DOB

SS 12-0 at the half

somebody's reading too many of their own press clippings ....

K 14-9 at halftime

Been involved in it twice ... neither had the desired outcome.

Dime Box ....

The varsity part got about 9 plays in before a lightning delay ... they finally gave up about an hour later

SS is still learning and yearning ... kinda a long way from being where they need to be ... new coach/staff and coming off an O-fer is a tall order to change in a brief span ... Jax in somewhat same scenario but have QB that will probably make the difference in this one. SS has a young, small RB that shows some talent last year when I watched him ... didn't really get rolling though in the Lindale scrimmage ... at times, didn't look like the same kid as I remembered. Jax must improve on D to be in the hunt long-term ... not giving up 39 ppg like last year would certainly be a plus.

The Palestine - Kaufman scrimmage got only 9 plays in before being called after about an hour delay.

Kind of a toss-up ... depends a lot on continued development of K's new QB - though good quality RB returns to help carry O while QB develops. We shall see how this plays out ... it's early and early means that odd-shaped ball can take funny bounces, Just hoping everybody on both sidelines stays healthy ...

Jax-K Zipped thru it real quick this morning ....this is what I think it looked like Controlled ... Jax 1 (long pass) and K-1; Backemups 0-0 Other ... Jax 2, K 2 (one a long run); Jax added FG What I took away from it ... Between the tackles on both sides of the ball is not Jax strength yet Turnover issues - Jax had three INT (at least one a potential pick-six) and one lost fumble; K had one Int Defense for both will need to improve ... which I expect they will ... Jax D showed a little more intensity than what I remember last year ... All-in-all, it is too early to be making assumptions on either bunch ... I'm just glad Friday nights are back. Doesn't look like many Jax fans made the trip.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/sports/texas-referees-abuse-fans-parents-players/ The Umpire Strikes Back

I can pre-date that ... I came at the end of the tackle-twill era .....

Yea, but you might put the wristband flip-top people outta business and ruin the economy .... and then what would the signaling one or two assistant coaches have to do while on the sideline during a game? ... tis a lol

Good point - Of that, I have NO doubt ... we were running it as far back as the early Sixties when I was in Jr. High and when ole Shep was justa newborn pup ...

Good observation ... though his wrinkles tend to center on wingback motions (2nd Back Thru and Weakside Quick Pitch) ... example: the one play I have seen him use that other Wings don't usually include in their basic package is what we usta call The Second Back Thru ... have only seen him run it versus even fronts ... Is very similar to Scott Phillip's Split Back's 2nd Back Thru ... he liked it also versus even fronts, but he would run it against odds if they pinch the tackle to help on the inside dives. I have always assumed that their 2nd Back Thru concept came from the early Bellard Wishbone ... no confirmation ... just hadn't seen it earlier than that. I believe Barrett was originally from Weatherford and I know he went to Tarleton ... so I am assuming he is one of the classic leftovers from the West Texas Wing-T bunch that once dominated the scene. No one can argue with his success, although some have contributed his district championship dominance on the school's long association in the Ft. Worth UIL district. Doesn't matter though ... I like to watch him at work, I'm just glad I'm not sitting across from him on the chessboard every Friday night.

... sorry, I just had a flashback ... one thing new coaches are "missing" ... up until video came into vogue and acceptable in the mid-to-late Eighties ... after a game, we had to drive a few hours to Pasadena to have the game film developed ... then we would wait around until they were finished with it (first come first served) ... all the coaches there would gather at some all-night coffee shop to visit, talk football, again drawing on napkins, and wait it out. If we were lucky, we would get back home with the film about daylight ... and it was always our responsibility to bring the donuts and have the coffee ready when the rest of the staff arrived. Like many things over the years, HUDL spoils the youngsters. I probably look older than I really am because of all the sleep I lost.

Had many a good discussion along these lines sitting at a Clinic coffee shop drawing on napkins ... in reality, both concepts are correct - you have to run what you know and can teach ... and you have to use that you know to fit your kids ... as a result, if you look closely at the evolution on both sides of the ball, you will find that successful people adjust what they do know to feature the talents of their kids for any given season ... that may be an oversimplification, but I suspect that that is where a lot of "new" innovations come from ... example - I do see coaches who rarely snap under center who use and meld the older offensive blocking schemes and theories that come from the Slot and Wing days ... when I started coaching, I hit used book stores every time we traveled to clinics, college spring trainings, and coaching schools to buy every older coaching title I could locate - probably had 500 titles about both sides of the ball dating back to the 1910's ... what I learned was that absolutely nothing I saw in my coaching days or see now is really new ... it's just a remake from the past that someone has put a new vernacular spin on ... and it's always best to remember, that techniques may change - but fundamentals never do.

That would be Mike Malham, HC at Cabot since the early 1980's, retiring I think in 2018 ... somewhere I remember reading that even he made some adjustments to the Dead-T near the end of his career to accent a tremendous athlete at QB ...

I doubt you will find anything, T to Spread, in its pure form anymore (my mind is not what it usta be, so don't quote me here: but the last time I personally remember what I would call a pure Dead-T was Celina early this century - and even they had a few wrinkles). What people call the Wing-T, Slot-T, etc. now is hardly what we ran in the Seventies and Eighties ... I suppose the evolution of such would and should be expected Since I kinda still have a dog in the hunt (with 25 years of his own), I have watched and studied the old and the new over my last 45 years in education. What has really changed from offenses, that was so strongly an element of those you mentioned, is the Series concept. Today, it's like folks pull a play from here that they like and a play from there that they like, and then call it an offense. The question that always comes up when I have discussions with young'uns is this - do you have an offense or do you have just a collection of plays? And there is a big difference ... most people, especially at the HS level, are followers not innovators ... and that's OK ... but that's what I liked about Spring Training - it was a non-pressured time to look outside the box a little ... never stop asking "What would happen if we did this this way" ... that's where innovation and evolution comes from.

You got that right ... embarrassing to say the least ... In reality, Alvarado probably won't see a lot of success until they find another district to try to compete in ... I saw them play several games on video and one in person this past season ... the offense was fair ... the defense was not anywhere close to fair. Gosh ... they have been in the "I" seems like forever and with 85%+ run ... if someone comes in with the Spread, that learning curve may make things even more difficult for a while.

"If you want to make everyone happy, don't be a leader - sell ice cream." -Coach Saban

No matter how hard you try, you can't make chicken salad outta chicken mess.

I'm finishing my 29th in your district (and 45th overall, including 16 coaching in several other districts before I settled in here) ... it will be my last ... I have seen enough to know its time.

Haven't found current data ... but in 2018 that position paid just under $84,000, the 5th highest salary in the district .... and just a few coins less than the HS Princ .... and less than half of what the sup makes ...