Month: October 2021

OK, so apparently some of the board of directors of the Thun Tigers are worried that I am bored on the days with no football training sessions here in my “mountainside retreat.” They may call Strattlighugel 46 a homestead on a big hill – but as some baseball umpire once called out … “I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.” This is a MOUNTAIN I live on!

Trust me, I am not bored. I found a nice gym to workout in. A lot of equipment – not many people.  So that is an everyday occurrence for me.  A seventeen-minute walk down the MOUNTAIN …. a little bit more going up.

After a workout usually drop by Lidl (LEE del) to buy some food for the day (OK beer as well!) then trudge up the hill … It is pretty damn steep I assure you.  Work on some football stuff when I get home.  Sometimes walk back down the slope and take a cruise on Bus #1 from Gwatt Deltapark into the Thun Bahnhof (Thun Train Station).

Thun is a nice place to wander around – there are a lot of neat little places to explore and several nice outdoor places to eat as well.  And now that you can eat indoors things should start to pick up.

I had fun sitting under a small umbrella a few weeks ago trying to eat a pizza in a driving rainstorm.  (They gave the dumb broken down American football coach the table closest to the edge of the covered area – even with several others well under an overhang were available?!?)  I did get soaked and maybe they had a laugh.

But, the pizza was really good and the three-dollar tip I left was purposely short.  OK I am a dumbass – they must have been really laughing as I walked away.  They watched me get totally rain soaked without complaining and since you really don’t have to tip in Switzerland.  Well …  just maybe I am not really smart.

Which brings me to overcoming my mental deficiencies with “Brain Training!”

My landlord (really my friend as well)  .. Ruedi has convinced me that I need to take a class he takes called  “Brain Training”with him.  Now … imagine this.  It is comical for him trying to convince me to go.  He speaks just a little English and my meager knowledge of Swiss German is counting to ten …knowing how to say the word “shit”… and the words for left, right, up and down!

If we could video our interactions and conversations it would be hilarious.  But, we get along famously.  Beer brings everyone closer!

OK so I know …  back to “Brain Training.”  It really is fascinating and makes sense.  Obviously I am not an MD and what do I know?  But, I will tell you it is truly a mentally exhausting hour.

Our instructor Mareke Banzinger – Plocher.  She is an excellent tennis player here in Switzerland (also played at Kansas State for a year by the way) who teaches this course.

Trust me it will wear you out.  We flip balls in the air … then to each other, Then we flip them to ourselves changing hands.  flip the balls while doing simple (no – hard) footwork drills.  Play games throwing balls, bouncing balls, kicking balls to each other calling out colors, numbers, code words etc.  You have to remember what colored ball means what and what names (animals, colors numbers you have to say!)

There is coordination, memorization, movement, combination skills. It is really hard.  But, it is fun as well.  If you aren’t ready to laugh at yourself – well forget this because you are going to screw up!  Awesome stuff.

Constantly thinking and working with other people!

OK have to stop for a second here even harder for my classmates.  The other people in the class speak some English .. but they are Swiss German!  (They realize I only know how to count to ten  …  say “shit” and know right, left, up and down in Swiss German) so they do this in English for me.  How amazing is that??!!

The nicest people in the world!

So, The board of directors of the Tigers  should know I am not bored.  Losing money by the minute … but certainly not bored!

Thinking about expanding my blog with stories about my years with the Lions and other football (mis)adventures.  My close friend Terry Copacia has always encouraged me to right down these stories for our other friends.  He says to write a book.

However, I am not disciplined enough to do that.  You have to work at writing a book.  All I do well is drink beer.  Any way have to think about putting this down in my blog!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Billy Jim Baker wrote a song that Jerry Jeff Walker recorded called “Contrary to Ordinary.”  Billy Jim, by the way, is a professional clown and a member of the Clown Hall of Fame.

Baker was a friend of the late Jerry Jeff and actually once convinced him to work at a circus with him.  A picture of Walker in full clown regalia can be seen on the back of album he made by the same name “Contrary to Ordinary.”

Anyway, some of the lyrics that Billy Jim wrote and Jerry Jeff recorded (yeah, I know Billy Jim and Jerry Jeff – who he affectionately called Jacky Jack – the names can make your mind spin) are the inspiration for this collection of things that happened as I stumbled through life.

This journal is just that – a collection of stories – or (mis)adventures as I say.  They aren’t anything special in the scope of the real world as it is.  However, here they are for those who want to see them.

