ChiefSmoke

Most of my stuff comes from.... "We screwed up... how do we fix it?"

We have been practicing brawls and ejection prevention for a long time. We simulate an opponent contacting our player and describe the type of verbal exchange our guys may encounter. We have two objectives: 1- protect our teammate. 2- no one gets a penalty or is ejected. https://blackshoesandwhiteshoestrings.blogspot.com/2017/06/no-brawls-or-ejections-practicing.html

This is great feedback. Thank you all!

This is a great town. But, if I don’t watch it, will wear out my welcome. The “fatigue” is real.

Fundraisers! Please let me know what you think.

Met an old Bearcat at lunch today. Realized, we played against each other in 1982 in HS. He gave me $100 donation for Bearcat Football. Very cool town. They love kids and they love Bearcat Football.

Also, pregame, our old DC from Mason County, Shawn Thompson was there. And, saw one of my favorite old Rebels, Pete Kendrick. Shawn was a big reason we got things turned around at Mason. In the dead of winter, when he couldn't sleep, he would put in the Russell video and work on the Red Devils. When he would tell me that, walking into school on a cold winter morning, I would be fired up for the rest of the day. . Not alot of perks to being old, but got phone calls last week from Cory Dumphord (my old Paris HS QB) who is now the MS coach at Paris, Jonathan TD Taylor (former Tailback Mason Co. HS), and legendary writer from the past 5 decades, Larry Vaught. Those guys don't call me often because they know I will want to talk about the old days and they will never get off the phone. Cory called to ask me about something we did at Paris. I said, "I never did that." He says, "Michael (Jackson... coaching with him, Paris HS LB & FB, Cory's teammate) told me that is what you will say." ? My best thing.... by far.... surrounding myself with good people. There is no substitute. I am the poster boy for riding the coat tails of winners. One of the reasons I feel GREAT about getting the Bearcats turned around... lots of really good people .... staff, players, administration & community.

Good night. Good crowd. This little town is a special place for Friday Night HS football. Looking forward to the season. Still alot of work to do... but much better.

Coach Goins was the Principal that hired me in 1988. Loved the 8 years I worked for him.

One of the best things we do for our kids, and have been doing it for over the past 20 years. The Commonwealth Attorney speaks to our team. Some of the highlights... hazing, electronics, and topics connected to young ladies. It really helps our guys and believe it prevents alot of mistakes, drama, problems. You should see their faces during the talk. They get some good information. Origin... we got back from an away game one night. A Mom & daughter from the opposing team followed our bus home. They accused one of our star players of inappropriate behavior. He denied it. I call an attorney about midnight. As it turns out, the little girl had tried to talk to him. He laughed at her and it hurt her feelings. But, the attorney I called told me it would be better to talk to the team during the day time than me call him at midnight. Became a tradition that is super for our kids and I believe has become a critical part of our football program.

Love our progress. We are still very much at a point that we must be intentional in building our program and doing what is right, what is best. At this stage, we can assume nothing and we can take nothing for granted. We have spell out exactly what must be done to win. Also, the Pr1de shorts go all the way back to Coach Randy Reese & Paris HS. Larry Harris played for Coach Reese. Larry & I coached together at Paris & Mason County. Some will argue that Larry is the greatest Greyhound football player, ever. I can tell you he is a wonderful man, friend & football coach. Trying to get him in red and navy. Hope we can coach together one last time.

In all of my Dad's team pictures, the coaches were never in the picture, 1969 thru 1977. Was that a thing back then or just him? 1977 Mercer County Scotties (his last team) 1972 Boyle County Rebels

From an SEC playbook... pretty good coach:

My standard answer on "keys to the game" is that when we win big plays, special teams, and turnovers, we win 100% of our games. Was not a fun night... but a great story from CAL... we(Mercer) beat you guys in September 2019 at your place. You were kicking our tails at our place that November. One of your fans yells out..."Coach, you are losing BIG PLAYS!" Lol You CAL fans are a different breed! But, were always super nice to us, win or lose.

We went to St. X for 7 on 7 this past Tuesday night. They will be really good this season. This will be Coach Wallace's last season. It is also Coach French's last season. They are the first guests on our podcast this season.... Thursday, 8/21 at 7:30 pm EST.

It is like an indoor carpet pulled over concrete. We fixed a special area on the top floor of our athletic complex with indoor carpet for workouts and it was very similar. The first time we played at CAL, 2019, we(Mercer) won. That was a huge win for our program. Got to see CAL this past Tuesday night. Coach Cantwell does a super job and they will be very good again.

75 on the roster. 65 lockers. In 33 years… biggest roster ever. I like that number. 30 are freshmen. Our assistants have worked like dogs to get kids out and then they do a super job once they get here. We are much improved. Hopefully the results will reflect that improvement , sooner than later.

We are fortunate at Anderson. The school keeps it mowed and the parents mark the field. We are very appreciative that we get to coach. And... the parents do the postgame laundry as well. This community has been super on supporting Bearcat football and our young men. These past 3 days have been rough on the grass with all of the rain. An absolute mess. But, we fought through it and a little adversity/discomfort to deal with while you are being pushed, even yelled at a little bit is good. Thank goodness it is bermuda. That stuff is resilient.

Come be a Bearcat for a day!

2003 Recreation Bowl, Mason County vs. Breathitt Co.(defending 2A State Champs) QB Dustin Grutza who went on to start at UC.

In our area, when the KY Advocate would come out late on Saturday night. It was like Sports Illustrated for HS football. The pictures & articles were over the top. Bill Vaught, Larry Vaught, Marty Warren & others made it special. Danville, Boyle, Harrodsburg, Mercer, Lincoln, Garrard & Casey all had exceptional coverage. Was a great time and nothing like it these days. I could add a bunch more and may down the road, but this one sticks out.

Getting good reports out of Taylor County. Lots of talent, physicality, intensity, coaching, chip on their shoulder, etc. And, they are young. I am a big fan of this program. Fired up for 2025 & beyond.

The sentiment I get from some .... "I am gonna do what I need to do and if they fire me, so be it."