New Shirt & Socks
Today I made what I consider a significant step toward my post-football recovery. I actually purchased a green polo shirt along with a pair of black socks. Go ahead and laugh if you want, but this was a major decision for me. I did not own a single shirt that was not shark blue or black with SRHS Football written somewhere on it. Everything I own has a Nike Swoosh, Reebok, Under Armor , or some other sporting emblem written on it. I still wore one of 14 coaching shirts from my years at SRHS. I did not own a single pair of socks which were not white in color. It got so bad that my kids always knew what I was wearing without ever seeing me!! This new shirt is Melbourne Bulldogs Puke Green.......but I still like it. Who knows? I may buy a RED shirt tomorrow before the Vero Beach game. It has been a long time since I wore red.
There are a couple of great high school games over the next couple of days. Vero Beach is hosting WT Dwyer at the Citrus Bowl tomorrow night. This game is going to be a real test for the Fighting Indians. Dwyer is always tough. Also, Ft Pierce Central is hosting Glades Central down at Lawnwood Stadium on Friday night. These are two athletic heavyweights going head to head in this spring match-up. I think I am going down with a couple of my coaching buddies to see this barn burner.
Over the past three weeks, I have visited 15 different programs in the local area. Pretty pathetic don't you agree? However, I did have a great time doing it. I have visited: STEDS, Westwood, SRHS, Jensen, Port St Lucie, Martin County, Bayside, South Fork, Treasure Coast, Melbourne, Centennial, Palm Bay, Heritage, Central and Vero Beach. It was sort of cool watching the teams from afar, and talking with the college recruiters...some of whom I already knew from my years at SRHS. I have been promising a final "Coach George " team ranking of the programs I have visited, but I am not exactly how to do it and be fair to all the programs. For instance: Vero Beach would never play STEDS, so it would not be fair to rank them against one another. Also, I visited each program at different times during the spring; therefore, I am sure players have been added and/or deleted from each team's roster during the 20 Days in May. Luckily, I have been looking at kids for many years, so I can usually get a decent feeling of what type of athletes (young or mature) each program will have during the season. I will review each team individually first, look at the Spring games, then do a final Spring ranking on Saturday or Sunday. I will review five teams per night.
St. Edwards School
Coach Motta and Coach Ferrari (both great coaches) are going to have this team ready to compete in their own district for sure. Where STEDS is limited in their number of athletes, this team is fundamentally very strong. Each player's step is heavily scrutinized on every play, so they will not get beat with mental mistakes. I sent my own son to school here at STEDS, so there is a special place in my heart for this program. They will be just fine.
Westwood Panthers
Coach Lima has a clean slate to work with....he just got a late start. I saw a lot of nice looking athletes running around, so Lima seems to be adjusting his Offense to the athletes he has. This team may be a year away, but they will give a few teams some fits with their athleticism. If they can stop the flow of athletes bolting to Ft. Pierce Central, this team will make some noise by the end of the season.
Sebastian River High School
This team lost their head coach, lost most of their coaching staff, and graduated 23 seniors...most of them starters. Coach Pettis' team will rebuild with a few returning starters and some nice looking underclassmen from the JV team.
Jensen Beach High School
I don't know how to really judge Coach Fey's team right now. I saw them very early in the spring, and they too have some nice looking athletes. The offensive line looked pretty nice, and they have a nice running back returning. I think this team may surprise some people.
South Fork High School
Coach Dennis Lavelle says he is rebuilding. Frankly, I don't believe him....I never have. Lavelle always seems to come up with some surprises every single year. True, he has a stud QB to replace, and lost some offensive linemen, but this team is just reloading with underclassmen. Believe me, Lavelle will have this team ready to compete in their district.
Well, that's it for tonight. I will review 5 more teams tomorrow night. I am sorry if this is boring for some of you. But, with my pathetic life, it's all I can offer you right now without bitching and moaning about not coaching. At least I am keeping my feet wet.
GZ
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