Month: December 2017

Took a little time off from the Blog scene waiting for some info on my football adventures – some in Europe others here in North America.  There is always something going on in the football world – never a dull scene.

More of that later.

But some other cool things going on over the last few weeks.  Got down to the new Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit to watch Oakland University play Michigan State (hell of a game!)……saw the Oakland University tribute to Tom Ford……explored the Eastern Market and downtown Detroit for an afternoon…..Getting ready for Christmas…..preparing to go to a friend’s  wedding on New Year’s Eve (yup the boss made me by a suit) black tie affair.

Also spent some time in the college classroom with a good friend – Garth Pleasant had me come in to entertain (notice I didn’t say educate) his class.  Visited for two weeks talking about ethics in coaching.

***Garth Pleasant’s basketball coaching record at Rochester College – well he won 720 games.  Is that incredible or what.  Heck they named the arena after him.  Now he is the AD and teaches a few classes!***

Wow….ethics…hmmmm.  We spent a few years on probation at Arizona State.  Well OK it happened before we arrived, but it was still an interesting time.  Probation….ethics…gulp!

It was a lot of fun though.  Great bunch of young people who obviously are bright and engaged.

Down at the Eastern Market area of Detroit yesterday.  Had a great time with our friends Pete and Beth…..daughter Kaylee and her husband Josh.  Interesting area of our city.  A lot of neat things going on in Detroit – especially in Midtown.

Eastern Market region has always been a pretty interesting region with its small shops and eclectic feel (eclectic??).  Although a cold day it was a lot of fun wandering through the stalls and seeing the many different things for sale.

If you couldn’t find a poinsettia you liked for a very inexpensive price well you are never going to find one.  Wow, did they look awesome and the prices….well just not fair.  Very inexpensive.

 

                    

LOOK OUT!

Be prepared for a church to collapse or a lightning bolt to hit me Sunday (although we are looking for snow here not thunderstorms).  My wife is dragging me to church – chances are the roof may fall in when I walk inside.  Haven’t walked through the big doors for many a year.

Football on TV!

***Just watched Todd Gurley catch a screen and run for 80 yard TD – wow what a player.  I guess Jeff Fisher was right in drafting the QB…..he may have paid the price with his job.***

Damn – Bengals just went ahead of the Lions….frustrating.  I really don’t lose sleep over games anymore.  But, obviously love the Lions…..think the world of the Ford family…..still have many friends in the organization….a few guys on the team.  (Love to hear my friend Chris Spielman doing the game as well!)

This is the money time in the NFL.  Everyone is hurt…..the games will come down to how healthy you can get by game day – how you manage your preparation and practice.  If you find a healthy body in the locker room – he is a new guy, or hasn’t played very much.

These are real guys playing right now.  Tough guys who know how to manage pain and play thru hurts….Never want to play injured….but playing hurt – these guys do it.  Can’t tell you how much I admire these guys and how tough they are.

Giovanni Bernard – a real Pro!

SHOTS OF DOWNTOWN DETROIT

           

 

 

To my pals in Switzerland – Happy Holidays my friends.  Was thinking of you guys when I put on my red sweatshirt to make a batch of Christmas Chili (I guess Christmas Eve Chili).

CHRISTMAS CHILI!

The boss (Shawn) told me to build a pot of chili for the weekend.  So I did.  We were going to have Tom and Kathy Ford, Dave and Marie DeFrancis – their son  Mike over after church.  (The church did not collapse – nor was I hit by a bolt of lightning when I entered the building!)

Nice service by our friend Dave Wilson.  Way different gathering than I was used to at Our Lady of Hungary in Northampton, Pennsylvania.

Was very nice as I said.

We battle through the snow (must have five plus inches right now) come home for a nice visit and a good (mild) bowl of chili.  Looks like we will surely have a white Christmas…..love it!

OK some football information.

Looks like our plans for Switzerland for a clinic / combine in February came undone.  Frustrating because it was a great opportunity to help football in my second homeland.  But, sometimes that is the way it goes.