Really, they aren’t stories as much as episodes that have played out throughout my life.  Stealing from Billy Jim’s writing and Jerry Jeff’s singing comes Joe Don Clemons’ (mis)adventures in football – the greatest team game in the world.

Some lines from Billy Jim’s writing and Jerry Jeff’s singing:

                        And I was contrary to ordinary Even as a child Fast freights made me wonder The full moon still drives me wild And stories do come true You just got to live your life in episodes With one eye on a lady And one eye still on that open road

I hope you like some of them.  Like my close friend Bert Hill says they are true (well mostly), but … well life still is “stranger than fiction!”

“Stranger than fiction” …. Bert Hill

 

A few days ago I knew that I was going to have pretty much an entire day to myself, so I decided to try my new train pass out.  I love the train system here in Switzerland (also a big fan of their entire public transit system).  The US could learn a lot about mass transit by studying how it is done in my second homeland.

My friend Dan Frey the past president of the Tigers had arranged for me to have a special travel pass for bus, train and boat.  Well, to me it was better than having a car which they were going to get me.  Hell, I don’t like driving at home.  Me, behind the wheel in a foreign country – not going to happen.

Well, I figured by train – I could go to Bern which would be fun because I have stayed there two different times and I know the city and love “Old Town”.   Or I could take the hour trip to Interlaken and visit another place that I have been on previous trips.

I flipped a coin in my mind (yeah, I know how do you flip a coin in your mind?).  So, Interlaken won.  OK I just wanted to go that way I guess.

I hopped on the #1 bus at the Gwatt Deltapark Stop (My friend Pascal was driving … I’m even making friends with the bus drivers! – friends will become voters when I run for Mayor of Gwatt!) and travel down to the Thun Bahnhof to see about a train to Interlaken.

If you get frustrated with all of my parenthetical phrases – just skip them.  (I just can’t help myself.  Hah!  Got you)

Now honestly, I was having some questions about this travel pass.  A few weeks earlier I had to go into the train station to get my picture taken for this voucher.  The official taking my picture was a very friendly guy who said – you’ll love this credential because all of your train rides are half price … he didn’t know about the bus.

After my ten-minute ride with Pascal on Bus #1 I jump off the yellow transport – stroll into the Bahnhof – walk up to the ticket window.  Tell the gentleman behind the glass I wanted a round trip ticket to Interlaken.  I give him my special SwissPass photo identification – he squints, looks at it, shakes his head and charges me like 17 Swiss Francs.

I know the roundtrip would cost every Tom, Dick and Harry (US phrase to my Swiss friends) the same 17 CHF. What gives – I get no discount?

I tell him that I thought this super-duper, over the top, fantabulous plastic credit card looking thing with my old looking picture on it gave me like superpowers – and at the very least a half-price ticket.

He shrugged but then started typing into his computer.  Squints again (I think he needs glasses, but he had them on his head and not eyes), looks perplexed.  Types some more – sits up straight and looks at me in wonderment.  “You can ride anywhere you want for free – you need no ticket.”

So, obviously no one knows how this pass works.  I’ve even looked on line for information.  Trust me whoever wrote up the SwissPass section of their travel brochure – made things even more confusing … this thing was as clear as mud.

So naturally I figure that the conductor on the train was certainly going to clean this situation up.  He would either accept this card and tell me that I indeed have the superpowers I do so deserve or he would toss me off the train.

Well – let me put all of this on hold and let me tell my US friends something so cool about Switzerland.  You can walk into a local store attached to the Bahnhof and by a cold beer in a can (no bag needed like in US). Then you can get on a bus, train or simply walk around the streets and drink it.  That would just shatter our reality in the states.

In fact you can buy beer from a vending machine as well  … I know, simply amazing!

My God – that would just shake our world.  In fact, the passengers in a car can drink.  Yet, I guarantee they have far less problems than we find in the US!  Not advocating this – just presenting a point.

OK I buy a big Heineken beer (see photo in collection below) for the ride to Interlaken.  I figure at least if I get “86ed” off the train (US phrase for “kicked off” the train) by the conductor I’d have a beer in hand.

We board up … go all the way to Interlaken and NO CONDUCTOR!?!  Hell, they always walk through all the cars and check the tickets.  Not this time Batman!

So, I get off the train and wander around Interlaken.  Even though I already know it is a tourist trap it really isn’t crowded so I just shuffle along looking at shops.  Stop, sit down for a beer at an outdoor café.  It’s a pleasant afternoon – just having fun snapping pictures and enjoying the scenery.

