Utah Warriors assistant coach Robbie Abel watches over his players prior to a game against Austin Gilgronis, May 21, 2022 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman. (Davey Wilson, Utah Warriors)

Estimated read time: 8-9 minutes

HERRIMAN Robbie Abel took a look around Zions Bank Stadium during his final week of practice with the Utah Warriors before wrapping up the 2022 Major League Rugby season and smiled.

After six months in the league, in the team, and with the state, the forwards coach could only reflect on what his time with the fifth-year franchise has meant to the club. He hoped it would be for the better, even if the past year has been another but easy in his mind.

The Warriors wrapped up one of the more challenging seasons in the club's five-year history Saturday, a 5-11 campaign filled with lengthy losing skids and some surprise moments like a 22-8 win over an Austin, which led the league at the time before eventually being disqualified from the postseason due to a violation of league rules.

Hopefully, he says, Abel has left the Warriors in a better place than he found them even through a midseason coaching change that saw the departure of reigning MLR Coach of the Year Shawn Pittman and a lineup reshuffle that included the return of former BYU standout Paul Lasike from England's Harlequins, among others.

"Leave the jersey a little better than when we found it; I feel like we've done that," Abel told KSL.com prior to the club's 33-5 road win over the expansion Dallas Jackals in Saturday's season finale. "It feels like we're in a really good spot right now, and in a good place to carry that on for years to come. And that was a goal: to get to the end of the season with something we are proud of, with something that this whole organization can be proud of, regardless of who is coaching or who is playing."

Abel doesn't know when he'll return to Utah; the Australian native and New Zealand hook is still under contract back home with Auckland Rugby Union, where he will play for at least one more season in New Zealand's National Provincial League.

After that, it's anybody's guess. Abel will turn 33 in July, and even if he doesn't know exactly how much time he has left in the game it could be one more year, it could be five, depending on how this upcoming season treats him he's confident that the playing days behind him are greater than the ones in front.

Which is why his time in Utah was so important to him.

"It's an opportunity for me to kind of see what it's like coaching, and being involved on this end," he said, before adding: "I've loved it so far.

"I've loved it, loved being in Utah. The people have been amazing, the fans are amazing, and it's just been a great experience for me and my family to be here."

Abel was a rising star in the Austral "A'' School ranks when as he began his journey to professional rugby. Coming from a rugby-mad family, the future Maori All Black international started his career at St. Edmund's College in Canberra in 2006 before enrolling in the Brumbies Academy from 2007 until 2010, with a brief stint at Northland in 2009.

But as the budding standout's career began to take shape, a new priority also rose in his life: the desire to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Coaches, players and even more incredulous news media back home couldn't understand it; why would Abel set aside rugby the national sport of New Zealand for 24 months to knock on doors, set up appointments, and preach scripture? Couldn't Abel be a shining light for his faith in the pro ranks, any ways?

But for Abel, it did't feel like a sacrifice. He knew what he had to do.

"At the time, I didn't feel like I was giving up anything to serve a mission," said Abel, who served as a full-time missionary in Western Australia. "Now looking back, I understand that it was quite a bit; it took me a while to come back and be ready to perform at a professional level. It was a hard road trying to get back.

"But I knew, like other athletes who went on missions, that it was the place for me. I was totally content with where it would take me whether that was rugby or not. Everything I gained from going on a mission, it really did shape my life."

Other professional athletes followed a similar path as Abel, including another rising rugby standout in Australia native and Tongan international Will Hopoate, who served just a few years later in 2012-13. Still other pros have opted to start their careers early, and have helped shine a light on the church that way.

For Abel, perhaps the most important example he could've set was to his younger brothers Charlie and Jake, who followed him in professional rugby. Just a few years after Abel's mission, Charlie Abel who currently plays in MLR for the LA Giltinis opted to hit pause on his career for two years, as well.

"Maybe it helped him, and some of my cousins," said Robbie Abel, a bit sheepishly, "but I also had great examples, greater leaders, great parents growing up and for me, it never felt impossible.

"If anything, going made feel like more was possible out of my life."

Abel returned from missionary service in 2012, but he admits it took him nearly two years to get back into full conditioning. He returned to Brumbies in 2013 after a year and 17 appearances with Northland's B team, and also represented Perth, Canberra and Auckland.

In 2014, Abel earned his first callup to Super Rugby Pacific, which features top teams in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Pacific islands, by signing with Perth-based Force Rugby. He stayed in the competition until 2020, moving from Force to Brumbies to Rebels and finally Waratahs in New South Wales.

But he always knew his playing career had an expiration date, and mortality comes for every man. So when he started inquiring on the next chapter, Abel's eyes turned to the startup Major League Rugby in the United States and a founding franchise at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, a community that means plenty to his faith.

In many ways, his rugby accolades speak for themselves; why wouldn't the Warriors want that experience on their staff, alongside backs coach and former BYU standout Shawn Davies?

Abel hasn't even changed much in his brief "internship" in coaching.

"He's such a nice guy that I think he just naturally pulls the boys together. He's a good gauge, a good uncle, and everything else," said Zion Going, the Warriors' 20-year-old scrum half and a nephew of Abel from his mother's side. "He's easy to talk to. But when it's time to be serious, he knows how to be serious, too."

But when Abel contacted Warriors CEO Kimball Kjar about an opportunity, one of the first things he mentioned wasn't just the chance to coach rugby but to bring his three children and baby brother to Utah for a few months while he put his whole heart into coaching.

"To be honestly, I've had my own struggles spiritually and for me, coming here has been more than just rugby," he said. "It's been an opportunity to tap into that part of my life that means so much to me. It's been really good to me, to my kids, and to my little brother who came here with me."

With his wife Taila staying back home for work-related reasons, Abel spent his working hours trying to make the Warriors' forwards better and then took his children to a dozen Latter-day Saint temples in the Salt Lake Valley and surrounding areas.

It's been so cool to be here," said Abel, who credits his wife for making allowing the children to move to the States with dad. "It's been such a good experience for us."

Abel doesn't know how much longer he has left in his playing days; again, it could be a year, it could be longer. Those kinds of things change quickly in professional sports.

But when he does finally hang up the boots on the old knothole for the last time, he would love to make a return trip to Utah and formally start his coaching career with a Warriors franchise that has embraced him and his family.

"I'd love to come back," he said. "I thoroughly enjoyed being with the players, the fans, the staff here. I'd love to come back. I feel like we started something special here, and I'd love to see that through."

Sean Walker graduated from Syracuse University and returned to his home state to work for KSL.com covering BYU, prep sports and anything else his editors assign him to do. When he's not covering a game, he's usually listening to Broadway soundtracks or hiking with his dog.

The rest is here:
For Utah Warriors assistant Robbie Abel, coaching trial has meant more than rugby - KSL.com

A weekly look at high school sports in the state of Alabama for the past week and a look ahead to what is on tap. This is an opinion piece (sort of).

It didnt work out for Greg Crager as head football coach at Thomasville High School.

He was among a mass of employees pink-slipped at the end of the school year. He could re-apply for a job there, but he wont.

You can tell when you are wanted and when you are not, Crager said.

He coached just one year at Thomasville after replacing long-time coach Jack Hankins.

The Tigers went 5-6 overall, beating rival and eventual state champion Clarke County 15-14 in overtime to end the regular season before losing at Hillcrest-Evergreen in the first round of the playoffs.

There were off-the-field challenges almost from Day 1. Those only intensified when the athletic director, principal and superintendent, who played big roles in hiring Crager away from Millry, all left.

I dont know enough about the situation to get into Thomasville politics, so I wont.

What I will say is that Greg Crager is a good man, the best kind in fact. He will land on his feet and, whatever school he lands at, will be better for having him.

It didnt work out at Thomasville long-term, but Im guessing that his one year there will still have a long-term impact on many of those student-athletes.

My biggest take away is that I was proud of re-starting the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), he said. Every Friday, we had a cafeteria full of young people wanting to do positive things throughout the school and the campus. That was the highlight.

