Been home barely a week and got my marching orders quickly from the boss. Get the Christmas lights u
p. 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!