ChiefSmoke

First of all, it is a bad sign that you are listening to the friends you listen to that put you up to this! Lol. But, here goes.... 1. Starr won 5 titles. 2. Starr called his own plays.... no one does that any more. 3. Starr's era, talent was spread over fewer teams. 4. Less protection for QBs in Starr's day, and he was getting hammered by guys like Night Train Lane, Butkus, Bednarik, Karras, Huff, Deacon Jones, etc. They would put those guys in jail now for the way they played the game. This is not a slam dunk argument. I do think Brady & Belichick are truly GREAT in every sense of the word. But, if I have to pick the #1 QB of all time, the edge goes to Starr. But, it is an edge, not a wide margin. And, I am biased. Lombardi, the Packers & Starr were my first favorite team and I still love that era of the NFL. The magic of Vince Lombardi NFL Videos - YouTube

Biased because he was my hero when I was growing up, but my pick is Bart Starr. 5 NFL titles and called his own plays.

Great Super Bowl. Great day to be an American.

If you know of a family that would benefit from this information, please share the link below. Thank you- ChiefSmoke This time of year, parents begin to ask me about summer camps for their son. Here is how I handled it when I coached my oldest son, John Combs. He went to three tough camps that worked him hard and helped him improve at the linebacker position. Before his freshman season, he spent 3 days at the UK camp, working with Chuck Smith. Before his sophomore season, he spent three days at the Tennessee camp, working with Sal Sunseri. Prior to his junior year, he spent three days at the Notre Dame camp with Bob Diaco. Google those 3 names... GREAT LINEBACKER COACHES!! He got three tough days of hard work at each place with great coaching. At Tennessee, he had to compete daily with guys that were DBs in HS but thought they were too slow for that spot at UT, therefore they were working at LB. At Notre Dame, he primarily worked with guys that thought they were too small to be defensive linemen at that level, but were trying to play LB. John Combs had to work extremely hard to compete with those guys at camp and meet the expectations of this group of very demanding coaches. Coach Smith was tougher on him because of our friendship. At the other camps, he was just another guy... and that was good as well. At Tennessee when they got tired, they were instructed to put their hands on their helmet and stand up. When John Combs did that at Notre Dame, Coach Diaco asked him if he was surrendering and if not, take your hands off the top of your helmet! Lol. It was a great experience for him in so many ways. To get a great work experience at camp, you do NOT have to attend a BCS camp. Georgetown College hosts a 3 day work camp. The Tigers have an outstanding program and do a wonderful job with the kids that attend there. Trosper will likely attend their camp at some point. John Combs in the blue helmet one morning at Notre Dame camp, June of 2013. The golden dome in the background! Before his senior season, John Combs attended one day camps at Princeton and Yale. Princeton's interest had been significant. Yale had shown a little interest.... and we wanted to visit Yale! Looking back on it, I think we did it right. Spend the early part of HS working to get better. Before your senior season, and if the level of interest is significant potentially junior season as well, attend camps of the schools that are showing the most interest. If no one is showing interest, pick a school where your chances to play are the most realistic and attend their camp or camps their staff is attending before your senior season. He also benefitted from having great position coaches at Mason County... Larry Harris, Chris Ullery, & Jonathan Thomas. He had very good defensive lines in front of him as a junior and senior. A strong defensive line is a linebacker's best friend because it makes it tough for the offensive linemen to block the linebackers. No amount of camp experiences can diminish the team concept that drives the game of football. Parents and players both need to remember that. As a Dad, the trips to Notre Dame, Tennessee, Princeton, & Yale are great memories. I am really glad we did those. And, I believe that my son became the best football player he could become. Both individually and as a team, he enjoyed a bunch of success and had a very rewarding HS football experience. If you have specific questions about your son and summer football camps, please email me at coachdavidbuchanan@gmail.com. Bottom line, help your son enjoy the summer camp experience and playing HS football. It is a special time that goes by way too fast. BlackShoes&WhiteShoeStrings: A Parent's Guide to Football Camp: This is how we did it

