Recap of an epic Intersquad Meet and it's time to go Old School

Our last full week together as a team this semester was a busy one!  It looks like our team has had a good fall as we head into the winter break.

Track

The main thing that happened this week was our annual Intersquad Meet on Friday.  Overall I’d say it went very well for our team.  There are always athletes who don’t compete to the level they want and an early season competition like this one is no different, but this year the Intersquad Meet felt a little more serious and focused – and the results showed.

Like I’ve explained in previous posts, our team is divided into three sqauds (Gold, White, Black) and compete against each other (as well as our alumni Gray team) in a scored quad meet.  The captains of each team serve as the coaches and they did a good job of getting everyone entered in their events and organized in all the relays.  To show how healthy our team is this year, of the 130 athletes we only had about eight that didn’t compete Friday.  That’s a pretty remarkable statistic.

Watch the replay of the Intersquad Meet here.

Gold Squad - 2014 Intersquad Champions!

The team race came down to the final event of the meet with the Gold team beating the White team by only four points (176.5-172.5).  The final event of the meet is what we call the “Special Relay” that has all kinds of crazy things going on with the conclusion being a tug-of-war.  Make sure to watch the replay of the meet above with the ending tug-of-war and you’ll see how competitive our team is about this meet.

The results of the meet don’t count on the official school top-10 or MVC lists but we do run the meet off just like a regular one so all the performances are legitimate.  This is the eighth year for the meet and there were 15 new records set.  That’s a large number!

Now the job will be for our teams to maintain their current fitness for the next four weeks while we’re on break.  Our next meet will be around January 10 and between now and then and a lot can and will happen.  Stay focused Shocks!

Team banquet and alumni

Besides having the Intersquad Meet on Friday we also have our annual team banquet and alumni social as well.  Around 300 parents, alumni, athletes and fans attended this year’s banquet where we honored last year’s team and seniors as well as kicked off the 2015 track and field season. Dozens of alumni were in attendance throughout the day and around 25 of them competed in the meet!  All in all it was a great day for Shocker Track and Field!

Around the MVC

Several teams from around the conference competed on the opening weekend of the college track and field season.  From looking at the results it appears many of our MVC opponents had good semesters as well.  Our conference continues to get better and better every year – another reason our athletes will need to be ready to compete when they come back in January.  Check out the results and updated TFRRS list here.

Recruiting

Now that the semester is over, recruiting will also slow down a bit.  After signing five athletes in the November signing period, we’ve had a couple more give verbal commitments.  Those athletes can sign their letter of intent in April and until then we will continue to work on the 2015 recruiting class.  I think we will also be adding between two and five new athletes in January but we’re not able to publicly comment on those athletes until next semester.

What do track coaches do for the next four weeks?

Not all track coaches are the same but the next month will be the last time for many of us to have a break until July.  The next week will be mostly around the office, checking on how athletes are doing academically as well as having some sporadic practices.  Our staff will be getting together to discuss the state of our team as well as thinking about who we might want to redshirt in the upcoming indoor season.  The following week several of us will attend the annual USTFCCCA Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.  Following that we will be back in the office for a few days getting ready for the early part of the January schedule and celebrating the holidays (I’ll be in Florida with my family).

These four weeks will surely fly by and we’ll be gathered back up for track practice in no time!

“O” Movies

This is the 15th of a 24 part series (are you bored yet?) where I list movies I own by letter (I don’t have any movies that begin with Q, X or Z but I do have some that start with numbers).  I currently own a small collection of 178 movies (and growing most weeks) on DVD.

Most of the movies I own I had previously seen and enjoyed immensely.  Some are movies that I had not seen but was curious about.  Some were gifts from people with bad tastes in movies.

I only own five “O” movies but it’s a good list!  Here’s the list from best to worst …..