By the way there is a Hooter’s in Interlaken..  Been there before with the boss (wife) a few years ago when we were here.  I do have to tell you that this one could not hold a candle to any I have been in back home (trust me I have been to a few by the way).

I am not talking about the waitress’ outfits.  I am talking about the food.  If you boycott Hooters on your principles I have no qualms about that.  But, I am boycotting Hooters Interlaken because their food is not real good.  In the US those wings at Hooters are damn good.

Now as I decide it is time to go home.  The true test of the SwissPass card might be brought to light.

I walk into the ticket office and ask the young lady if I could have a one-way ticket to Thun.  After handing her my fancy superpower photo ID with secret codes and computer lines and data I might learn even more.

She doesn’t blanch, squint or scratch her head.  She simply types a few keystrokes on her keyboard.  Sees the info on her screen – hands me my card back.  “Yes, just like I thought … you need no ticket and ride is always free until November.”

I sidestep into another little store attached to their train station.  Buy another Heineken.  (What the heck right??)  Hop onto the train for the return trip to Thun.  Should be interesting – but, well will there be a Conductor for this trip.  Who knows??  At least I have my Heineken right?

By the way almost every trip by train in Switzerland can be breathtaking.  Unbelievable scenery.

OK, we pass a few stops … here comes the Conductor.  He checks the people sitting in the rows in front of me.  Gets to me, mask on… beer in hand.

A second of me feeling some panic as he pulls out his special gizmo to check tickets.  Runs it over the card.

I hold my breath…. He looks at me says “Merci”  with a smile and walks on down the aisle to the next passenger….I crack the Heineken and once again I realize “Once again the world is spinning in greased grooves!”

So, sometimes ideas come to you out of the BLUE.  Today I was wandering around downtown Thun, Switzerland waiting to sign some papers at the immigration office so I wouldn’t be tossed out of my second homeland.

I’m staring out across the River Aare and its beautiful BLUE waters (seriously this color BLUE is a little different than the Lehigh River I grew up with in eastern PA.)  Looking at the Thun Castle … also the entryway to Old Town and just being pretty happy to be hanging out as a broken down old football coach here in this postcard-like country in the Alps.  Honestly, what more could you want?

The vivid BLUE waters of Lake Thun are created in the Bernese Alps which eventually empties into the River Aare.  The Aare then snakes down around the city of Thun and pushes on to circle around the Swiss capitol of Bern flowing under eighteen bridges (source = Wikipedia) and out to eventually become a tributary of the mighty Rhine River.

****Just an aside here … apparently the people of Thun and I would imagine her visitors as well… will often jump into the Aare from its bridges and float along from different parts of the city.  They will get out and visit local bars and restaurants.  This is something I can’t wait to see! (or maybe try).

Oh yeah – one more thing to my pal Carl Clapp who is in the Phoenix area and told me he was going to take a “tube” ride down the great Salt River like we did hundreds of times together – Hey here in Switzerland – they actually tube the River Aare through Bern!  “Nomad” my goal is to “tube the Aare!”  (They can’t be as sophisticated as we were tubing with a keg of beer can they??!!)****

So … back to me looking out over this fantastic cityscape along the BLUE waters of the River Aare.  I think back about how I am able to be here.  Yup .. goes back to football and everything it has allowed me to do.  The people along the way.  Coaches, players, friends – obviously family and the boss (wife) allowing me to do what I just like to do.

Pretty damn lucky.

Then a lightning bolt hits me.  Last night a good friend of mine Steve Saulnier joined our football Zoom with the Thun Tigers to talk about football.  Specifically, offensive line play – I will say this he is an expert – no doubt.  But I know this man is too humble to acknowledge that compliment although it is true.

He gave us so many ideas … shared anecdotes … showed videos that reflected his blackboard (I guess we use whiteboards now with those markers instead of chalk …damn!) coaching he gave us.

Often you forget the people you have been along the way and how they have colored your life.  Although Steve and I haven’t talked very much over the last few years I have certainly followed his career.  His team the West Florida Argonauts advanced to the NCAA 2017 Division II championship only to lose.  But they moved to that final game again in 2019 to defeat Minnesota State and become National Champs!  How awesome is that?!

But, he has never lost touch with who he is — a grounded man.  Just a fantastic person.  For me, just lucky to have him in my lifetime.

Again, he was just great with our coaches and players and will join us again.  (If any of my coaching friends out there need some great ideas – let me know Steve is awesome).  A great big THANKS Steve.  You re now the Patron Saint of Offensive Coaches in Switzerland.