My good friend Bruce Jones brought back our helmets today from the reconditioner, Capital Varsity. Bruce does a great job making sure our stuff is right when it gets back to us and I really appreciate that about him. As we popped open those boxes and got out our helmets, which always look new when they get back from the reconditioner, I felt like a little kid again. I am thankful that I am getting ready for another season of football. It always takes me back to when I was four years old and my mom took me out to see my Dad one summer afternoon at Boyle County. He and the coaches had been spray painting all of their helmets in Green Bay gold. I can still see all those helmets, freshly spray painted, on the sidewalk and grass around the back door of the HS. I will be 52 when we kick off in 2017. The first football season I can remember, I was 3 years old & my Dad was an assistant at Lafayette. I am just excited about this season as any over the past 50 years. HS football and Friday nights are special. I have many flaws. But, one thing I am thankful for is that I am smart enough to appreciate my players & coaches and what each season means to all of us. I think it is a good sign that I still get excited when our stuff comes back from the reconditioner. If that ever changes, that will be an indication that it may be time for me to hang it up. Bruce and I got to eat breakfast together this morning and I am glad for the friends that I have made through this great game. Enjoy the Super Bowl tomorrow and before you know it, we will be passing out gear for spring practice. BlackShoes&WhiteShoeStrings: Signs: A good one.... and spring football is on the way

ShaDon Brown- great person and football coach. Congratulations !!! Excerpt: The first time I worked with ShaDon Brown was when we were on Coach French's East All-Star Staff in 2009. ShaDon played at Danville for Coach Harp. ShaDon was an assistant in college, then at Boyle County before he became the head coach at Rowan County. In that all-star game, I was in the press box and ShaDon was on the field. We were struggling bad, but ShaDon was great encouraging the kids and keeping the wheels on. I was real impressed with how he handled adversity with players he had only known a few days. We had two great games with his Rowan County teams in 2009 and 2010. Our 2010 game was on TV. One time I asked Trosper if he knew Coach Brown. He said, "Yes, he is that big-time coach we saw on TV!" ShaDon was working hard to instill a confident mindset in his team. He reminded me of myself standing on the hashmarks in Flatwoods before our first game against Russell, establishing with our kids that we were not going to back down from anyone. He was pushing as hard as he could to build a Central Kentucky-style football program in Morehead. I really enjoyed having a guy from my neck of the woods in this area. We had a lot in common and faced many of the same challenges. To ShaDon's credit, I never saw him shy away from adversity or back down from a challenge. Anchors Aweigh … 3 tough Ads | Sports | maysville-online.com