As many challenges as there were, I felt good about that fact that we were really impacting young people and leading in the right direction and trying to establish a good foundation. We hired some great people and great men who led the right way. Im proud of that.

Crager started the difficult days at Thomasville the way he starts every day.

Every morning when you get up and face the challenges, you pray, he said. I felt like God gave me certain scriptures that kept me going. Whatever is happening in life, God is in it, and He will lead you through it. I never panicked or lost my composure.

Sometimes people have different goals or want to go a different direction. Regardless, God has a purpose, and you continue to be obedient to that. I want to hear His voice and do what He wants me to do.

Crager, vacationing in San Antonio this week, said he had several interviews set up later this month and will likely take an assistant job for next year before trying his hand again at being a head coach.

He went 32-24 in five years as head coach at Millry. Hes also been a key part of Mark Freemans staffs at both Spanish Fort and Thompson.

I tell my coaches all the time, When you go through tough times, that is your testimony, he said. It is then now for me that my testimony is more visible than when everything is going well and you are winning state championships. At the end of the day, in the good and the bad, I want to glorify God.

The next door will fly open soon for Crager.

Undeterred by an experience he didnt expect in the last year, he will step through it and continue to impact our student-athletes in the best ways possible.

New coach at Glencoe

Glencoe has named Scott Martin as its new head football coach.

Martin won 57 games in seven seasons at Ohatchee from 2014-2020. That included a run to the 3A state semifinals in 2016 and two trips to the quarterfinals.

He also spent two years as head coach at Calera (2009-2010) and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (2012-2013).

Martin will try to turn around a Yellow Jacket program that has been in a rough patch. Glencoe has won just 10 of its last 60 games. Martin is the fourth coach since former Alabama player Lee Ozmint left in 2015.

The 2021 team went just 1-9 and gave up 395 points.

Not so fast

Earlier in the week, it looked like Murphy had a new football coach.

The Panthers have been looking to replace Rico Jackson, who left for Tarrant earlier in the spring.

Murphy social media accounts announced that Kevin Schultz had been named the new head coach. However, that post since has been taken down.

Officials have said the post was premature and the school is now in a holding pattern.

Comeback kid?

According to Ron Balaskovitz of the Sand Mountain Reporter, Dale Pruitt is returning as head football coach at Plainview for the third time.

Pruitt coached the Bears from 1984-2000, going 147-59 in that span, and from 2006-2014, going 67-35.

He also was head coach at Albertville from 2015-2018.

Pruitt replaces Nick Ledbetter.

Other coaching news:

Former Dothan and Park Crossing head coach Smitty Grider has been named head coach at Benjamin Russell. He follows Aubrey Blackwell.

On Monday, Pike Liberal Arts announced the hiring of veteran coach Hugh Fountain. PLA moves from the AISA to the AHSAA this fall, thought it wont be eligible for the playoffs for two more years.

Ty Lockett has replaced L.C. Cole as head coach at Park Crossing.

Tyler Johnson is the new head coach at New Hope.

Current head coaching openings include Eufaula, Williamson, Murphy, Sidney Lanier, Marengo, Escambia County, Sardis, Houston County.

Montgomery Catholic head coach Kirk Johnson works with his players during the Trinity at Montgomery Catholic high-school football game, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, in McCalla, Ala. (Vasha Hunt | preps.al.com)Vasha Hunt

Awards season

Congratulations to Montgomery Catholic football coach Kirk Johnson, who has been named Huntingdon Colleges Outstanding Young Alumni.

Johnson is one of two winners of the award this year.

He will be honored during Huntingdons homecoming weekend on Oct. 29.

Johnson led Catholic to a 13-1 record in his first year as head coach in 2021.

All-State honors on tap

The Alabama Sports Writers Association will release its softball All-State team this Sunday. You can find that on AL.com around 5 a.m. and in the Mobile Press-Register, Huntsville Times and Birmingham News as well.

The All-State baseball team will be released June 12.

Mr. Baseball and Miss Softball will be announced and honored at the ASWAs 50th annual convention in Birmingham the night of June 12.

80s quote of the week

You ought to spend a little more trying to do something with yourself and a little less trying to impress people. Richard Vernon, The Breakfast Club (1985)

Thought for the week

Believe that the ultimate outcome in whatever you are facing is in the Lords hands. Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at bthomas@al.com. His weekly column is posted each Friday on AL.com.

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This week in HS sports: Former Thomasville coach Greg Crager undeterred in mission to impact lives - AL.com

Providence enters the state championship series undefeated and ranked No. 1. But for coach Danny Hignight, it's not about wins but knowing the value of hard work.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Providence High School will play for a baseball state championship this weekend in a best-of-three series starting Friday.

The Panthers will take on Pinecrest at 5 p.m. Friday with the second game scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday. The Panthers enter the championship series a perfect 32-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state. They're ranked third nationally on the strength of their undefeated season.

But for longtime Providence baseball coach Danny Hignight, it's about a lot more than wins. In fact, you can usually catch him on a mower trimming the outfield more often than coaching drills.

"I mow five days a week," he said. "I mow a lot."

That's five days a week, every week, for the past 19 years. That's some 4,500 times he's mowed the Providence outfield.

It's easy to get caught up in the numbers. The Panthers have zero losses this season, they've won 21 conference championships and 15 players have gone on to be drafted with three Major League Baseball players coming through the program.

It took Hignight 11 years to win a state title, finally accomplishing that feat in 2015. Of course, the moment really sank in the next time he was mowing the field.

Ill never forget when we won it in '15, I was mowing from second to center and I stopped the mower and I started crying because that was something I had thought about for at that time, 11 years and we finally accomplished it, Hignight said.

This year's team can accomplish it again this weekend. For Hignight, though, it's not about the perfect record or any stats they pile up along the way.

"I truly believe you've got to get your hands dirty in life and work hard," he said.

Work ethic is what makes this year's team special. Hignight shows it by keeping the lines on the field straight, washing uniforms and hanging them back up in lockers. He goes through the trouble because he knows a group of impressionable young men is watching.

I love the relationships, I love to watch them grow up, Hignight said.

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And he has watched kids grow up. He said he averages about eight weddings a year and talks to his old players about their new kids. Thats why he coaches.

When Im dead and gone, nobody is going to remember how many games I won. They won't," Hignight said. "But I might've coached your son and impacted his life, and he became a better father or a better husband. Maybe."

They're better baseball players, too. The team will compete to win two games out of three this weekend for that prestigious state championship.

Dont get me wrong, we want to win this weekend," Hignight said. "But in reality, it's about when you're gone, what impact did you make on the world?"

On Monday, no matter the outcome, hell be back on his mower setting an example of hard work.

As of Friday night, the team is off to a good start, winning Game 1 3-0.

Contact Chloe Leshner atcleshner@wcnc.comand follow her onFacebook,TwitterandInstagram.

WCNC Charlotte is committed to reporting on the issues facing the communities we serve. We tell the stories of people working to solve persistent social problems. We examine how problems can be solved or addressed to improve the quality of life and make a positive difference. WCNC Charlotte is seeking solutions for you. Send your tips or questions tonewstips@wcnc.com.

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Mowing his own outfield: How the Providence High School baseball coach breeds work ethic ahead of state championship - WCNC.com

October 1, 2021, was the last day of my longtime TV news career, but putting that date on a calendar and sticking to it was no easy feat. I knew I wanted to pursue entrepreneurship about a year before my eventual departure and I went into a cave of training and planning to make it happen. The secret weapon behind leaving a six-figure job to be my own boss? A coach. I hired a certified life and business coach, Kara Gaisie, and within six months she had me all the way together.

I had the external elements worked out for my career transition but Kara helped me prepare my internal thoughts for a big move, because they were a mess. I didnt believe I could replace my income as an entrepreneur and deep down I thought that kind of success, the kind you build from the ground up, wasnt meant for me. Its the type of career dreams are made of, not reality.

Kara had her work cut out for her but she was laser-focused on helping me change my thoughts about starting my own business. She knew if I believed I could be a successful entrepreneur then I could be a successful entrepreneur. She taught me I couldnt just repeat cute affirmations and expect real change. I had to think thoughts that served me and that I believed.