But, the lightning bolt that I mentioned a few paragraphs earlier.  Well, have been thinking of this for a little while.  Getting more US coaches to share their knowledge and experiences with my friends on the Tiger staff.  So, anyone looking for a little fun just let me know.

I am the prime example of – you never know where it can lead!

 

 

So, I have been asked this question so many times here and in the US that I figure I better answer it.  The question usually is  – “How in the wide, wide world of sports did you get to Switzerland to Coach football?”

I already have a standard answer for the question.  It was literally through a “friend of a friend who contacted a friend of his here in Switzerland.”  That is the short answer – I do explain the longer more convoluted version on my blog at konkretekidinfootball.com.

But, really friends of mine at Judy Kowalkowki’s “Great Italian Food Fest and Wine Tasting” extravaganza encouraged me to look into going to Europe to have a football vacation (well OK an Episode or [Mis]adventure if you will).

Scott Kowalkowski and his cousin Brock Olivo – both former Lions – chimed in and told me it would be a great experience for me.  After finishing playing Brock went to Italy and got a Master’s degree (he is fluent in Italian).  While in Italy he played and coached football there.

Later Scott went over and he Brock and the Turino Jaguari (I think Turin is where they did it anyway) developed a camp for kids and coaches.  They both said it was a fantastic time.

Well, the hook was set!

The Boss (wife) even told me to look into it (is she trying to get rid of me??).

Well, all of that is well and good.  But, how do you get started?  Well, I am not the smartest guy in the world but the internet is a great source of information (and some of it is also accurate and somewhat true).

I discover the site called American Football International which is administered by Roger Kelly who is now a good friend of mine.  Then there was another very valuable resource called “Europlayers” where you can place your resume as a player or a coach.  Literally thousands of teams worldwide use this spot to find coaches and also players to “import” to their teams in their specific country.

Great places to start.  But, literally it came down to a friend of mine talking to a coaching mate of his (who I don’t know) who connected with a friend of his who sent me an email.

Bert Hill and I coached together for ten years or so.  He was coaching at SMU and we were talking on the phone one day and I explained my newfound desire to become an international playboy … oh I mean international coach.  (Think James Bond of football!)

He laughed it off and said I should get my ass out to Dallas and work with SMU if I was serious about coaching again.  That sounded too much like work to me.

Anyway, about a week later he called me back and told me a member of the Mustang coaching staff had international playing and coaching experience and was willing to help me.  Carlos Borachio-Leon had been working with Bert for several years.

He contacted a friend of his in Europe – who then passed him on to another friend of his Giorgio Volpi who was coaching with the Swiss Junior National Team.  Giorgio emailed me and asked me if I would be interested in helping out in preparations for the European playoffs and then travel to Amsterdam to play the U-19 team from Germany.

Next thing I know I am “Skyping” – another think I knew nothing about – With Giorgio, the GM of the team Christian Krattiger, the Head Coach Michel Spitznagel and Stephan Pulver of the Tigers.

We all had a great visit … then some more later.  Next thing I am going to Switzerland.

Now, that is the abbreviated version.

 

So OK here is Switzerland we recycle everything. I mean everything from cardboard to paper (separately)…green, clear and brown glass (again separately) … garbage is also different as is lawn debris. I love it.

But, my favorite invention is the “Cancrusherupper”. Check out the picture. You place cans in the “Cancrusherupper” and then jam the handle down and that’s what happens – the can gets crushed up and falls into the bin!

Is that cool or what?

However unlike Michigan we don’t get 10 cents back for the can. Well, it’s fair we don’t pay a ten cent deposit on the cans here either.

I guess most of mine are beer cans.

The only bad thing is I have to walk to the bus stop at Gwatt Deltapark which is about a mile to smash my cans. Easy going there (downhill) … harder coming back up the mountain.

Decision is whether to quit drinking beer or get a new pair of sneakers. Ah well … a new pair of Adidas runs about 80 Swiss Francs. That’s not too bad – easy choice!

Alright so got a message from a friend to add some to the football blog at konkretekidinfootball.com.  So, here is a story from the magical 1991 season we had in Detroit.

Honestly it truly was an amazing year.  Despite what many fans say about the Lions always being bad.  It simply isn’t true.  Yes … I feel their frustration that we didn’t make the Super Bowl and so they have a right to complain.

But when you look back into the 90’s we actually were a pretty strong team in perhaps the best division in football from top to bottom.  (The old Central Division of the NFL.)  I can already hear it … no this division or that team was better.  Yup, everything comes down to an opinion – everyone has one of those as well.

