I’ve
been struggling to keep this blog updated but it has been a busy past
month. Here’s some of what’s been going
on …
Double gold medal in Rio for Deja Young
Last
time I mentioned that I coach a girl who is part of Team USA Paralympics. Well it was a heckuva meet for Deja Young in
Rio as she swept the 100m and 200m sprints and brought home two gold
medals. Since her victories in Rio, it
has been a whirlwind. She has become a
media darling, got the key to the city of Wichita and had an Olympic Oak Tree
planted on campus in her honor. It’s
been fun to have a part in her success and I think it has been a great experience
for her!
We
gave her a little time off after the Paralympics but now she is back on the
track with her WSU teammates getting ready for the indoor season. Great job Deja!
Shocker Track Update
We’ve
been doing a lot of recruiting lately.
Previously I had mentioned how this was going to be an important year of
recruiting on the women’s side and we’ve begun to make headway on the class of ’17. We’ve already had nearly 30 official visits
this fall and have eight commitments thus far.
The early signing period is a few weeks away and we are hoping to bring
in a few more.
Recruiting
is not an exact science but generally the harder you work the more success you
have. Our staff has really taken up the
challenge of putting together a quality group of women this year. So far so good!
Practice has been going well. After 6 weeks of conditioning, we put our kids though a week of testing (that went good overall). Now we are a couple weeks into our next phase of training that will take us through the end of this semester. It's a grind right now. Trying to keep the kiddos focused while working them as hard as possible.
I’ll
be heading up to Northern Iowa this weekend to watch our cross country team
compete in the Missouri Valley Championships.
Both our men and women are picked second in the pre-meet poll. Coach Hunter has the team running really well
so we are optimistic we will bring home some hardware! Top-2 get trophies but, as always, our kids are
not going to be satisfied with anything less than the top spot.
Tomorrow
(Wed, Oct 26), Coach Rainbolt will have his annual Golf-a-thon fundraiser where
he will walk and play the number of holes consistent with how old he is. This year he turns 59. He’ll begin as the sun rises over Willowbend
Golf Course and will hopefully be done with 59 holes (and around 28 miles) by
sunset. If you’re around come out and
walk nine with Bolt as he tries to reach his goal and raise some money for
Shocker T&F!
Travel
Since
I got such a good response from my travel blog about Southeast Asia I thought I’d
mention some of the places I get to go from time to time in this space.
A few
weeks ago I headed out east to catch some football and hang out with some great
people. First, I took in the Florida/Tennessee
rivalry in Knoxville, Tennessee. I’ve
been to plenty of big time sporting events but witnessing the craziness that is
Rocky Top (as well as seeing them defeat rival Florida) is way, way up
there. That whole Rocky Top thing is
pretty hilarious – they really love that song!
On the
same trip I headed back home to Cincinnati to catch the Bengals home opener
against the Denver Broncos.
Unfortunately the good guys weren’t able to pull this one out but it was
a fun game nonetheless. I had a couple
of Cincy style cheese coneys so I was a very happy guy.
Other
than that, I’ve not been anywhere too exotic lately. It’s been a lot of traveling to see recruits
and staying in hotels with continental breakfasts. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can get out
to some place that will bring some entertaining stories.
I’m
thinking of taking another international vacation next year and am looking for
ideas. I’ve been to parts of Europe,
Asia and the Caribbean. What does
everyone think of Iceland? I’ve been
doing a lot of research and I’m very intrigued.
Thoughts on Iceland or anywhere else fun?
Movies
October
is always a great month for movies because of Halloween. This year in the downtown Warren in Wichita
they brought back a ton of old horror movies for $5. I love a good horror movie. Also we just had the Tallgrass Film Festival
that brings in great independent films from all over the world. Here is a recap of what I’ve seen since the
last blog …
Sept
16 – Sully – This is the retelling
of the Chelsey Sullenberger story where the American pilot emergency landed his
commercial flight in the Hudson River (directed by Clint Eastwood). Overall I thought it was a solid movie, with
the most interesting part being how he had to defend himself through the
post-landing investigation. Rating 7/10
Sept
19 – Snowden – Oliver Stone’s latest
movie about former NSA Intelligence employee Edward Snowden (played well by
Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his trials and tribulations about classified
government documents. I liked this movie
and it makes you think what would you do in the situation? Gordon-Levitt is also becoming one of my
favorite actors. 7/10
Sept
28 – Blair Witch – Sequel to the
hugely successful 1999 film that broke ground in low-budget horror. This new version could be broken down to two
parts. The first hour is an average set
up with fairly uninteresting characters.
The final 30 minutes is very good and leaves you on the edge of your
seat until the end! If you liked the first
one, you’ll like this one. 7/10
Oct 3 –
The Exorcist – The 1973 original was
the opening film in the downtown Wichita horror month and wow was it
terrific! I’ve seen The Exorcist before but
never on a big screen. Seeing it in the
theater was absolutely riveting. If you
ever get a chance do the same. Great stuff! 9/10
Oct 4 –
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch –
The only Halloween movie that wasn’t about Michael Myers, it was made in 1982. I saw this movie as a kid and thought it was
kind of cool. It is a little dated now
and is probably more funny than scary but I still enjoyed it. 6/10
Oct 6 –
Phantasm – This 1979 horror movie
scared the crap out of me as a kid. All
I could ever remember was the scary tall man and the sphere that chased people
through the mausoleum (and then killed you).
It has been digitally remastered so I gave it another look. Still was a lot of fun! 7/10
Oct 10
– Phantasm 5: Ravager – The latest
of the Phantasm sequels (and probably the last) was opening here. Super low budget and not near as good as the
original but I still enjoyed seeing all the old characters from the original
back trying to defeat the bad guys. 5/10
Oct 14
– The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – This is Ron Howard’s
latest movie (part of the Tallgrass Film Festival) about the touring years of
the Beatles. The documentary focused on
the quick rise to superstardom for the group and how they basically invented
the stadium concert. I could tell most
of the audience was older and fans of the Beatles because half the crowd sung
along with the songs. Really good movie,
rarely do I attend a movie where the crowd claps and sings through the end of
the credits! 8/10
Oct 24
– Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
– Wow, this is one of the most disturbing movies I’ve ever seen. Made in 1986 and not released until 1990
because of rating disputes with the MPAA, it was banned in most cities around
the country. I can see why. It’s not that gory or gruesome (although
there is some blood) but the disturbing thing is how real it is. It has an eerie feel all the way through and
as I walked out of the theater I was a little paranoid about every person I saw
on the street. This is daring filmmaking
for 1986 and I’m so glad I was able to see it.
9/10
Next time
I’ll
be back to update everyone on the latest goings in Shocker T&F, my travels
and movies! Hopefully sooner than a
month from now!
Until
then, thanks for reading and Go Shocks!