I got a phone call today from Mike Holcomb. Great guy and one of the greatest HS football coaches of all time in our state. Here is a column on "THE FIRM." Smith, Smith, Coverdale and Holcomb. The Firm. Specifically, the four names are Homer Smith, Chuck Smith, Andrew Coverdale, and Mike Holcomb. I hear that expression several times through the season and every now and then during the offseason. John Arn (our former oline coach and defensive coordinator) came up with the phrase but I think Shawn Thompson (the defensive coordinator before John Arn) was the first to announce that the way to get me to do something was to call Chuck Smith, tell him, and Chuck would call me and make me do it. My coaches claim that if an idea does not come from “the firm.” I am not going to do it. Of course, they are wrong! But, I will admit those four guys are great coaches and yes, they are great resources when I have a question. I never met Homer Smith, but he is regarded as one of the greatest offensive minds in the history of the game. He held several positions, including the offensive coordinator at both UCLA and Alabama. He was also the head coach at West Point in the 1970s. Coach Smith passed away in April of 2011. Coach Smith put together a number of manuals on football, coaching, and teaching. I have most of them. His ability to explain football concepts and the teaching of the game are incredible. He has one complete manual devoted to practicing football. And, you can apply the information in his manuals to any offensive system. In 2005, Fleming had the best team they had put on the field in my 17 seasons here. Jordan Fritz was their QB and we were coming off a 1-9 season. Our offensive gameplan came straight from Homer Smith’s concepts. Our kid’s executed the game plan to near perfection and we won a game that many thought would be a blow out loss for us. Some times in preparing for an opponent, when I see a coach being creative in getting numbers/players across the midline, I immediately think of Coach Smith. If a young guy wants to learn the game of football, I would get my hands on everything written by Homer Smith. The other Smith is Chuck Smith who I have written about before. I regard Chuck as one of the best defensive coaches and high school head coaches in the history of the state, winning 5 state titles at Boyle County. What he did with the LBs at UK was also outstanding. Besides being a great coach, Chuck’s philosophy on football and people are consistent with mine. I call and ask Chuck football questions. But, most of the time when I call him it is about dealing with people- staff, players, administration, etc. I even called Chuck to ask him if writing this column was a good idea. As you might have figured out, he said yes. Andrew Coverdale is the offensive coordinator at Trinity HS in Louisville. When we were getting ready to play Breathitt County in the 2003 Recreation Bowl, Coach Coverdale was kind enough to let us use his 2002 state championship video versus Louisville Male. Male and Breathitt ran similar defenses and I wanted to see how he attacked that defense. His qb was Brian Brohm. Ours was Dustin Grutza. We got a lot of good ideas from that video. Dustin and our kids executed that gameplan exceptionally well in the Rec Bowl versus Breathitt. Through the years, when I have had ideas and questions about offensive concepts, Coach Coverdale has been a great resource. Mike Holcomb is the head football coach at Breathitt County HS. Coach Holcomb has lead the Bobcats to 3 state titles. Most people believe when Hal Mumme came to UK in 1997, that is what started the advent of the spread passing game in the state of Kentucky. While Coach Mumme is most definitely a recognized guru of the spread passing game, Mike Holcomb had the Bobcats throwing the ball and winning back to back state titles in 1995 and 1996. Mumme, Mike Leach, Tony Franklin, & Chris Hatcher are outstanding football coaches who helped make KY HS Football more wide open. But, the FIRST to make it go were Coach Holcomb and Mike Whitaker at Leslie County who had a pretty good QB named Tim Couch. Because of my experiences playing QB in High School, we have NEVER had a 5 step pass play from under center on any team I have coached. The timing required and the pass protection ability needed by the oline is tough on a HS player. Whenever we had a 5 step pass play called in HS, I knew I was going to get blasted. As I got older and matured, I realized if I am going to get hit, I might as well complete it and I quit worrying about it. When we finally put in a 5 step pass package at Mason County, we did so from the shotgun to help with the protection issues. Coach Holcomb was the coach I went to for help in setting up our 5 step passing concepts. I don’t know anyone that has a better grasp of the passing game than Mike Holcomb. Now, is it true that I only take ideas from the “Firm” as my staff likes to complain? Absolutely not. Most of my decisions are really OUR decisions. There are times that I do pull rank and make the call as the head coach, but not as much as you might think. But, when I do go along with one of their ideas that I am not crazy about, I just tell them to “Make it work.” And, yes, I got that from Chuck.