I’ll concede to everyone who wants to argue and tell you are right and I am wrong.  So, getting past that point – you can be right and I am a dumbass…. Here is this story though.

In Detroit during the 1991 season there were some awesome things that happened – there were also some tragic ones that will also be addressed in another episode because I am referencing Mike Utley and Eric Andolsek who deserve some special attention apart from this commentary.

Eric and Mike are two people who are certainly in the middle of my heart every single day and deserve to be recognized in a special way.  Those of you who were a member of the Lion family at that time know exactly what I mean.

But, in 1991 the Lions went 12-4 and won the Central Division of the NFC on the last day of the NFL season as the Bears lost to San Francisco on Monday Night Football.  That loss cost Chicago the Division and gave us a first round bye into the playoffs.

But, the season itself was just a fantastic ride for all of us who were there!  Even though it started auspiciously enough with a crushing defeat in Washington 45-0 the Lions then went on to win twelve of the next fifteen games.  Trust me in any league that is tough to do – but the NFL … really hard.

OK, I am wandering already … get to the point Donald.

This episode is about Erik Kramer and what a fantastic player he was in the NFL.  But narrowing the focus it is about the first pass he threw in his NFL career.  Yeah, but it was the first pass he ever threw in a tension fraught game where he came in to replace an injured starter.

Yeah, but an even tighter focus – because he came into a critical game at a critical time in a critical situation (did I say critical enough?) with one of the most gifted runners – Barry Sanders lined up behind him.

Rodney Peete our starting QB gets dinged up and he has to leave the game.  It is a close back and forth game.  We have recovered from that opening day ass-kicking by Washington and are sitting at 2-1.

In this situation all we need to do is have Erik not fumble the snap … turn around and give Barry the ball.  Get out of the series and try to get Rodney back in the game.  Just don’t screw up Erik!!

The offensive coaches concur … give Barry the ball – perhaps we get a first down.  If not …  Pro Bowl punter Jimmy Arnold comes in and jams the Colts back into their own end with one of his towering kicks.

Nahh.. not going to happen Batman!

Erik gets under center as the QB – looks to the right, looks to the left and audibles!  Are you shitting me he audibles …he does not just audible ..HE AUDIBLES TO A PASS and he HAS NEVER THROWN A PASS IN AN NFL GAME!  You can imagine the sidelines, the coaching booth as we watch all of this unfold.

NOOOO…. ERIK DO NOT THROW THE BALL YOU DUMBASS!

Erik calmly steps back fires a pass to Willie Green for a first down.

ERIK GREAT DECISION!  WAY TO GO!  YOU ARE TERRIFIC!  KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!

Several plays later Erik again finds Willie Green – this time for a TD!

Rodney comes back in the game and the Lions win to go to 3-1.

The rest of the story is too long for FB so just click on this konkretekidinfootball and you can see the whole episode as it unfolded – or exploded –  throughout that awesome season!

Hah, What a Life!

Okay….. just have to tell you this story. Several years ago I was helping to coach the Swiss Junior National team with my friends here.

It was an amazing experience!

But during the visit I spent a lot of time with Christian Krattiger who was our General Manager. He did a fantastic job of putting a coaching staff together and they in turn built a very solid team.

For me this was the beginning of me falling in love with Switzerland and more importantly the people of my second homeland.

The friendships I built with Giorgio Volpi and his family, Chris and his family, Stephan, Fulgenzio, Michel, Daniel and on and on make my episodes in Switzerland.

However Chris taxied me all over the place … one weekend we went to watch a game in Winterthur where the Warriors played against the Basel Gladiators. It was a great afternoon of football.

Met so many new friends … drank some beer, ate some hotdogs, drank some beer and sat in the stands and drank some more beer.

Sometime during the third period of the second game I noticed something peculiar about the 50 yard line area. The distance was certainly not ten yards between the 50 and 40.

I mentioned that to Chris as he handed me another beer. He laughed and said “Wondered when you would notice that!” He then explained since these were soccer fields built inside of tracks – they were too short for a US football field configuration.

So rather than cut the end zones short … in Europe – the distance was taken out of the middle of the field – between the 50 and 40 yard lines.Just when you thought you were learning a lot about football in Switzerland… here comes another “gotcha” moment.

Pass the beer!

Hah, what a life!

 

Well, my Tuesday travel episode saw me setting out to one of my favorite places in Switzerland.  The beautiful municipality of Fribourg (or could be Freiburg from what I understand).  A city I was introduced to by my friend Chris Krattiger.