Because you want it to stick, said Kara.You want it to replace some of the beliefs that arent serving you. And if you dont believe in it, you dont feel like, oh yes, thats me. Thats true for me. It wont stick. Youll go back to what you truly do believe: that it doesnt serve you. So thats why its important for you to believe it.

Gaisie was a successful certified public accountant making six-figures before she left job to become a coach. But even she started off with negative thoughts around entrepreneurship before she started doing quality thought work.

I had this belief once I became a certified life coach that I could not replace my salary as a coach. Like it felt so, so true to me. Although I looked around and I saw other people doing it, I was like, no, they have something that I dont have. And I cant do that. Like a six-figure salary Kara. Really? No, you cant do that. And so of course I created the reality of staying in my job. I was never going to leave unless I confronted that belief, she said.

Kara worked on changing that thought and played around with other possibilities and started to think If I could, what would be the reason? Soon, she believed she was a woman who could make six figures no matter what work she did. She did it as an accountant, she could do it as a coach.

I built upon it over and over and over again until it became my main thought of like, this is who I am. Im a six-figure person. And I can create that anywhere I go. And I created that reality. Now Ive made $250,000 in my coaching business, said Gaisie.

I would likely still be sitting at a job that no longer fulfilled me if I didnt pay attention to what I was thinking and tossed out what didnt serve me and create new thoughts that moved me forward. And if it werent for Kara doing her own thought work I wouldnt be here teaching you what I know about the power of our thoughts. You see how this works!

If you want to learn a simple exercise that helps you observe your thoughts and start making changes watch the full interview with Kara Gaisie on The Reset.

Letisha Bereola is a life coach who helps ambitious women overcome burnout and reach their career goals so they feel great at work and happy at home. Shes a former Emmy-nominated TV news anchor, Podcast host of AUDACITY and speaker. Learn more: http://www.coachtish.co

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV.Please downloadtheGrio mobile appstoday!

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Work your thoughts: How you can think your way into a new job - TheGrio

During lunch on my first day as a first-year associate at a large international law firm almost 15 years ago, one of the partners in my practice group gave me one of the bluntest pieces of career advice Ive received: No one cares more about your career than you do.

My unease with this advice, or at least my interpretation of itthat I had to do everything for my career by myselfis in part why I returned to the large law firm environment as an in-house executive coach. It was evident to me that despite the tremendous strides law firms have made in supporting attorney career development since my early days as an associate, executive coaching was an underutilized talent development tool for the legal field that could be used to invest in the growth of high-potential individuals.

Large law firms were and are starting to recognize that this type of support and attention can serve simultaneously as a retention and development tool for high-potential talent at every level.

By investing in more formalized talent development infrastructure, law firms can optimize an attorneys experience both inside and outside of the billable hour. Specifically, executive coaching can support any attorney in leveling up their performance or effectiveness, whether they are seeking to:

Enhance confidence, presence or productivity.

By working with an executive coach, attorneys can feel more empowered to be in the drivers seat of their careers and lives in general by discovering how their intentions, behavior and choices intersect.

I remember all too well from my own legal career how easy it was to get caught up in what everyone else was doing (or how they were doing it) or trying to follow their exact paths without necessarily pausing to evaluate what I enjoyed, was good at or even wanted.

Coaching can help an attorney address those questions and become more intentional about taking their unique route to arrive at a destination of their choosing by leaning into their values and strengths. While some attorneys realize through this process that their current environment or career path is no longer the right one, many more identify what actions are in their control to enhance their current experience.

Several attorneys I coach feel unable to manage the stress that comes with an overwhelming workload, and therefore initially seek to change things externally, such as finding a different practice area or firm.

However, through coaching, we uncover their various blind spots, including that they dont say no effectively; dont communicate around expectations and their current workload; dont delegate enough; or they volunteer for every project, whether its because they want to please everyone, dont trust others to do quality work or another reason. Once these attorneys gain insight into their own behaviors and what is driving them, they feel empowered to make different choices that can lead to an improved experience and performance.

Attorneys are often high-achieving individuals who seek to clarify and attain their goals, yet Ive seen how their mindset or negative thinking can get in their own way, undermine their potential or keep them stuck. Helping individuals shift or broaden their perspectives so they can take forward action is a cornerstone of the coaching process.

Lawyers have been extensively trained and practiced in thinking critically and identifying whats wrong or what could go wrong. Because this way of thinking becomes habitual and is continually reinforced, Ive seen it bleed into the relationships that lawyers have with themselves and others.

Ive had many coaching clients who turn their critical eye inward, manifesting in a variety of ways, including rarely feeling good enough or acknowledging their wins. They struggle with perfectionism, imposter syndrome, catastrophizing, having an all or nothing mentality and the list goes on. Ive also seen attorneys turn their criticism on others in the workplace in a way that is not productive, which leaves them with impaired and ineffective relationships. All of this, in turn, can be an unnamed yet significant cause of attorney stress and anxiety affecting overall mental well-being. Many times my clients are largely unaware of how their habitual way of thinking limits how they experience life.

I also work with many clients on cultivating practices of being in the present moment, taking stock of what they have accomplished or whats good in their life, focusing on gratitude and being self-compassionateall for the purpose of exercising neglected muscles so they can build new neural pathways to habituate these more empowered ways of thinking.

Attorneys who engage in executive coaching have found, at a minimum, it can lead to optimal performance and mental well-being, including becoming more self-reliant, to establishing and taking action toward achieving goals, gaining more job and life satisfaction, communicating more effectively, and working more productively with others. Anecdotally, I believe these and other positive coaching outcomes Ive witnessed are in part attributed to the confidentiality afforded to the coaching process. Creating a psychologically safe, judgment-free environment for an attorney to explore their inner world is of utmost importance.

Stanford University-trained psychologist and executive leadership coach Jacinta Jimnez, PsyD, posits that the buildup of burnout in individuals occurs when there is a mismatch between their work environment and their human capacities, which can manifest in many ways, including a misalignment of core values.

One thing I work on with clients is to help them articulate their core values and then explore where their actions are and are not aligned with these values. For example, if an attorney indicates that family is a core value but isnt feeling connected to their family, we explore that mismatch and their choices and establish new habits they can practice to prioritize whats important to them, such as texting more during the day with their spouse or spending interruption-free time in the morning with their kids.

Similarly, operating from a place of our strengths can lead to a sense of efficacy and control over our livesand is likely far more enjoyable. Assessing attorneys top character strengths (you can utilize the free VIA Character Strengths Survey or a similar tool) and identifying ways to incorporate those strengths into the way they live and work helps them to achieve more work-life integration. When Ive done this exercise with attorneys, they have recognized how they can lean more into their strengths of creativity or appreciation of beauty and excellence by thinking through creative arguments for a brief or joining the board of an art-focused organization where they can meet like-minded individuals and prospective clients, respectively.

After years spent in and around the legal profession, I recognize that it takes a village to support an attorneys career success, evenor maybe especiallyif they care more about their careers than anyone else does.

Enlisting the support of an executive coach can help attorneys effectively maximize their opportunities and address the challenges they will inevitably encounter along the way.

Anjali Desai is director of coaching with Foley & Lardner and is a member of the talent department. As a certified coach, Desai coaches attorneys at all levels on a variety of topics, including career strategy and management, leadership and business development, productivity and time management, effective interpersonal communication, work/life integration and team dynamics. In her role, Desai supports Foleys attorneys in designing strategies to achieve their individual career, leadership development and performance goals.

ABAJournal.com is accepting queries for original, thoughtful, nonpromotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors to run in the Your Voice section. Details and submission guidelines are posted at Your Submissions, Your Voice.

This column reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the views of the ABA Journalor the American Bar Association.