Movie Name (year made, length, MPAA rating, IMDB rating, Worldwide box office)

Old School (2003, 91 min, R, 7.2, $87m) – The bringing together of Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughan was genius for this movie that follows three older guys (including Luke Wilson) who create a fraternity near a college campus where they can relive their younger days.  Ferrell is probably at his all-time funniest as he owns the screen for most of the movie (who can forget him streaking through campus alone when his wife picks him up in her car with her friends).  This is a great comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously – funny, funny stuff.

Office Space (1999, 89 min, R, 7.9, $10.8m) – I can’t believe this movie is 15 years old already but what a great little small budget comedy!  Made with mostly unknown actors (at the time), this movie became a cult classic with its funny jokes and being easy to relate to because of the mundane office work so many people deal with everyday.  Director Mike Judge is probably best known for being the creator of Beavis and Butthead and some of the jokes don’t stray too far from that type of show but overall it’s a very smart movie. Ummmmm yeah I'm gonna need for you to come in on Saturday, ok ... thank you.

Oldboy (2003, 120 min, R, 8.4, $14.9m) – This isn’t the recent Spike Lee movie, it’s the original drama from South Korea that Spike remade.  Some people regard this as one of the best dramas to ever come out of Asia and I would probably agree.  I’ve only seen it recently but upon my first viewing I was very impressed.  The basic premise of the movie is the main character is kidnapped and imprisoned (without knowing why) for 15 years before being released and stumbling upon his captor right away.  There are lots of twists and turns and I am sure multiple viewings will help in understanding everything because the first time it’s a little confusing.  But all in all it’s a very entertaining movie.  I have a fondness for horror/drama movies that come out of Asia and this one doesn’t disappoint.

The Outsiders (1983, 91 min, PG-13, $25.6m) – Really good 80’s teenager movie about two different types of gangs that get into a bad feud after one member gets killed.  One reason this Francis Ford Coppola movie continues to have appeal is because of the actors who eventually hit the big time.  Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon and Ralph Maccio are part of the cast.  It’s worth viewing to see all these guys in their early years and the movie is pretty good too.

Orgazmo (1997, 94 min, NC-17, 6.2, $602k) – From one of the creators of South Park, Trey Parker plays a naïve Morman who makes his way to California where he eventually becomes a porn star (without actually having sex).  I was in college when this movie was rumored to come out.  South Park was just coming out so anything to do with those guys had interest by college-aged kids.  The actual movie was just ok but it had some definite parts of genius that you could tell these were not the average bathroom humor comedians.  A funny thing about the movie is that it’s rated NC-17 and doesn’t have any actual nudity in the film.  It’s worth seeing for anyone who is a fan of the South Park series.

Next week

Next Sunday I will be on my way to Phoenix, Arizona, for the USTFCCCA Convention so hopefully I can post a blog during the trip.  Nine “P” movies are next on the list that are mostly from the 20^th century.

Until then thanks again for reading and go Shocks!

Thanksgiving Break, we sign 5 new Shockers and Nebraska barely beats Old Men (not a Pellini joke)

The busier I am the shorter the blog – so this one will be pretty short.

Track

It’s Thanksgiving break so obviously it was a short week of practice.  Basically we worked out Monday and Tuesday then gave the team the rest of the week on their own to go home and enjoy the holiday with their family and/or friends.

Coach Rainbolt made a good point how this marked the first of six straight weeks that are different.  We’ve been in a routine for most of the fall and now we have 1) Thanksgiving week 2) Intersquad week 3) Finals week and then 4-5-6) Winter break.  It will take our athletes being disciplined and focused over that time period to come back ready for a successful indoor season.  So far we’ve had a good fall so we can’t afford to lose ground in the coming weeks.

This is a big week in our program.  We have our annual Intersquad Meet on Friday where our team is divided into Gold, White and Black and compete for the traveling trophy along with a bunch of our alumni (Gray).  It’s a very fun and exciting way to finish our fall semester and at the same time see how our team looks heading into the break.  The field events begin at 10:30am and the running events begin at 1:00pm at the Heskett Center.  If you can’t make it be sure to tune in online for the livestream.