Chris, his wife and their young daughter showed me a fantastic afternoon in the beautiful place.  Since that first time four years ago I have spent several other days in Fribourg/Freiburg because it is just an interesting place.

The city was founded in 1157 (hmmm … Europe is just a little bit older than the US) and is located on both sides of the river Sarine. The “Old Town” part of Fribourg was established on a peninsula on the river and has cliffs around three sides and the river on the other.   This made it a great location for a fort and the city that grew up around it (Fribourg means “Free Fort” in German I guess).

Regardless of the history of the name and the date of establishment – it is beautiful.  A great place to visit and wander around.  The views are really outstanding and the people there have shown me such kindness in my visits.

Unfortunately, the photos I share won’t give this lovely city the justice she deserves.  (Oh yeah here in Europe we don’t do the pronoun stuff – a city is a “she” because of the great respect for women we have and not for any socio-political reasons.  PC stuff did not follow me across the Atlantic.)  Ooops! … a little off the track there.  The reason for the somewhat lousy photos – ahhh …  rain!

That brings me to the story.

I get up Tuesday morning saying to myself.  “Great day to visit Fribourg – don’t you think??”

Oh yeah, let’s go Donny the C!  – time to have a walk through one of my favorite places in Switzerland … take some pictures – eat in the same place I sat with Christian and his family … then the same place two years later the boss (wife) and I sat at as well.  Will be a great day!

A beautiful sunny and temperate day.  Some variable clouds hanging around – but seriously a very nice late June day.

Start down the hill (I have given up calling where I live in Gwatt a mountainside due to pressure from friends here).  At about 100 meters (yes, I am becoming European with measurements as well) I stop.  Well, could it rain???  Yeah it might.

Reverse course up the STEEP incline to Strattlighugel 46.  Walk inside grab my rain jacket from Concordia University St. Paul Baseball …. Hmmm should I take the umbrella??  Nah, come on show some bravery here.

Left the umbrella behind (Dumbass!!).

Down the hill – jump on the Bus #1 from Gwatt Deltapark to Thun Bahnhof.  Sun is out wonderful day – going to be just awesome.

Leap off the bus at the Bahnhof.  A few minutes later grab a seat on the Train to Fribourg/Freiburg and settle in for the hour-long ride to my destination.  Since I am rereading all of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books – I start in on his second novel “Die Trying.”

OK … here is where Donny the C becomes his usual dumbass self.

I’m reading and looking out the suddenly clouding up and sprinkling skies.  I hear Fribourg on the announcements – pack my I-pad, grab my coke, my rain jacket and step around the gate to get off the train (without falling by the way).  Easily get off – train pulls away.

Ahhh scheisse!  Not the Fribourg I remember.  Then it starts raining – and HARD!  Rain jacket on … dumbass Donny the C you scheisse head – should have brought that umbrella along.  Walk around and find a map on the train stop wall.

I got off just one stop away from the Bahnhof in Fribourg … do I trek through the rain or just walk over to the opposite track?

I am not that much of a scheisse head to wander around in the rain – probably get lost again.  Stick to what you know.  Go under the bridge …  up the stairs on the other platform … board the next train into Fribourg – finally!  There I am!

Yup, me and a giant thunderstorm!  Do you think you could find a place to buy an umbrella??? Yeah, dream on!

Anyway, the rain does let up and even stop for a while and I retrace my path of my last several visits.  Down through “old Town” passing the shops and restaurants.  Walking through the wonderful architecture and then back out
and across one of the bridges.  Snapping shots along the way.  I’ll certainly have to come back again on a sunny day.

But, here are the shots I could capture of one of the beautiful cities that sits on the border of the French and German sides of Switzerland.  What a beautiful blend of the people of Switzerland in this historic city.

By the way I did drop a story into the blog at konkretekidinfootball.com.  This one about starting out in coaching at Kutztown State (now Kutztown University but still the same place).

There are many things I am thankful for in football.   But there were two important things that really started me off on a good path.

First, I played for some good coaches.

In Northampton, Pennsylvania from little league on thru Freshman, Junior Varsity and finally Varsity football as a Konkrete Kid (Yeah the name of my Blog konkretekidinfootball.com – guess where that came from??!!) we had very good coaches who were also solid role models.

Then in college at Muhlenberg a very good coaching staff who helped not only me, but so many others stay on the right path (OK, admittedly I veered off that path here and there – OK, quite a lot in fact).  Frank Marino and Sam Beidelman were the only full-time coaches and they allowed us to grow up, but they kept a careful eye on us and knew when to pull the leash tight as we went through those college years.