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How executive coaching enhances attorney performance and eases burnout - ABA Journal

It's fun to contemplate how rowing experience affects people in later life. Peter Amram, who majored in classics at Brown became a Latin teacher at Wheeler girls' school in Providence. After Vic Michalson asked him to coach the first Brown women's crews a very precocious oarswoman named Phoebe Manzella noted that Peter laced his practices with classical references. Which no doubt made his crews go fast like Atalanta, associated with Diana and best runner in antiquity and certainly faster than any man. But if Atalanta did temporarily fade in a race, when she caught up with the man she speared him.

There are all kinds of stories about Atalanta and in the long history of crew at Brown University too. Atalanta was a clinker-built six-oared shell so heavy that Brown had little chance against Harvard, Yale or anybody else. But the lethargic movement of The Atalanta did not stop anybody from naming the Dartmouth-Brown race spittoon trophy The Atalanta Cup. We miss its handsome rivets.

Tasker and Whitey with the Atalanta Cup Dartmouth, Hanover April 1960

See how alive John Taskforce is. And how Whitey looks like Steve McQueen. And how the Cup has a groove in it just like the porcupine.

Not only was the cup stolen by a workman during a renovation of the Hunter Marston boathouse but it is very hard in general to give Atalanta her due. A prime reason is that computers are determined to change her name to "Atlanta."

Eventually Phoebe Manzella would marry John Murphy, a fellow oarsman of Steve Gladstone at Washington-Lee HS's great rival the Kent School.

All of these people, men's coach Steve, women's coach John, and women's freshmen coach Phoebe became a multi-decades coaching team that won/win national championships for Brown.

George Baum-- he spawned two sons taller than himself one of whom assumed command and saved lives when the Stanford varsity sank. This noble son then rowed for Oxford which was beating Cambridge until a drunken Brit swimmer out in the Thames (the Tems-- does not rhyme with James) got in the way and the Oxford coxswain decided to stop.

Marshmallow Basketball joined one boat club after another and rowed and rowed.

Phil Makanna confused racing shells with vintage airplanes and became the premier airborne photographer in the world. The brightest fire in Phil's photos and films however is the background landscape.

Although Bill Engeman's two sons made the national lightweight crew, he still gave them trouble in a single scull well into his fifties.

While living east of Cincinnati and wanting a place to shelter his single, Bill noticed that the Army Corps of Engineers had plans to turn Harsha Creek into Harsha Lake. At last count there were ten boathouses on the shores and a thriving high school program drawing crews from all over the Midwest.

Philadelphia - 1960. Fedallah (Melville). Bill Engeman is as smooth an oarsman as ever was.

The biggest thing though was that he and Steve Gladstone and Harry Parker solved American rowing's age-old dilemma of not having a proper national championship in that the IRA (three miles) and Yale-Harvard (four miles) usually happened the same day.

The Cincinnati Regatta became the national men's championship for more than a decade until the men's and women's national rowing organizations took over. Yale and Harvard now row 2000 meters in the IRA and their traditional four-mile race in another week. Strangely or not, the longer distance never seems to hurt them for the shorter one.

Bill brought the best women to Cincinnati too, which helped shame the Royal Henley Regatta over in England into finally giving women their prominent place.

I was helping Bill with the Cincinnati Regatta once when too many reporters boarded the press boat so that it sank halfway through the race. But I was in a different boat closer to the action and got a first-hand story for the Brown Alumni Magazine.

I had been crew coach at West Virginia University on the Monongahela River and Skidmore College on Saratoga Lake.

I left other careers to go to WVU. I got the job with a timely application. The previous coach had taken the WVU women out at six a.m. in a fog bank.

The women looked up and saw a tugboat pulling a string of coal barges ten feet away.

The coxswain screamed "Row!" and the stroke her sister screamed "Swim!" and everybody swam.

The tugboat cut their wooden Kaschper in half. As the propeller went by it sucked off the women's pants. Subsequent litigation charged embarrassment, also that the tugboat's whistle didn't work. From the settlement the crews got a new Kaschper and the old one back perfectly repaired and other stuff too.

No one was hurt, drowned or killed. I got the job, gave the women to my assistant John Bancheri who went on to Marietta and then a Dad Vail Championship for the women at Grand Valley State.

Both John and I had winning seasons that first year although the men's 7-man, defying instructions spent the night before the Dad Vail with his Philadelphia girlfriend.

Caught in heavy traffic the next morning on Strawberry Mansion Bridge he looked down at the Schuylkill and saw WVU, who had recruited a WVU graduate substitute last minute from Vesper Boat Club racing underneath on the water.

WVU beat enough other boats to qualify for the semifinals but I considered the behavior of my crew criminal and turned them in. A highlight of that year was when Charlie Butt drove west from Langley, Virginia at a constant rate of 55 mph to help us out for a few days.

I coached one more year, both men and women this time. The Skidmore men-- without a huge pool to choose from-- won a few races but didn't do terribly well. The Skidmore women however, called "The Pulchra-crew" because of their great physical beauty, rowed at 28 strokes per minute in a 2000-meter race to upset St. John's and win the open championship of New York City, which was called "The Mets."

We, the Brown Cinderella Crew, are passing a pier on the Severn River in Annapolis. The old fisherman up top calls down to us.

"You guys look pretty good," he says. "But you'll never beat Tuskegee."

This is the final chapter of row2k's serialization of FOUR YEARS AT FOUR. A very limited edition of the original coffee table version was published by GHOSTS books and calendars in San Francisco. Members of the Cinderella Crew paid for the design, publication and shipping. The book was written and prepared for them. One can see a preview at BLURB through this link: Four Years at Four. Any image that appears can be clicked upon or swiped across. All the pages will fan open electronically one at a time.

Philip Makanna began his career in aviation at the age of six making model airplanes in his parents' basement. He took a few years off and majored in Crew at Brown University. When he was a little older he got an assignment from WOMEN'S SPORTS MAGAZINE to go to Reno. There he met a few of the old airplanes and some of the dreams that he grew up with. Those moments in Reno grew to become his first book, GHOSTS, A TIME REMEMBERED, which was published by Holt, Rinehart & Winston in New York in 1978. Makanna has since published nine GHOSTS books the most recent of which is GHOSTS - AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY. He and his wife Jeanie have published his GHOSTS calendars for 43 years. See more at https://ghosts.com/

John Escher thanks to mentors at Brown got to study fiction for a year with William Golding at Hollins College in Virginia during the popularity phenomenon of LORD OF THE FLIES.

Eschers four Kindle books include a novel, THE PURSE MAKERS CLASP, and a political book, THE LAST WORDS OF RICHARD HOLBROOKE. Because of new ideas, he has disavowed the technical information in two tennis books, A NEW YEARS SERVE and INNER SLINGSHOT. One of his proudest writing achievements is the official guide to a major American cult classic. Pamphlet title: THE MYSTERIES OF SHOOT THE WHALE, A FILM BY PHILIP MAKANNA.

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Book Excerpt: Ch. 24, Later Life- the Final Chapter of Four Years at Four, by John Escher - row2k.com

Call it a transition for two former LSU athletes who are headed in different directions.

Rodney Brown, a Tiger All-American in the discus, has resigned as head track and field coach at Catholic High, just one month after leading the Bears to the Class 5A title.

Meanwhile, former LSU basketball point guard Jeanne Kenney is returning to her alma mater, St. Michael, for a second stint as girls basketball coach.

At this point, I just want to be closer to my family, said Brown, a Chappell Hill, Texas, native. Telling the guys was one of the toughest things I have had to do. But I know they will be fine.

The 29-year-old Brown was picked to succeed legendary coach Pete Boudreaux, who retired from coaching track and field after the 2019 season but remains as the schools cross country coach.

Browns first spring season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bears hit on all cylinders in 2022, placing second in Division I indoors and winning the 5A outdoor title. Brown set an LSU school record in the discus in 2015 and went on to compete internationally.

Kenney, who helped St. Michael win two LHSAA Class 4A titles as a player, previously coached the Warriors from 2017-2020. She spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant at Utah State, then moved to Appalachian State for the 2021-22 season as an assistant.

In addition to coaching, Kenney will serve as an assistant athletic director and will chair the physical education department.