This was a week when two different world's ran in to each other. As a staff here at Mercer, we have spent much of the week working to continue getting on the same page. Offensive & defensive schemes, gameplans, the weightroom, practice plans, etc. have all been discussed. Don't underestimate how tough it is for a football program and staff to become one cohesive unit. Communication, listening, explanations, etc. are critical and often a staff of football coaches can be a strong-willed group of guys. JT Walsh (7) & Brandon Drake (61) in our season opening win at Bath County. (1996). My first game as a Royal. I am not sure I have ever had a team more excited to play a football game than those guys were that night. During our discussions this week, Coach Rowland (our Mercer DC) told me that when he met Chris Ullery (our Mason DC), Coach Ullery asked him if we still did .... and gave him a list of things we did at Mason. Apparently the answer was "Yes!" Of course, no one would ever accuse me of being stubborn...:laugh:(sarcasm). Travoris Beckley at West Carter in 1996. This win broke a 3 game losing streak. I had a bunch of other reminders this week of my first few years in Maysville. Jordan Johnson(Waggener) & Jonathan Thomas (Mason County) are both currently head coaches and were freshmen on my first team at Mason County in 1996. I talked to Jordan & Jonathan both this week. I am proud of those guys! I got to talk to Butch & Kim Chain this week. Their son Ray played on my first teams at Mason. Butch and Kim continued to do video on Friday nights and are still helping the Royals from the press box when the lights come on. Butch & Kim have given much to those kids and that football program. I got to talk to Coach Ullery this week who has become an assistant athletic director at Mason County. Those kids are fortunate to have him in that role. And, we were able to eat dinner with our good friends, Tim & Jenny Sargent. I coached both their sons at Mason County, Ty & Mason. And, their daughter Taylor was the inspiration for our pregame speech the night we beat the Red Devils in Flatwoods for the first time (2008)! Rees Denham in Mason County's first ever victory over Russell in 1997. We got behind 17-0. Our week at Mercer and all the Mason County encounters reminded me of Royals Football in the late 90s. It was a tough time but it was a great time. Very rewarding. The same things that make football tough, are the same things that make football great. It is hard for such a large group of strong-willed men, young and old, to get on the same page and become one heart beat. But, when you fight through it together and make progress toward a common goal, it is a tremendous feeling... and one that you can only experience as a group. It is the constant challenge of putting the team ahead of yourself on a daily basis that enables a squad to come together as one. That is a big challenge for me and helps push me to be a better person. It is a challenge I need. Seth Faulkner (11) & Geoff Sherman (50) in a big road win at Erlanger Lloyd, 1999. Jeremy Wheeler (67), Harry Lewis (2) & Matt Gilbert (42) in the Homecoming upset win over #4 Newport in 1999 While I was getting in my 3 mile run tonight, this old song came up. In the late 90's, those Mason County kids always liked this song at their dances after a ballgame. I can't hear this song without thinking about those kids and what a wonderful time that was for all of us. Those were not easy days, but that time was a great experience and we did have alot of fun and rewarding days & Friday nights. When I feel like we have a long way to go in getting all of our guys on the same page, I remember the Royals of the late 90s, and I realize that what we are going through right now at Mercer is just as special and to ENJOY this process and time. Good luck in 2017 to the Royals, Titans, Greyhounds, and all the football programs that are working hard to become one heartbeat when the lights come on for that first Friday night this fall. Photos from the Maysville Ledger Independent BlackShoes&WhiteShoeStrings: Getting on the Same Page: Remembering the Royals of the late 9s

Congratulations to the Greyhounds and Coach Brooks!!

http://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-football-high/highlands-off-season-343217.html

Doss just had 3 guys offered by Purdue. I have had some good teams/players in my 25 years as a head coach. I have never had a BCS school roll in and offer 3 players. Highlands is fine. Mortal.... But fine. Coach Gruneisen use to tell me that things are never as good as they seem or as bad as they seem. I think that applies to Highlands during their runs and during their tough times as well. It applies to all programs. Most of us are just a few plays or players away from being very good or very bad.

Brian Rowland is our DC at Mercer County HS and coaches our Linebackers. Here is video of a drill he did today during our Perfection workout. The drill is creative, fun and safe. It works on footwork, defeating blocks, and making a tackle at the end when the player scoops the ball. Great job coach! BlackShoes&WhiteShoeStrings: Tackling Drill: Brian Rowland

Boyle 77 Mercer 73 13 seconds left

Boyle 75 Mercer 70. 22 seconds left

Boyle 67 Mercer 64 1:52 4th

Mercer 60 Boyle 62 3:52 4th

Mercer 52 Boyle 51. End of 3rd

Mercer 43 Boyle 42. 3:59 3rd

3 at buzzer for Boyle #5.

Boyle 34 Mercer 31 Half

Boyle 25. Mercer 23 3:31 2nd

Boyle 19 Mercer 10 end of 1st

Boyle 15. Mercer 10 2:40 1st

Mercer County 74 West Jessamine 64. Final.

Mercer 70-60 , 1:28 in 4th