San Tan Youth Football League Eagles

Having made it through the first week of practice, the Birds are at it again in what looks to be another promising year for the club.  The boys have been running their butts off and sweating like dogs in a Chinese restaurant as they prepare for the upcoming season.

I’ve personally been focusing on the Jr. Pee Wee team as my son Drew plays on that team, but I’ve certainly taken notice of the Mighty Mights and Pee Wees as they drag various objects across the football field.  I couldn’t help but think of the grueling training scenes in Rocky IV when Rock was training in a barn out in the middle of nowhere. (queue Eye of the Tiger)

Practice resumes Monday after a well deserved weekend rest for the club.  Keep driving boys… your rewards await you.

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Hey everyone… quick post here on practice this week.  Practice will be held as follows:

• Tuesday 9/2: 6-8pm
• Wednesday 9/3: 6-8pm
• Thursday 9/4: 6-8pm
• Friday 9/5: 6-8pm

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Hallelujah… the football season is no longer just around the corner, it’s here folks… in all of it’s splendid glory!  The 2008 Mighty Might Eagles took the field as a unit for the very first time last night to begin the requisite pre-conditioning routine.  I have to admit, I was impressed with the kids as they seemed to be a little ahead of the curve in terms of coordination and how quickly they adapted to what they were being asked to do.  I was expecting a lot more “Fred Astaire” routines as the coaches ran the boys thru agility drill after agility drill.

Also of note… they actually executed the E-A-G-L-E-S… EAGLES chant flawlessly at the end of practice.  If you weren’t there last year or didn’t see the year-end DVD… the first Eagles chant actually made the blooper reel as the boys more or less couldn’t buy a vowel on their first attempt.  And while I hesitate to use the word “cute” in a football context… that was just plain “cute”.

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In case you haven’t heard… the Eagles will be gathering for a preseason event at the Roy Rogers Equestrian Ranch on Saturday, August 2nd at 9am.  I lost the email, so I don’t have all the particulars, but I was able to catch the “pancake” part.  The gathering will give the boys a chance to get to know each other and the coaches a little better before the season starts.  Oh and bring your bathing suits if you want to go swimming.  Should be a blast!  Looking forward to catching up with you all at the party.

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Hey Eagles fans… Coach Gene drafted the note below regarding the upcoming season.  Check that… the note that Coach Gene plagiarized regarding the upcoming season.  There, that’s better.

All kidding aside, I was incredibly impressed with the support and cooperation of the parents last year.  Other than those incidents that I personally instigated, I can’t think of one incident that caused any issues last season.  I suspect this year will be no different.  I’m also sure that Coach Gene feels the same way too, but hey… it goes along with the job.  So, now that we’ve gotten all of the obligatory sarcasm out of the way, I give you Coach Gene…

NOTE TO PARENTS:
Please realize we, the coaches, are volunteers, and by no means are we perfect.  We will make some mistakes, but do promise to do our best to teach your son the basic fundamentals of tackle football.  The number one goal of this coaching staff, is that each and every player on this team, regardless of record, will want to continue to play football next year, and that the skills learned and friendships made will continue throughout their young lives.

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Hey Eagles fans!  Jenny NeVille recently emailed everyone with the practice schedule for the upcoming season and a few laundry list items. By the way… anyone want to buy a raffle ticket?  Anyway, I thought I’d post Jenny’s email here to further fortify my good guy status.

“… There might be some adjustments but this is what it is now. I am also attaching the sponsor letter and the rules that were signed. Keep selling those raffle tickets! Byerley, the Durham brothers and Brewer sold all there tickets and requested more! Way to go Eagles! We will be drawing the lucky winners on Opening Day, September 6th. Also, I have put in the order for the football uniforms, so they should be ready by game day! To place the order I had to put 30% down and I will have to pay the remainder 70% before they will ship the uniforms. So please if you know anyone or company that can sponsor our team that would be wonderful! For those of you that ordered your own helmet, Schutt has received the order and the helmets should be ready the first week of August. For those of you who need practice pants, there should be some available at certification this Saturday for you to pick up.

Practices will be held at Desert Mountain Park on Ocotillo and Hawes.  Conspicuously close to coach Gene’s house… and mine too for that matter.  Awesome!!  Practices are from 6-8pm.

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They never saw it coming. Blind-sided I tell you. It seemed a bit bizarre that the coaches were seemingly wrapping up practice at 7:30 tonight as the boys gathered in the middle of the practice field. Had we known better, we would have noticed the coaches looking over at the Peanut Gallery gettin’ all chucklehead and such. Del Caron even mentioned that they looked like they were up to something…

Then it happened… they issued the challenge. “Calling all fat men!”, cried Coach Erwin. “Get out here you numb nuts”, belted Coach Beaver. “That means you too Ardans”, exclaimed Coach Romel. And then, like a herd of hippos, the boys in the Peanut Gallery began to make the gradual ascent from the comfy confines and relative safety of the sidelines.

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I promised Bill Oram that I’d post an injury update today on Walker Pattyson, so here it is. According to Coach Gene, Walker’s neighbor - an ER Nurse - checked out his arm and concluded that there wasn’t a break. Walker’s a tough kid, so I’m sure we’ll see him on the field this Saturday! Also, it’s Walker’s B-Day today so…

Happy Birthday Walker!!

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On the heels of the unfortunate incident at Tempe High School last week, I thought it was appropriate to revisit the notion of sportsmanship. To our young Eagles who may not fully understand the concept… you know how Coach Gene always says “Do the little things right, and big things will happen”?. Well, sportsmanship is one of those “little things” that leads to “big things” happening.

So what is Sportsmanship?

Sportsmanship is a great tradition in sports and competition that means playing clean and handling both victory and defeat with grace, style, and dignity. This is the reason why you guys line up after each game to shake the hands of your opponents at the end of each game… win or lose.

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Ladies and Gentlemen… for the first time in several weeks the Eagles (5-1) are at full strength as they prepare for their showdown with the Rattlers (4-2). Apparently, this is a good thing as the Rattlers coaching staff informed Coach Romel that the Eagles “better bring their A+ game this Saturday”. I don’t know where y’all come from, but in Philly… dems fightin’ words!

I didn’t catch most of the practice tonight, but the peanut gallery informed me that the boys were pretty intense as they prepared to shake down the Rattlers this weekend. Orem and Ingram returned from vacation (great to have you back fellas)… and the team looked locked and loaded as they wrapped up a special teams at the end of practice.

Football’s in the air fellas… can you smell it?

Check back tomorrow for an updated standings and some random STYFL ramblings. Have a great Eagles day!

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