Of course, being home is always a draw, Kenney said. When I think back on it, as many times as I try moving away, I keep staying home.

I did the college gig, which was very interesting. A lot of people say youre going back to your old job. But I am thankful to have positioned myself to have added responsibilities. That was a big draw for me because my masters is in sports administration.

West Feliciana has hired former Zachary High star and assistant coach Morris Wright as its new boys basketball coach.

The Saints, who will move up to Class 4A this year, hired assistant coach Hatem Bachar as the new girls track coach. Bachar was previously an LSU assistant and was head coach at Christian Life. He also is the girls soccer coach atWest Feliciana.

St. Josephs Academy made three key staffing moves for 2022-23. Erin Hart, previously an assistant athletic director at Catholic High, is the Redstickers new athletic director. Dorinda Beaumont, the previousSt. Josephs Academy AD, moves into the assistant athletic directors role.

Ali Buchart, the school's assistant swimming coach, is the new head swimming coach. Jimmy Roberts, an assistant coach at Catholic for the past 10 years, is the newSt. Josephs Academy assistant swimming coach.

After one season at Livonia, John Michael Collins has been hired as head baseball coach at St. John.

The Advocate's 2022 Boys Athlete of the Year, Ascension Catholic's Bryce Leonard, committed to play baseball at Northwestern State. Leonard's twin, Brooks, also committed to the Demons.

Former Catholic High and LSU star Josh Smith has been a real hit since getting called up by the Texas Rangers last week. Smith has played third base and was hitting .417 through Fridays action.

Parkway High girls basketball standout Mikaylah Williams was selected for the USA Basketball womens under-17 team this week. She will play in the World Cup from July 9-17.

East Ascension track athletes Sahnya Lathon (Southern) and Sydney Johnson (Fisk) are among the areas recent college signees.

Lathon has personal bests of 37-8 in the triple jump and 5-4 in the high jump. Johnson has bests of 116-1 in the javelin and 59.48 in the 400 meters.

St. John is seeking a volleyball coach for the 2022 season. The Class 1A-Division V school lists the position as one that could be full-time with teaching duties or a nonfaculty certified part-time.

Contact athletic director Cindy Prouty at (225) 333-6389 or send an email to cprouty@stjohnschool.education.

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Prep notes: One ex-LSU standout resigns as coach while another returns to former post - The Advocate

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Over the past five years, every now and then, Mack Brown would ask Gene Chizik a version of the same question.

"Are you ready to coach again?"

Brown asked it four years ago, before he got back into coaching at North Carolina. At the time, Chizik told him he was not ready just yet. Then in spring 2021, when Chizik had a few opportunities come his way, Brown told him, "You've got to decide if you want to coach again."

Chizik had a simple reply.

"I do," he told Brown. "I've got one more in me."

Neither knew in that moment that "one more" meant reuniting with Brown, under whom he had served as defensive coordinator at Texas in 2005 and 2006. They remained close friends over the years, whether Chizik was head coach at Auburn or defensive coordinator at UNC or a TV analyst.

But when Brown called him in January, he asked him that same familiar question, only with a little added weight: "Are you interested in coaching again?"

It did not take long for Chizik to say yes, bringing him back to the Tar Heels for a second stint as assistant head coach for defense and defensive coordinator.

Ten minutes after hanging up, Brown got another call from Chizik. Puzzled, Brown picked up.

"I need to tell Jonna that I'm going to do this," Chizik told him, referring to his wife.

Brown chuckles recalling the story. It certainly seems providential that Chizik decided now was the right time to return to coaching after spending the past five years as a college football analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network.

As a result, Chizik became one of the most notable assistant coaching hires of the entire offseason.

"It had to be the perfect scenario, the perfect fit," Chizik said. "Because I could be choosy if I was going to do this again. This was the singular fit that made the most sense. If I was going to be a coordinator somewhere, I had to be with somebody that I knew and that I understood. I was not willing to roll the dice with somebody else."

Chizik last coached in 2016, a lifetime ago considering all the changes that have happened across the board in college football, from the transfer portal to NIL. When he walked away from North Carolina after two years as defensive coordinator back then, he truly did not know whether he would coach again.

But he fielded phone calls every single offseason with job offers.

"Every year for the last five," he said of the offers. "Now as you start getting into Year 4 and Year 5, and they realize that you're really kind of retired and you're not coming back, there became less [calls], but I said no to every one of them because they had to be perfect for me."

That includes interest from the new USFL team the Birmingham Stallions earlier this year. Chizik confirmed in January he had several discussions about joining as a head coach, including one roughly two days before the official announcement stating he would return to North Carolina. Again, here is the familiar refrain when it comes to the Tar Heels -- perfect fit.

In a few short months, Chizik has reacquainted himself with what he missed so much: The teaching, the competitiveness, the ability to have an impact on the young men he coaches. (Definitely not the sleepless nights).

On a personal level, though, the experience this time around will be totally different. Though Chizik cited family reasons when he stepped away in 2016, few knew how difficult the situation had become on everyone in his family.

It started at Auburn, where Chizik was head coach from 2009 to 2012. When Chizik took the job, he promised his three kids they would never have to move again -- no matter what.

After he was fired following the 2012 season, they all stayed in Auburn so the kids could stay in school and keep their lives as normal as possible. Chizik stayed, too, and worked as an analyst at ESPN until then-North Carolina coach Larry Fedora called and offered him the defensive coordinator job in 2015.

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Chizik knew the only way he could accept would be to live alone in Chapel Hill, while his family stayed behind. Fedora agreed to allow him to commute back to Alabama whenever the schedule allowed. Chizik got an apartment 15 minutes away from the football facility. Though they visited and FaceTimed whenever possible, the stress over living away from his family for two years took an increasingly heavy toll.

"I'll never forget, I was on the bus after we played Stanford in the bowl game in El Paso, and you have time to reflect, and I remember going, 'You know what? It's time for me to go home.' That's when I made the decision," Chizik said.

His twin daughters, Landry and Kennedy, were headed to Auburn, and he missed their senior year of high school. His youngest son, Cally, had sustained a neck injury during football practice, a moment that made Chizik reevaluate everything. Though Cally never asked for his father to be around more, Chizik sensed he needed to be there as a father.

"It's really important for your family to be there watching you play," Chizik said. "I know that when I went to his football games, one of the first things he did is he always looked up to see where we were sitting. I just wanted to be a dad and enjoy that part of his life and let him know it meant enough for me to realize I am not there enough for him. I wanted to be there for him.

"For two years, we did the best we could. But when you reflect on basically not being there, on things that are really important, which is baseball and football and all the other things, dances and proms, it is different when you're not coming home to the same house every night. Completely different."

Chizik felt at peace with his decision, understanding one reality: He might not ever coach again. So he returned to television work and went to support his kids, turning down the opportunities that came his way.

But now that he is back, he and his wife have already bought a home and she will live with him in Chapel Hill for the first time. Cally is a cornerback at Furman and his daughters are settled in with their own lives. With the off-the-field concerns squared away, Chizik can focus on his new team. There is plenty of work ahead for the UNC defense, which struggled to tackle and prevent big plays in a 2021 season that did not go as planned.

The Tar Heels gave up 6.1 yards per play last season -- ranking in the bottom third among all FBS teams. North Carolina has given up fewer than 400 yards per game over the course of an entire season only once in the past five years.

Stacks of binders lined Chizik's office in the spring, because there is plenty of reacquainting to do. But Chizik also knew if he was going to take this job, he would have to bring in Charlton Warren, with whom he had grown close during his first stint with North Carolina.

Warren had moved up the coaching ranks after leaving the Tar Heels, and was the defensive coordinator at Indiana when Chizik called. Warren agreed to leave a job as the sole defensive coordinator to take a job as co-defensive coordinator for the opportunity to work with Chizik again.

The two had no previous history when Chizik interviewed him in 2015 for a job as defensive backs coach, but the job interview itself established the foundation of their relationship. They met early one morning in Atlanta, in a nondescript building in an industrial complex so they could keep the interview under wraps.