But, somehow, someway we will find a way to keep pushing our football forward.  Especially for the U19 team.  Can’t wait to get back to see my friends and continue on our march forward with football

My good friend Kurt Schottenheimer got me involved with a new adventure.  In Florida during late April into May some cool things happening.  Look up “Your Call Football”.

Kurt was our defensive coordinator in Detroit for several years.  Outstanding coach and a good friend.  He got me involved and it seems like a great idea.

Like Madden Football – the fans control the game.  They call the offensive plays.  Good luck with Monday morning quarterbacking if the fans call the plays!

Everything is live streamed and scored and rated per fan playing the game.  Sounds like a good idea that has real guys playing football – but the fans actually control the game with their calls.

Plus….43 days in Vero Beach at Dodgertown coaching football with my friends!  What more could you want?  What a life!

So, putting together another playbook for Kurt – getting ready for another adventure.

Another cool thing we have going is that we may be going to Italy to put on a clinic for their football federation.  With the possibility of football entering the Olympics in some form  more and more people throughout Europe are trying to gain more information.

Love it!

This post has been a real rambling effort on my part – sorry if my stream of consciousness is too much to handle….will get better.

Happy Holidays (Festivus??!!) to all.

 

 

OK…football over for the second luckiest man in the world.  Or is it?  Not so fast….. some really interesting things that are creeping up for the konkretekidinfootball.  More about that later.

The most important thing we have to talk about is the tremendous weekend we had here in southeastern Michigan!

And…..what a fantastic weekend we had here.  Celebration of Tom Ford’s career as the athletic trainer at Oakland University.  What an awesome guy….cannot say how much I admire Tom.  We have been friends since he first set foot into Michigan thirty some years ago.  (Wasn’t that a show years ago “Thirty something”??  OK that really has no relevance here….but you know me and how I drift off the point).

tfordstrong.org 

He has had some bad news in the last several months.  But if there is a stronger person out there I challenge you to find him.  No doubt ALS is nothing to trifle with….but T Ford will be the guy to push it back.  He already has this illness knocked back on it’s heels.

It is impossible to gage the influence he has had on the entire community at Oakland University.  Not just in athletics…..but everywhere on campus.  He touches everyone.  His kindness and willingness to always lend a hand is immeasurable.  Just look at how many people were there to watch his celebration at the Oakland University basketball game with Chicago State.

It was inspiring to see the people who came back to campus to spend some time with Tom!  This man has done so much for so many….the outpouring of love….unbelievable.

I personally was touched with the women’s basketball teams that were there to spend a minute remembering our great teams of the 80’s.  Coach Taylor and his wonderful family there to help Tom celebrate.  I may be wrong….but those teams won 100 games over a four year period.  Four appearances in the NCAA tournament….final four appearances!  What a great time.

Those girls could play some ball!  Remember that  wonderful win at Central Missouri State in the playoffs.  They had not lost a home game in a year or two and the Pioneers took it to them to get to the final four.  What a great trip.

Most of those young women were there to celebrate with Tom, his family and friends.  Again it was quite an afternoon.  So cool that Oakland University gave him the chair he sat in for thirty years serving not only as the best trainer in the world….but Greg Kampe’s rock and also his confidante.

(Oh by the way I have that chair in my truck….I might give it back to Tom in exchange for a case of Coors Light….Oh OK I’ll just give it to him.)

Outstanding get together later with literally hundreds of people celebrating with Tom.  We all spent several hours (imagine that) with Tom at RJ’s Pub.  A bar that we have been going to before Oakland became a Division I program.  Hell I even had dark hair in those days.

We have been going there so long that I can remember both the Fords and the Kampe’s bringing their young children there in bassinets….I probably have spent several hundreds of thousands of dollars there….well you know me!

Smallest chicken wings in the world at RJ’s (Paul Diegel and I call them sparrow wings!). But, they are good!