We also have our annual team banquet after the meet on Friday night.  It’s a great way to celebrate last year’s seniors and to kick off the 2015 year.  After the banquet we get together with our alumni (old and new) to socialize and mostly talk about Shocker Track & Field!

We hope to see you at one of the above events on Friday!

Recruiting

We have released our list of signees for the early signing period.  HERE THEY ARE

Even though the list is only five athletes we have definitely addressed some of our needs.  We were looking to improve in the 400/800 area for the women as well as finding a triple jumper on the men’s side.  We still have some key areas of need that we are working on as the next signing period approaches in April.  And who knows, we may even add an athlete or two in January that will be on our team immediately!

Recruiting never stops.

“N” Movies

This is the 14th of a 24 part series (are you bored yet?) where I list movies I own by letter (I don’t have any movies that begin with Q, X or Z but I do have some that start with numbers).  I currently own a small collection of 178 movies (and growing most weeks) on DVD.

Most of the movies I own I had previously seen and enjoyed immensely.  Some are movies that I had not seen but was curious about.  Some were gifts from people with bad tastes in movies.

I own 6 (or 7 see below) “N” movies that are VERY different so here is the list from best to worst …..

Movie Name (year made, length, MPAA rating, IMDB rating, Worldwide box office)

Nebraska (2013, 115 min, R, 7.8, $17.6m) – There are a few reasons I love this little independent movie.  First of all it was made by Alexander Payne (who also made Sideways which I love) and I generally like his movies a lot.  Also it’s set in the Midwest so I feel like I’ve driven through a lot of places that are portrayed in the movie.  Finally, it was the last movie I ever saw with my dad who passed away this year and the father/son road trip storyline is one that we could definitely relate.  On top of that it’s just a really good movie.  It’s funny and interesting throughout, I say check it out if you haven’t seen it!

No Country for Old Men (2007, 122 min, R, 8.2, $171m) – This barely lost out to Nebraska and is really a great movie.  Another great effort by the Coen Brothers (Big Lebowski, True Grit) that is memorable for me because of how simple it is.  There is so much of the movie that has no dialogue or music.  It’s very dramatic and will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.  Javier Bardem plays the role of bad guy as good as could be, I would never want to see that guy at a hotel I was staying in!

North Dallas Forty (1979, 119 min, R, 7.0, $26m) – Nick Nolte stars in this movie based on a true story (sort of) about a professional football team.  It was based on a book by a former Dallas Cowboys player who told the previously untold stories of the darker side of pro football like drugs, steroids, parties, etc.  Nolte does a great job playing a guy just trying to hang onto the team and the scenes of him getting out of bed after a game or sitting in an ice tub makes your bones and joints ache just watching.

Nail Gun Massacre (1985, 85 min, NR, 4.0, $??) – One of the best BAD movies of all time!  I stumbled across this terrible low budget movie at when I was a kid and it left an impression on me.  It was so, so, so bad that after a while I started laughing and before I knew it I was laughing through most of the film.  It wasn’t supposed to be funny – it’s just that bad.  The plot doesn’t matter (a crazy killer terrorizing with a nail gun) and the acting is atrocious (you can actually see people reading lines off paper) but it does have a quality that makes it hard to not watch.  Some people like to think Plan 9 from Outer Space by Ed Wood is the worst movie ever and this is definitely in the same category!

Necessary Roughness (1991, 108 min, PG-13, 6.0, $26m) – It’s not a bad sports movie, it’s just a little on the light side (compared to North Dallas Forty) for most people to remember.  Scott Bakula (remember him from Quantum Leap) plays an aging college quarterback who is brought in to help revive a struggling football program (I guess they didn’t have the same rules we do today about age limits).  There’s a lot of funny stuff in this movie and it’s all pretty innocent family fun.  But you really can’t take a movie too serious that has Sinbad and Kathy Ireland on the same team as the guy from Quantum Leap.