For eight hours, it was just Warren, Chizik and a white board. Chizik not only asked Warren to run through plays, he asked him to explain every scenario he drew up. The more they talked, the more they bonded.

That bond remained after Chizik stepped away. Chizik called Warren frequently to go over concepts and plays -- including hours-long Zoom calls going over specific details from games to new concepts that he was running.

"You don't study and meet if you aren't going to coach again," Warren said. "The depth he went into, the detail, the notes. He'd go visit NFL teams. I knew eventually he would become a football coach again."

Without question, this is a big season for North Carolina as it heads into Year 4 under Brown. What appeared to be a program on an upward trajectory -- with a preseason ranking at No. 10 a year ago -- hit a setback after instead going 6-7, with an entire team that underperformed.

Despite losing starting quarterback Sam Howell, there are talented players returning -- especially on defense, with a deep group along the defensive line and in the secondary.

"I think we can play really good on defense because we're talented," Brown said. "We're young still. We made too many mistakes last year. We had too many penalties, and too many missed tackles. We're going to make sure that we don't give up as many explosive plays, because sometimes we played great. That's what got me. It's my fault when you have a team that can play great, but they don't. That's my job, and that's why I felt like a failure. We've got better players than our record. We're not going to do that again."

The goal, of course, is to make it to the ACC championship game, something that has eluded Brown to date. As it happens, there is an assistant head coach on staff with ACC championship game experience: Chizik.

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Gene Chizik's return to coaching was inspired by a 'perfect fit' with Mack Brown and North Carolina - ESPN

The most profound comment Ive ever heard in 25 years covering college football came from Greg Schiano. There are two things every man in America thinks he can do, the Rutgers coach once told me. Work a grill and coach football.

I think I can make a pretty tasty steak. Im also wise enough to realize I really cant coach football. Lord knows Ive done enough fly-on-the-wall access pieces over the years where Ive glazed over after 45 minutes of trying to keep up in a defensive staff room. Id been an assistant coach on my sons teams the previous two seasons, and thats been more about helping run practices and getting kids lined up. The head coach came up with the plays and decided which ones to call in the game.

My son, Ben, a second-grader, is obsessed with football. He devours NFL Films pieces and any game highlights he can find. And since I still havent gotten over my own parents forcing me to shut off Monday Night Football after the first quarter throughout my childhood, Ive given him a lot of leeway when it comes to his football watching.

Hes played in our local 8-on-8 league for three seasons and has loved it. The league, which allows for blocking and line play, has a bunch of plays nullified by penalties or dropped snaps. When I heard there was an NFL flag league 20 minutes away that was 5-on-5 and had more passing, I wanted him to try it. We knew one kid in the league from his soccer team, and that kids dad said their coach was great. After trading emails, we were set to join the team. But a few days later, the league sent an email saying it needed more head coaches. I ignored it, as I did the second email, but then came a third if the league didnt get more coaches, it might have to drop 20 kids.

And so begins the story of a dad me who was a reluctant youth football coach who took a careers worth of Xs-and-Os lessons, mantras and rants to a pee-wee league to truly learn what I actually do and dont know about the sport I cover.

I really did not want to be a head coach. It was a new league for us, with different rules. Who were the kids? Where would we find a practice field? Questions Id let other people deal with in the past. But I offered to do it. A player draft was scheduled the following Tuesday.

A few weeks after sign-up, the league had held its combine. Similar to the NFL, the players were measured by height and weight. In the NFL, players run a 40-yard dash. In pee-wee NFL, they run a 30. How far a kid can throw a football is also tracked.

My son didnt participate in the combine. We went, but after waiting in line for an hour, we left. My son was part of about a third of the 80 kids registered in Bens division of first- and second-graders without combine info. Ben had also been in a baseball league, and I knew of a half-dozen other kids signed up from that league. I jotted down another half-dozen names with fast 30 times.

I went to the draft with 11 kids circled. I met the other seven coaches. But it wasnt really a draft like I knew. Before we started, the commissioner went around the table and asked which kids the coaches already had lined up kids previously on their teams or, in the case of two kids on my list, who were friends with someone on their teams. One dad rattled off the numbers designating all of the baseball kids I had on my list. Suddenly, I was down to one of my 11.

Thats when the draft actually began. I had the third pick. I spotted a kid who had one of the eight fastest 30-yard times and was one of the heaviest kids on the list. Sold.

The commissioner pointed out that my first pick also has a brother and I would be taking him too. He was about the same weight but didnt run nearly as fast. I assumed they were twins. The rest of the draft moved slowly. Half of the kids I picked didnt have any measurements listed. One of the fastest players I drafted was Ava, the only girl in the league.

Driving home, it dawned on me: My first pick was the same height as my son, but 40 pounds heavier, and yet ran around what I thought my son wouldve been timed. Hmmm.

Three days later, the Pee-Wee Rams had our first practice. My first pick and his brother showed up early. They werent twins. My first pick was a kindergartner, the younger brother of a second-grader. I soon realized his 30-time was probably a typo. We had only six kids show up. The one other kid I knew from our previous league was out of town, but his dad said he could help coach. I didnt realize this going in, but we had a lot of younger kids. In the other sports leagues my son has played in, it was all kids in the same grade. In this league, it was first- and second-graders plus our kindergartener.

Half our team was in first grade or kindergarten, which meant this was the first exposure to football for most of them. We practiced flag-pulling drills and I showed them one play I had drawn up on an index card. It had three receivers on one side. One receiver would run a go-route. The inside receiver would run an out-route. The outside receiver would go last and run a slant, hopefully getting open in the defenses confusion with the crisscrossing. For about 20 minutes, the only confusion was our players trying not to run into each other. We repped that play 30 times. We didnt leave until we had each kid do something right that we highlighted.

My son was excited after practice because he ran circles around the rest of our team. But on the way home, I kept thinking we might get blown off the field by these other teams what if my kid ends up losing his love for football? Another parent I know had told me of a bad experience his son had with a wreck of a team that seemed to gut his boy.

I thought about that all night.

I never heard from one of the kids Id drafted, and the dad of another kid said his son wouldnt be able to play because it was too far away. My best hope was to add another player. I knew a college coach who just moved his family to Los Angeles. Id met his son before; he was a first-grader, but hed grown up around football and his parents were former college athletes. I didnt know if hed played before, but on his moms Instagram, Id seen him smashing home runs in T-ball. The next morning, I called his dad, who said check with his wife.

We were in luck. Kannon was in.

Our first game was eight days away. I figured we should get in an extra practice since the dad from the team Ben was supposed to be on told me theyd already scrimmaged another team. I Googled some youth football plays but reasoned thats probably what a lot of the teams were running, so I thought about some of the stuff the college coaches I know did and then tried to kid-ify them.

Mike Leachs go-to Air-Raid play 92 made sense. Years earlier, Id co-wrote Leachs book, Swing Your Sword, and in it he shared a story of staying at his buddy Peter Berg, the filmmakers house. Over breakfast, Berg asked Leach for help with his kids team. Run a bunch of crossing routes, Leach implored. Little kids get confused easily. Leach said Bergs team won a championship. I was just hoping itd help us be competitive. I also wanted to incorporate Wake Forests Slow Mesh because it gives defenses fits since it messes with their patience.

I scheduled practices on Monday and Friday. We divided practice into four segments: warm-ups (catching the ball and stretching), flag-pulling, repping a few plays that Id drawn up and sprints.

The rules of the league: All players are eligible receivers. Only one player can rush the quarterback and that player has to start from 10 yards behind the line. The field is 40 yards by 40 yards. On the first play in our first game, against the Chiefs, we gave up a 30-yard run in part because I didnt understand how I should align our defenders. We were 10 yards off the line. Bad idea. Our kids, though, responded by making a goal-line stand. On offense, we hit some big plays. Kannon scored twice, weaving through the defense. Then we tried the Slow Mesh. The delayed timing of it confused a few of their defenders. Our running back found an opening and ran 35 yards for another touchdown. We had an 18-12 lead late in the game, which I almost blew. An outside run I called near our own goal line turned into a safety.