Another big influence was that I was fortunate to start out coaching at Kutztown State College.  I was surrounded by very good coaches and we were led by one of the finest men I ever met – George Baldwin.

****

The little league coaches were all good men – they taught us football from a fundamental standpoint – more importantly they were solid people.   Rich Derkits, Bill Beidleman, John Legath, Bouncy Zepp, Hosh Herschman – well even Mertz!  They gave so much more than they got back.

****Well I have to say Rich Derkits did teach me some good cuss words.  I consider myself a professional in this area and I credit him with my success.****

Even the Junior High coaches we had made the game fun.  Hell, our freshman year I don’t think we won a game (Have to check with my pal Eric Butler though because he would remember since we went through elementary, junior high and senior high school and then college playing together football together!).  We were pretty bad that ninth grade year.

Having a coach like Donnie Carbone however did make things interesting and despite our shortcomings on the field he kept things light.

Early in the season Carbone said that our team played like a bunch of Italian sailors  … “Chickens of the Sea.”  Nowadays the PC police would have probably

been bitching at him.  But in the late 60’s what we said on the field stayed there.  In fact, a bunch of us went home and took the labels off of the tuna cans in our cupboards.

We taped them on our helmets and many of the guys on the team were wearing “Charlie the Tuna” proudly.  Donnie Carbone took great delight as we proclaimed ourselves “Chickens of the Sea!”

Carbone and the rest of the coaches who worked with us younger players did prepare us in the basics of football and by the time we played for the varsity we were pretty good.  It really does come down to learning and executing fundamentals – that never changes – from little league thru college and into professional football it depends on blocking and tackling, throwing and catching, running and kicking.

Lou Wolf our varsity coach at Northampton was really a down to earth man and a very good teacher.  I know that some of the players and parents didn’t always think he was a good guy or a good coach.  But, in him I saw a man who really cared about us and who truly loved coaching.  Plus, we were very successful on the field.

I really wanted to find a job like he had – because he always seemed to be happy on the field.  Once he and I were talking after a game and he told me it was the only job he ever wanted – being the coach.  The extra bonus was being the coach in his hometown.

There was a time when I thought it would be phenomenal to be the head coach in Northampton to return to lead the Konkrete Kids.  But, as I aged I realized all of the crap you have to put up with when you were in your hometown.  Everyone knows you and certainly everyone knows how to do your job better than you do.

Sprinkle in the parents  …  yeah the parents may be the biggest drag on high school sports.  Everyone’s little Johnny or Mary is going to be a sports star.  But, I am off the track right now – plus don’t want to go down that road.

Frank Marino our head coach at Muhlenberg gave me the final push into the coaching world.  We often spent time bullshitting about our current teams, coaching philosophies and the game itself.  We would spend hours just exploring hot button topics in athletics – oh yeah – a lot of this happened while I was supposed to be in class.  (Me …. go to class … ??  Too many other fun things to do.)

****Remember what Mark Twain said (yeah, but understand I was an English major) …”Don’t let the books get in the way of your education!”****  (Honest!  I can’t make this shit up!)

Coach Marino told me one afternoon that coaching football was the only thing he ever wanted to do.  HMMM …. So much like my high school coach Lou Wolf said it was the fun part of his career – Frank was doing the same.  He told me that I should think about getting into the profession …. “you won’t make a lot of money.  But, you will make a lot of friends and find it a lot fun.”

Well, I missed a lot of classes talking about football – might as well take advantage of the things I learned in the classroom of football.  I wasn’t very smart, but I was just smart enough to stumble into an awesome (mis)adventure for life!

*****

Starting my coaching career off at Kutztown was also a very important fork in my path through the coaching profession.  The coaches and players that I worked with during those first two-years were critical in my deciding to move on and figure out my life and chase my dreams.

No one was more instrumental in my decision to make coaching my livelihood than George Baldwin the head coach of the Kutztown State (I know it’s now Kutztown University) Golden Bears.  He was an amazing man who truly was a leader of young men.

He was also a very grounded person.  Married with children, religious and a former US Marine.  Yup, he sported the GI flattop and stood ramrod straight at the playing of the National Anthem.  I truly admire this man and his values to this day.

Well then of course, he did convince me to work for twoyears without pay (well, he hoodwinked one of my closest friends –  Scot Dapp to do it as well – he’s not real smart either.)  But, it was well worth the experience.

Rarely, if ever did George lose his temper.  He never swore (I mean never!) and although he had some old-fashioned ideas for the late seventies – he had the respect of everyone.   From players to coaches, administrators, opponents and boosters – I rarely if ever heard anyone say a bad work about Coach Baldwin.