Nymphomaniac (Volume I and II) (2013, 118/123 min, NR, 7.1/6.9, $12.4m) – Ok, so obviously by the title you can probably gather what these movies are about but they’re probably not what you might think they are.  If you think you’re sitting down to watch some kind of pornographic movie then you would be wrong – although there is a lot of adult subject matter – I think the film maker was trying to make this movie in a way that would drive away people looking for that.  If you have an open mind and can watch these two movies as more of a clinical case study then you will probably find them interesting.  If you can’t then I would avoid them all together.

This is a pretty good and diverse list this week!

Next week

I will give a full report on how the Intersquad Meet goes as well as delving into my collection of ”O” movies.  There’s only five of them and a couple start with the word Office and Old.  You know them too – classics!

Until then thank you for reading and Go Shocks!

Back for some blogging (I hope)

I used to do a pretty regular blog back in the Trackshark days but really haven’t been able to in a long time.  With there being a little break in our upcoming schedule I thought I’d try to get back into the groove. If Joe Eby has time to do it then so do I!  I also don’t get to see my family very often and hopefully this can keep them up to date.

I’m not going to give a long, wordy recap the previous 38 years of my life.

In a nutshell …  Years 1-18:  Brown County, Ohio, sports geek, grew up on a farm, was known as the fast white guy.

Years 19-28:  Kent, Ohio, Golden Flash athlete and coach, love my alma mater, best decision I could’ve made, lucky to make lifelong memories and friends.

Years 29-31:  Back to Southern Ohio, coached HS track and was self-employed, finally learned what I wanted to do in life (coach track and field), great experience, humbling.

Years 32-present:  Wichita, Kansas, Shockers, reunited with my former coach Steve Rainbolt, unbelievably lucky to fall into a great job, living the dream in the Great Plains.

Other than that I generally make every decision in life so that it will result in happiness.  Money isn’t a great motivator in my life and neither is the passion to procreate.

Want to know anything else?  Just ask.  This is beginning to feel like an online dating profile.

I’m hoping to be pretty open and honest about what I do and what is going on here in Wichita.  The only thing I am limited by is there are NCAA rules that us coaches have to abide by.  For example I could never mention where I’m going on a recruiting trip.  I also love my job and don’t want to get fired!

Ok so on to more current topics!  We just had our annual end of semester track meet yesterday at the Heskett Center.  This year we called it the Shocker Prelude instead of the Intersquad Meet (one of those NCAA things).  Overall it went very well, I think as a team we looked as good as we could in an early season meet like this.  We had a great atmosphere created by our team and it inspired some good things to happen.  As is always the case with track and field, there were also some below average performances but as long as our athletes use this as a motivator to get better they will be fine.

We’re not sure how good our team will be this year but for the past several years we have always been in the hunt for the MVC Championship on both the men’s and women’s side.  Our men have more returning points and the women are young and talented.  Yesterday gave us an indicator about a few things but we really won’t know how we stack up for at least 6-8 weeks.  The MVC is a very good conference and just looking through some early results it appears this will be another tough year to win a title.  A new team, Loyola, has been added the league and they will give us fits in a lot of places (for me it’s the sprints and relays).

After the meet we had our annual track banquet to honor last year’s seniors and teams.  This is always one of my favorite weekends and last night was no different.  Over 300 people were in attendance and a great time was had by all.  Afterwards we were able to have a fun night with our alumni.  The track season has officially begun!

This week will be low key as our athletes finish up their finals and head home for the holidays.  They have over a month of training on their own so this time will make or break our indoor season.  What other sport would take a month off right before the season begins?  Everyone is in the same boat so we just need to do our job and be ready for practice when we get back in January.

If I’m able to do this weekly then the next time I post I will be on my way to Orlando for the annual USTFCCCA convention.  Since it’s 25 degrees in Wichita today I will definitely be looking forward to that, as well as seeing a bunch of coaching friends from across the country.

Since this past week has been hectic and exhausting, the rest of the weekend will be spent watching football and Shocker basketball.  And sleeping.