Fortunately, we hung on to win, 18-14. The kids and their parents were downright giddy. I kept thinking my stupid play call couldve cost us the game. Regardless, we werent going to be winless!

The following Sunday, we faced the 49ers. When they came out at the coin toss, I saw they had plays diagrammed on their wristbands. They all have wristbands?!

On the first play of the game, we gave up a 35-yard touchdown run because of a zone that had been vacated. Clearly, an issue, we, er, I hadnt fixed.

Offensively, our kids understood what I was asking them to do from the play cards. We added to the Slow Mesh. My son had watched dozens of Wake Forest plays so he had a feel for it, other than the quarterbacks Butt Block that wouldve been a penalty. The third time, we lined up to run it, we put Kannon next to him, figuring the defense would go right after him. Ben knew that if they did, he would have an open receiver outside. The idea of running a real run-pass option play with a 7-year-old quarterback handling post-snap reads felt a little dicey. I cant even get Ben to use his fork all the time. Now hes reading the cornerback?

The play unfolded how I thought it might. The defense was aggressive. Ben saw the kid he was reading move and threw the pass. We got a 25-yard completion. A few plays later, Ben scored the game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard run. It looked like a funky misdirection play. After the game, Kannons dad asked me about what Id called.

That was an accident, I explained. (Our quarterback) turned the wrong way for the handoff but had the wherewithal to backhand Ben the ball, and he just sprinted in because the defense was drawn to the opposite side.

Yeah, Im definitely adding that play to our offense. It looked like the old Statue of Liberty play. We called it Spin Draw.

On the drive home, I called Dave Clawson, the Wake Forest coach, and told him were running the Slow Mesh with our pee-wee team and, its working! He got a kick out of that.

Youre our first convert! he said.

No other teams have tried to copy the Slow Mesh in college football. The Wake Forest staff has been tight-lipped, especially after WakeyLeaks, when a former Wake assistant got caught sharing their game-planning secrets with opposing coaches.

In the three seasons before Clawsons offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero came up with the Slow Mesh, Wake averaged 17 points. In the five seasons since, the Demon Deacons are averaging 36 points and are the only ACC team to average more than 30 points each year.

Necessity is the mother of invention, Clawson said. When we got to Wake Forest, we installed a lot of the stuff that we ran at Bowling Green. We werent very good and a lot of the defensive lines in that league were so good. Any time we dropped back to throw, we were getting sacked. But one of the hardest things to do as a defensive lineman is transition from defending the run to defending the pass. When you know its pass, you get in that stance and take off. What we had to do in our league was to prevent the teams in our league from doing that.

Its hard to keep secrets in coaching. Most coaches concede that since rivals have your game film, they essentially can figure out what youre doing. Theyre adept at reverse-engineering things. Plus, coaches visit other staffs and secrets get out. In the case of Wake Forests Slow Mesh, opponents know what theyre doing. They just dont know how. As Clawson told me, you cant break down their film and evaluate it in a traditional way: These route concepts have these built-in rules if this happens, the ball goes here. Nobody quite knows our rules.

Clawson, who began 13-24 in his first three seasons at Wake, changed how he operates because of WakeyLeaks: We dont share. Were not open. Before WakeyLeaks, I was probably as open as any coach in the country. The amount that we were compromised and the number of games that probably cost us wasnt worth it.

I told him how we warm up on the far side of the stadium to avoid practicing our plays within the eyesight of the opponent and how I deleted a video of one of our plays that Id posted online just in case someone might come across it and study it. I cringe at how ridiculous this all sounds.

Welcome to the world of paranoid coaches, Clawson said.

In Week 3, we beat the Ravens. They defended the Slow Mesh well because they werent very aggressive. The Slow Mesh wasnt a factor the next week against the Cowboys, in what became another lopsided victory. Kannon got two pick-6s. Preston, the one kid I knew of from our old football league that we were able to draft, was everywhere on defense, pulling flags. Ben scored on a couple of long touchdown runs, the second one coming on our new Spin Draw play.

We were 4-0. My kid and his new friends were having a blast.

I felt fantastic on the ride home. For years, Ive worried about how time was slipping away and my kids were growing up so fast. In the fall, I often was away on weekends, covering college football games and face-timing our twins at night. It eats at me at how often Id jump up and leave the dinner table or walk out of their rooms because Id gotten caught up chasing some news story. Sometimes, they were big stories. Most times, they werent, but I had gotten so wired for the chase that my ego and competitiveness were getting the worst of me. I knew I was missing out on moments Id never get back.

I never had any common ground with my own father and a bond never took. Coaching this team didnt just mean I was getting to share something that my son and I both loved, but also the 25-minute car rides to practices and games three times a week, where it was just us, meant me getting to see him develop and him getting to see me believe in him. Id gotten inside my head so much about fielding a team, that the most important aspects of this had escaped me till that drive home. My wife and daughter would often come to the games but would leave early while Ben and I finished up.

When we walked through the door, my wife asked, Hey, whyd you put Ben back in the game late in the second half? I told her that we needed to practice that play in the game since we hadnt run it much.

We thought you were running up the score? my wife said, as our babysitter nodded in agreement.

Really?

Well said our babysitter, looking like she just got a whiff of bad air. My wife suggested I get the opinion of the dad who has been a college coach for more than 20 years.

That coach laughed when I called him and said, You just coach the team how you see fit.

The challenge with coaching youth sports is trying to do the best you can to help your team while remembering youre coaching little kids. Your competitiveness tends to get in the way. For some, that might show as frustration with the referees. For others, it might show as frustration with the kids. For me, it surfaced with the angst when our team showed signs we were going to have much more success than Id anticipated.

Id initially defined success to the team as: All were trying to do is be the most improved team in the league. Thats all that matters. Id told them that repeatedly over our first month together. Id absorbed enough coaching mantras over the years. Some resonated with me so much that I saw the value they had in real life, away from the field control what you can control. Thats wisdom if you can be disciplined enough to not get hung up on things you dont have any control over.

Id heard a thousand times from coaches I cover not to lose sight of the present and muddle up the process or The Process, as Nick Saban has always said. Be the most improved felt right since it was more process-focused than results-oriented. But then, in my own head, it became about having an undefeated season and winning the championship. I didnt say that to the team. But it was hard not to think beyond the next practice or the next game.

Football is a game wrapped up in its preparation. We romanticize stories of coaches who sleep in their offices or wake up every day at 3:17 a.m. They pour over film with the lights dimmed for hours, studying upcoming opponents to flesh out tendencies or their own teams having every drill shot from a variety of angles.

In my sons old league, the games were filmed. As it was explained to me, the reason was so you could send the link to grandma or grandpa and they could watch the game in what was condensed to 10-minute videos. The reality: Many of the dads used it as a scouting opportunity. For me, it was also a great way to teach my son more about the game. I could show him, as a cornerback, when a running play broke to the opposite side of the field, why him not turning and running at full speed with the proper angle mightve allowed a touchdown. That visual evidence made sense to him.

The following week, that very scenario happened again. This time, he took off and was waiting for the ball carrier near the 40-yard line. The film was invaluable because theres just so much that goes into each play in football that its impossible to see live.

Before the season, I talked to one of the parents about filming our games. We played early on Sundays, and by Sunday night, Nick, our assistant coach, had the film on YouTube. My son couldnt get enough of it. Hed study where certain plays he ran broke open and how defenses tried to cover our pass plays. The replays showed me things I missed in real time. The first time we ran 92 Leachs play and sure enough, Dane, one of the receivers running the crossing route did slap hands with Kannon, just as wed coached him to.

Every Sunday, we won, beginning the season 7-0 with the playoffs upcoming. Our regular-season finale was against the Chiefs. Id learned that the Chiefs had won the league title the previous season. Wed watched them a few times playing in games after ours. They had a lot of good players.

We led 18-8 and got the ball to start the second half. The game was tight and I could feel that some of our kids were pressing. Little kids definitely dont have poker faces. We threw an interception, and then another. The more plays the Chiefs made, the louder their families cheered, and the more frazzled our kids got. The Chiefs won, 26-24.