We really had a wonderful time with our extended family the Fords. So great that their friends and family from New Hampshire were able to come to Michigan and enjoy this celebration with Tom.

 

Been home barely a week and got my marching orders quickly from the boss.  Get the Christmas lights up.  She also told me we don’t need to be as decorative as usual with the kids gone.  Is Shawn turning into the Grinch?

Well she is right we won’t put as much stuff up….dream on….so we went from one Christmas tree (or do we have to call them Holiday Trees??!!?) to four.  You heard me right four.  Yup we are downsizing!

OK they are smaller than the one we usually had.

But as usual she did a fantastic job making the inside of the house festive.  Going to be a great holiday season.  I really love the time from the day before Thanksgiving thru New Year’s Day. A lot of visiting with friends, drinking beer, going out with old pals, drinking beer, Caroling (yeah scratch that one off the list) – drinking beer!

Lights went up without a hitch although I didn’t do the big tree in the front.  But I think we have just enough to win the neighborhood lighting contest…..Especially when I put the 20 foot Santa and his sled and reindeer(s) on the roof!

   

Oh can’t spend all of this time on this Holiday huggy – kissy stuff.  This blog is basically about football….OK maybe some history, travel etc. gets rolled in as well.

I was fortunate to be included in my friend Curtis Blackwell’s Sound Mind Sound Body Combine.  Held  right down the street from the still standing Silver Dome.  Quite an exhibition.

Very well run with certified equipment to do the timing and measurements.  Curtis and his group do a tremendous job and they are really tuned into the kids.  He is a native of Detroit and has a special spot for our home grown youngsters.

The SMSB combine had 150 or so athletes participating – what a debut for this type of operation.  Curtis has been operating SMSB for more than 15 years and this is the first time he had taken on such a large undertaking.  It went off very well.

My good friend Terry Copacia (All State Quarterback School) worked the QB’s out after the measured events.  I was fortunate to be able to help him like I try to do during the winter.  He is really a one-man show and one of the best teachers I have ever been around. (But I actually do help somewhat!)

We had ten young QB’s and wow most of these kids could let the ball fly.  Was a great three or four hour session.  Wouldn’t mind having a few of these guys walking around  the campus at Moravian.

Actually, there were many outstanding young guys working out. If you took a few guys from each position and made a team you would have quite a squad.

My friend Giorgio Volpi in Switzerland is trying  to organize a clinic for the coaches in Switzerland and also for the Italian Federation as well.  He and I have Skyped (yes I am an international Skyper!) about this and several other ideas.

I can see me in Rome right now.  Look out Coliseum (or Colosseum)!  Could be another adventure for me – the “assistant”  Ambassador of Football (Giorgio is the true Ambassador).

By the way I am in my second week of trying to teach myself how to speak Italian.  Rosetta Stone and Duolingo are my teachers.  Going is slow – conjugating verbs….yuck.  But I am working on it.

Io ne gialla machchina……I am not a yellow car!  Hah what a life.

Other options are popping up as well.  My friend Kurt Schottenheimer asked me to jump on a football venture in Florida (Dodgertown in Vero Beach.)  A little more than a month working with some young players in April and May.  Sounds interesting for the konkretekidinfootball!

Kurt was our coordinator in Detroit for a few years and is one of the most respected guys I know.  Plus he is a great guy!  We should have a good time.  It is also a great opportunity to become a better coach for me.

Back to partying and drinking beer.

Attended our first of many get togethers at our friends the  Szpunars’ (Good Irish name – hah!). What a spread.  It was a party for the ladies’ card group.  But we guys got invited!

The kids showed up as well.  Although Chris could not make it home from Grand Rapids I  think the four Musketeers had a good time.  I’m sure they more then made up for him – although the next day Corey looked much better than the last time this crew got together.

    

I’m sure this is just the beginning of many outstanding efforts for this festive season.   I can see a few beeramyds making their way across the old Facebook page here and there.

 

What a Life!

Caio!