We were in a period where earrings, facial hair and young people questioning authority and experimenting with drugs had become the norm.  During those years – the seventies – well it was a very interesting time.

I was pretty much a middle of the road guy – Long hair, mustache.  But Coach had his values and he was sticking to them.

While George was willing to accept his players and coaches having a few beers and raising some hell – he would not suffer fools.  But, while he could be tough it was his complete honesty and sincerity that affected us all so deeply.

Like most successful leaders George had very few rules.  Pretty much common-sense stuff.  Don’t be late for anything, respect your coaches, teammates, classmates and teachers.  BUT WAIT and no earrings or facial hair for anyone with Kutztown football – players but us COACHES as well.

What did you say – no facial hair??  No earrings??  Yup, if you wanted to coach or play at Kutztown State (OK – Kutztown University) you were going to look clean and didn’t need jewelry.  Come on it’s the seventies! (You know … Sex Drugs and rock and roll – throw in some mustaches and earrings as well.)

The seventies – the decade of rebellion and awareness!  The Age of Aquarius!  Pass the joint and let’s hear about that sexual awaking we all were waiting (hoping) for.

But George, who as I said  was a former Marine complete with crew cut, was able to impress his values upon all of us.  He was able to bring everyone together – to not only have a common goal of winning – but to become as close to a unit as possible.

Coach would say he wanted us to be “Americans!”

When anyone would question why he wanted these things done he would say ….  “I don’t get it, does that mustache make you coach or play any better?”  “Is that earring going to make you tackle those backs any better?”

Football is American – you don’t need mustaches or earrings to be an American!

But we all bought in – I shaved off my mustache (never wore an earring so it wasn’t an issue).  Got cleaned up and was a Golden Bear!  I was an American!

To this day those of us who coached and/or for George still tell Coach Baldwin stories.  Stories that reflect how much respect and love we had for this great man and his standard of becoming an “American!”

Being that former Marine (still with that flat top look) George would continuously regal us with quotes like.  “That guy plays like an American – look at him block”  “That Quarterback throws the ball like an American!”  He would see a guy loafing or laying on the ground during a play and not hustling – “That guy is not an American – he’s staying on the ground!”

The one I caught him on was “Well gosh darn it – Any American can tackle!”  “Come on if you are an American you can tackle!”

So, one of my favorite experiences as a young coach with George was when I pulled the old “He’s an American” and reversed it on him.  It got a lot of chuckles from the entire coaching staff when it happened.

We were closing out our season in my first year as a coach.  Coach Baldwin had put me in charge of kickoff team for that year.

Now, if you were on the kickoff team in those days – you were coached to stay in your “lane” run down the field as fast as possible and tackle the guy with the coconut.  Not a difficult assignment – but to get it done meant you had to navigate the opponents who were trying to knock your head off along the way.

One of the keys to the kickoff team was having a good kicker who could put the ball deep and high so the coverage team could run down under it and get the return man on the ground.  The other is to have some pretty rugged dudes who would run down the field full speed!  The bigger and faster the better.

Like I said it was one of the last games of the year – perhaps even the last game.  We had lost a key guy on the kickoff coverage team and we needed a replacement.  So, as a staff we were kicking (hmmm…no pun intended I guess) around a few names – trying to find someone who could help the kickoff team.

Now we had a freshman offensive lineman named Jimmy Bennett.  Jim was a local kid from Allentown PA who had played at William Allen High School.  He was a backup at guard and he would go on to be a great player at Kutztown before his career was over.

Jim was big at 6-3 and 235 pounds and he could really run … OK I get it, he doesn’t seem big by today’s standards … but in 1977 he was a pretty big dude.  He was also really fast and he was very tough.  I loved him and where he was going!

In the meeting when we talked about the kickoff coverage team I brought up Jimmy’s name.  I think everyone pretty much thought it was a pretty good idea.  But George did not agree.

“But Donnie … I like Jimmy Bennett a lot.  But come on he is a freshman (George did not like to play freshman) and he is an offensive lineman.  I don’t know if he can tackle … he’s an offensive lineman.”

I knew I had him, with a grin I said …  “But Coach he’s an American.  Everyone knows if he’s an American he can tackle.”

The whole room cracked up and George just started laughing and I had him.  Jimmy was now a member of the kickoff team.

By the way he did a great job!

Sorry a long and winding road (wow, that might be a good name for a song??) to tell you a simple and probably silly story!