Our team was deflated. I wasnt sure what to tell them. I said that I was proud of them and wed had a great season. Before we broke our huddle, I said that the playoffs were what really mattered and if we kept playing well, wed get to play them again. Was that really what I should have been telling them?

Each of our players seemed to be wired differently. One was overly aggressive. Another was very analytical. Another was too hard on himself. Another was easily distracted. (Well, many of them were.) What would be the best way to get them settled down?

I got a call from Chris Petersen that week. The former Boise State and Washington coach had become a colleague last season. We sat in the green room watching games every Saturday. Getting to pick his brain about plays and players and everything else thatd come up while staring at 14 TV monitors was a treat. Long before he walked away from coaching, wed have deep conversations about the books hed been reading. When I saw his name pop up on my phone, I asked his advice about trying to push the right emotional buttons.

Petersen had left coaching to find a better work-life balance. Several months after that, he and I had a long talk about how the grind of college football was so at odds with his own preferred temperament. I heard from dozens of people, in and out of coaching, who identified with those issues. Petersen had become a resource to coaches at all levels in all sports.

Petersen asked if Id seen the interview Masters champion Scottie Scheffler gave the day before the final round. When asked how hes been able to remain so calm, He said, If I win this tournament, it will change my life on the golf course, but it wont change my personal life at home. So Im able to play freely, knowing that the rest really isnt up to me, Petersen recalled, in a tone of admiration.

Petersen has said half-jokingly that he wanted to come back in another life as a youth football coach and would stress how no emphasis would be put on winning the games, and that so many important life lessons can be instilled at that age. Listening to him got me thinking that the counter was also likely true that there also could be a lot of psychological damage that could be done then as well. They truly need to be taught how to fail the right way, he said. Then they can understand it is a process and that is how you learn. He explained to me a formula hes talked through to many coaches that he picked up from a consultant named Brett Ledbetter.

Write this down, he said. Start with C, then a greater than sign, and then P. Then another greater than sign. Then R. So, its C>P>R.

The most important part, the C, stands for character. That, Petersen described, is how you are as a person, how you treat your teammates and your opponents. The P stands for process, which is in the details for how you play the game. Doing the little things right. We dont care about what the refs do. We support each other, Petersen said.

The R is the least important thing, which everybody makes the most important part, and that is the result, Petersen said. Its not where were focused. It just should be about how they compete. Were not gonna complain; were not gonna point fingers. Sometimes, the other team is just better than you, and thats OK.

I got his message. But not right away. I initially took it as the result didnt matter. Id be lying to myself, and to the kids, if I said that. It wasnt until sitting down to write this story that Petersens formula clicked.

We beat the Raiders in our first playoff game and then beat the Bengals the following day. Nick, our assistant coach, and I stayed with our sons to watch the other semifinal to see who wed play next. The Chiefs defeated the 49ers, so wed face them for a third time. Nick noticed something he thought gave the Chiefs trouble. He suggested a new play, where wed line up with trips to one side. At the snap, my son Ben would run back toward our quarterback (Nicks son Preston), rolling out to the trips side to set up what felt like a reverse. Sometimes, Preston would hand it to Ben. Other times, hed fake it and throw it to either of the receivers on the trips side.

I also had a couple of other plays Id worked on that wed practiced the week earlier. When the team gathered for our warm-up before the title game, I mentioned to Preston that we had some new plays. He glanced at what had grown to be a half-inch thick stack of index cards.

All of them? he said, bug-eyed.

Uh no, I replied, realizing that Id gone from three play cards to a dozen over the course of the season. Theres just one new card. Apparently, I have as much trouble self-editing in coaching as I do in my writing.

More than anything, we tried being encouraging with the kids. Ava was our pass rusher. She was one of our faster players, but this was her first season playing any football. Wed emphasized to her how important her role was. Most of the interceptions in the league occurred when the quarterback was rushed. All we needed her to do was to watch the snap and run fast at the quarterback.

Dane had been primarily our center. We knew he had good hands. We just hadnt thrown the ball to him a lot. We were going to get him more involved. We figured theyd key on Kannon and Ben since theyd had several big plays when we faced the Chiefs previously. Dane also would have to play a lot at cornerback something he hadnt done much before, but we were missing one of our better players. Since it was the hottest day of our season, we wouldnt use Dane in as many snaps at center because we didnt want to wear him out.

Nicks trips play got us our first touchdown. Ava and Dane had their best games of the season. My favorite moment of the season, though, was when Preston hauled in a deep pass up the right sideline, turning his body around before snagging it with one hand. It was a remarkable catch for anyone, much less a second-grader. Watching the game back the next day, I had chills hearing the excitement in his dads voice when his boy made that acrobatic play. We won, 18-6. Our kids were elated.

I cant recall ever being so overcome with delight from any sporting event Ive been at as I was watching our Rams and their families celebrate that Sunday in late April. My hunch is they wouldnt have been quite so emotional if we hadnt lost to this team a few weeks earlier. Nick had told them after the game that day that that loss would make them better. He was right.

A few weeks after we won our Super Bowl, I sat down with Clawson to talk about the Slow Mesh and the Pee-Wee Rams. I showed him our version of the Slow Mesh in the videos saved on my phone. This is awesome, he said, laughing.

I also showed him our play that became Spin Draw.

Thats the same-side handoff stuff that were doing, Clawson said, as he got up and began to realign some nearby wooden chairs. Nowadays, what so many defenses do, is theres the three-technique and theres the five. Everybody wants to put their three-technique to the side of the back because if youre running the traditional zone read, you want that end to play both. But if this guy is a shade, that gap gets so wide that he cant play both

It was around this point of our conversation that I remembered that I really cant coach football.

Read more:
Feldman: The coaching and parenting lessons I learned coaching my sons pee-wee football team - The Athletic

Posted 15 hours ago

Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? Thats the Intel. This rep has the latest with Justice Haynes prior to his big official visit this weekend in Athens. He ranks as the nations No. 4 RB and the No. 23 overall prospect for 2023 on the 247Sports Composite ratings.

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Justice Haynes is one of the 13 official visitors in town this weekend at UGA. His official visit will wrap up in a few hours and then he will have officials to Florida, Alabama and Ohio State later this month.

Where he stands going into this month was worth an in-depth Sunday read.

Thats because hes important to the 2023 Georgia class for so many reasons. First and foremost, hes a tremendous prospect for any championship-contending program.

Haynes could serve as the primary tailback, even at a program like Georgia, for multiple seasons.

That means he is capable enough of being the correct answer in a debate about the nations top RB in the 2023 cycle. The 5-foot-10, 207-pounder is an All-American and the son of former Georgia great Verron Haynes.

Haynes had a solid NFL career in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Having that type of father provides a wealth of knowledge and guidance and inspiration about what it takes to be an impact player on Friday, Saturday and Sundays.

Haynes trains like he aims to be the best running back in the world one day. His work habits and regimen have mirrored a college running back training for an NFL Combine for a few years now.

Hes in Athens for the next few hours this morning. A recent interview with Haynes offered up a wealth of information heading into that official. The plan was for it to wrap up just after noon on Sunday.

He has a potential baseball game and his sisters graduation party as conflicts with his schedule later that day. Thats why his 48-hour official visit window began just after noon on Friday.

To cover the ground here as quickly as Haynes does, lets go over a few major talking points for Haynes this weekend and for the rest of his recruiting journey.

Did you know the weekly DawgNation.com Before the Hedges program is available as an Apple podcast? Click to check it out and download it.

All-American RB Justice Haynes ranks as the nation's No. 3 RB prospect and the No. 47 overall recruit for 2023 on the 247Sports Composite rating. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

Jeff Sentell, Dawgnation

All-American RB Justice Haynes was back in Athens for the national title celebration on January 15, 2022, at Sanford Stadium. (Instagram)

Instagram, Dawgnation

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Justice Haynes: Legacy All-American RB has a busy life-shaping month up ahead with official visits - DawgNation