because we were sloppy. Assignments, routes, ball security, tackling. None of it was terrible, but it was not up to the standard that is demanded of them, a standard that they are very capable of. We have see the affect in practice this week, greater focus, cleaner and crisper all around. Knowing that they did not play their best is understandable, but knowing that they did not give their best seems to have given them greater purpose, and this is expected.  Collectively we have put that game behind us and are looking forward to this week.

Sloppy:

4. Of, resembling, or covered with slop; muddy or slushy: sloppy ground.

5. Watery and unappetizing: a sloppy stew.

6. Spotted or splashed with liquid.

Tonight’s game will be another definition of sloppy. With rain beginning this morning and continuing through the weekend we expect nothing but a soggy, muddy, wet, wonderful opportunity.  I am sure there will be minimal fans in the stands this week as we travel to Vandalia, Mo to take on the Van-Far Indians.  And in truth, that can actually be a good thing. It can bring the game down to its essence, without the outside distractions. Playing simply for one’s self, to out man the person across from you. A personal test to see who can win that 6 seconds. Purposefully having to focus on your footwork, ball security and hand placement despite the wet and muddy conditions. Which man can do the simple things the best an whip their opponent.  I can still remember a game early in high school. A freshman away game and it was wet and foggy. So foggy you couldn’t see all the way across the field. Couldn’t notice the stands.  And yet 20+ years later it is still one of my most memorable games. I don’t remember the score even, but I remember the level of focus I HAD to have. I remember more specific details about it than most of the 100 some odd games I have played. That is what we are looking for tonight from your young colonels men. Higher focus, greater attention to detail. Continuing to do things better, the MMA way.

Tonight’s game will be between to teams hoping to even out their records at 1-1. Van-Far fared poorly in their opening game an they will look to Seniors Ethan Gooch and Devontay Wilkerson to shoulder most of the load offensively. Along with those two look for Senior Brian Kurtz and Junior Woodrow Jackson to control their 4-3 defense.  Sophomore Quarterback Lucas  Robinson suffered a foot injury last week and if he plays will bring good passing with shifty running into the equation.

For MMA tonight expect to see an even greater emphasis on the running game. After a solid performance running the ball in the JV game against Fulton on Monday by quarterbacks DT Owens ’15 and Connor Wilkinson ’14 they will be given more liberty to gain yards on the ground. Also the addition of Leonardo Lozano ’13 will add strength to the offensive line (average weight 240lbs) and should yield greater results in the running game.  With the weather conditions and a need to establish the run expect us to live by the old standby tonight; “When nothing is going right, run left.”  I fully expect a greater amount of focus, confidence and discipline from our young men and look forward to the challenges this games brings tonight.

-On Academy!

About Dang Time……

28 Hours. That is all that is left till your Colonels football team kicks off the season. One day and only one practice left. And I think I speak for all of the players, coaches, parents, faculty, administration and fans when I say…..FINALLY!

Football is quite the fleeting entity. Young men all over the nation prepare like crazy for around 10 chances to prove themselves. Weeks of practice, camp, summers of lifting and running, yet all the games together yields only 30 hours out of the year actually on the field. The total time competing is minuscule compared to other sports. This is what makes football so great, why each game feel so important. Why the build up feels so intense. How the reactions from unbridled yelling to butterflies in the stomach come so easily. 10 games, one each week, starting tomorrow night. One chance out of ten to prove ourselves on that hallowed field. Its about dang time!

Tomorrow nights game will marked by several “Firsts.” To begin with, your Colonels will be facing a new opponent, The West Hancock Titans out of Illinois. Their 40 man squad is actually made up of 3 smaller rural schools co-oping to form one football team. Second year coach Brian Lewton looks to improve on his 0-10 record against very tough competition last year. Coach Lewton is originally from Monroe City where he led his HS to the Missouri Class 2A state championship. The Titans will primarily use an exciting, wide open passing attack on offense led by first year starter Senior Coy Dorothy. The 6′ 180lb QB saw significant playing time last year throwing for 350 yards and 4 TD’s and will pose a significant threat to the Colonels defense. Look for him to specifically target #44 Sr. Kolbie Schilson. The 6’2 190lb WR had 41 catches for 569 yards and 2 TD’s last year. Defensively the returning trio of Schilson, SR. Jed Schlicher and SR. Coltin Taylor accounted for 100 tackles last year and will be the strength of this Titans Defense up the middle.

Your MMA Fightin’ Colonels have been hard at work through camp and the squad of 50 young men has been gelling as a team very, very well. Along with several returning starters, there are several “first” year players will will contribute on both sides of the ball. For a quick preview lets start with our 2012 Captains:

Nick Vanatta ’12-Nick is a returning starter on both sides of the ball. He will contribute greatly as the quarterback of the defense at FS and is a dynamic playmaker at WR.
Nick Mabbs ’12-Nick is an excellent young man with tremendous vocal leadership skills, a veritable coach on the field as a 3 year starter. He will anchor and direct the OL as center and will see time in multiple roles on defense.
Luke Lowry ’11-Quite possibly the most versitile and explosive player on the team. Luke is a natural football player and will lead by example in all phases. A two year starter on both sides of the ball he will provide great experience.
Jacob Preister ’13-A born leader. Tremendous direction and presence. Will serve the team in all three phases of the game. First year player for MMA and also a leader on the soccer team.

Other notable returning starters are: OL/DL Leonardo Lozano ’13, OL/LB Gilly Villarreal ’13, OL/DL Marcello Gomez ’14, QB/CB Detallion Owens ’15, FB/DE D’Cherion Owens ’15, OL/DL Jason Boisseau ’13, RB/DB Chris Nguyen ’13, WR/CB Jordan Brown ’14 and WR/DB John O’Leary ’13. Expect these young men to uphold the high expectations we have for them both on and off the field.

As for new comers, we have been blessed to have many great newboys out for football this year, they all appear to be great young men and many are extremly talented: QB Connor Wilkinson ’14, TE/LB Santiago Prieto ’14, OL/DL Jesus Herrera ’14, RB/DB Kurtis Mennemeier ’13, OL/DL Aubrey Davidson ’14, OL/DL Daniel Fernandez ’14, WR/DB Mark McKee ’15, RB/LB Austin Grosjean ’13, RB/LB Brennan Darnall ’14, WR/DB Jon Johnston ’14 and K/P Patricio Herrera ’13.  There are many other new and old boys who will contribute this year, with a squad of 50 we will have depth that we have not had in a long time and it should equate to better practices and an even better product on the field.

I can’t express how excited myself and the coaching staff are for this team and the expectations we have for them, both on the field and as young men. It should be a great year. Now lets hurry up and get on the with games….finally!

ON ACADEMY!

For a link to the full VAR and JV Schedule please click here: http://www.missourimilitaryacademy.org/athletics/documents/FootballSchedule.pdf