After having some troubles getting on the blog to update our travels, I'm back!
Let's recap the last few days...
The Illinois College played an excellent game on Saturday, May 21st, to beat the University of New Brunswick-Saint John Seawolves. The defense did not let them pass midfield (the 55 yard-line) and the offense ran and threw the ball effectively.
The game, played with a mixture of Canadian and American rules, was held in a beautiful stadium on the campus of UNB-SJ. The facilities were equal to anything that we play on back in the Midwest Conference.
After the game, the guys enjoyed some time having their dinner in downtown Saint John. We left early the next morning to make it to Portland, Maine, for our lobster dinner. We arrived at DiMillo's (www.dimillos.com) just a little late...afterall, it's a long drive from Saint John to Portland. And don't forget, we had to cross the border, which means we needed to go through the border patrol. We got off the bus, the dog sniffed through the bus, they scanned all our passports and they let us through.
DiMillo's is an old car ferry, that the DiMillo family bought and renovated into remodeled into an incredible restaurant. As for the lobster, if you would like a good laugh...take a college football team and tell them to eat lobster. Watch how they try to pull the meat off the lobster...it is interesting! The ladies who served our food, had to give demonstrations on who to dig the meat out of the tail and the claws. They did give the guys a great compliment in saying that at least they did it themselves. According to their stories, they usually have to do that for the patron.
The next day, Monday, we drove to West Point, New York, and visited the United States Military Academy. Of all the activities that we have done on this trip, I truly believe that this tour had the greatest impact on our young guys. To see the attention to detail it takes to make it through the USMA, showed our guys what is possible. Our tour guide, was actually a USMA graduate, who had some great stories from her time as a cadet.
We spent today driving through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Tomorrow morning we'll be taking a tour of the Ohio State University football facilities. Their staff has been gracious enough to show us around. We'll stop for lunch, then we'll be back in Jacksonville.
Movie Reviews (Shortened Version)
Role Models - 3 STARS
Beverly Hills Ninja - .5 STAR
Scarface - 4 STARS
Porky's - 3 STARS
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Mussels on the Beach...Game Day Tomorrow
The UNB-SJ Sea Wolves hosted the IC Blueboys for a seaside dinner. It was great to meet the players that we'll be competing against tomorrow. They had set up a picnic tables and a huge grill! In fact, the grill was so big that it could grill 300 half-chickens at one time! As a self-proclaimed "Grill Master" I was impressed! The best part was the steamed mussels! They were seasoned to perfection!
So here is the field that we'll be playing on tomorrow! Should be fun! We'll figure out how to use the 12th guy and all the crazy rules.
Movie Review
The Godfather - One of the greatest movies! In fact, I am pretty much left speachless! The only movie that would rank higher than this, is Godfather II. 5 STARS
Slap Shot - I know most of our players had no clue what the heck was going on during this movie. The guys were looking for a deeper meaning to this movie, the truth is, other than Paul Newman figuring out his life a little, there isn't much to the movie. 4 STARS
The Little Giants - I'll hold off on a rating until we finish the movie. We had to turn it off right when we arrived in Saint John.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
PA to CT to NH to MA, tomorrow to ME & NB
Woke-up in Pennsylvania, had lunch in Conneticut, dinner in New Hampshire and laying down to sleep in Massachusets. WOW! Four states in one day. A lot of riding a bus today. Our first, and only, stop was at Yale University, where we toured their athletic facilities. It was a great experience!
As we toured around I met a gentleman, and his wife, who was the captain of Yale soccer team in 1953. He went onto law school, served in President Kennedy's administration and then taught law for many years. Just to speak with him about his experiences was worth the trip.
The facilities at Yale were not overly impressive. However, their tennis stadium was beautiful and the Yale Bowl was incredible. I would say the Yale Bowl was like Wrigley Field, not the most impressive structure you have ever seen, but you could sense the history. To be a part of the rivalry between Harvard and Yale, must be incredible.
So tomorrow we head out to Canada. We are leaving the hotel at 7:15am - which the guys aren't too fired up about. But I don't know how long it will take to get through customs and I don't know how long the actual drive will take, so I'm not taking any chances. The best part is that all the guys need to have their passports on them. I'm guessing that we'll have 2 guys who leave their passports in their bags, which will be stowed away under the bus. I know that we actually have very responsible guys, but most of the them are either 18 or 19, and they do goofy stuff like this all the time!
However, when we get there, they are hosting a reception in our honor. I'm excited to meet the opposing coaches and the head referee. Afterall, I would like to get a few of the rules clarified so I know what to tell the coaches.
More to come tomorrow!
Movie Review
The Departed - Great movie! Matt Damon and Leo DiCaprio were great! Of course, Jack Nicholson was incredible, as usual! This movie had so many twist and turns! Not too mention the blood and guts you'd expect from a mob/gangster movie. There was some debate at lunch today that I would give this movie a higher rating than Casino. What can I say? It was a better movie! 4.5 STARS
The Blind Side - Another excellent movie. I find it a little funny that they would make the coach look like a bumbling moron and then he ends up with a coaching position at Ole Miss. I loved the story, it was heart warming and very up-lifting. I did love the cameos by the real life coaches. However, what I find funny is that when the movie came out Ed Orgeron was not the head coach at Ole Miss, Houston Nutt was not the head coach Arkansas, Lou Holtz was not the head coach at South Carolina and Phil Fulmer was not the head coach at Tennessee. Just goes to show how crazy being a D1 coach can be! But all in all, I can appreciate the story and really enjoyed the characters. I would recommend it. 3.5 STARS
As we toured around I met a gentleman, and his wife, who was the captain of Yale soccer team in 1953. He went onto law school, served in President Kennedy's administration and then taught law for many years. Just to speak with him about his experiences was worth the trip.
The facilities at Yale were not overly impressive. However, their tennis stadium was beautiful and the Yale Bowl was incredible. I would say the Yale Bowl was like Wrigley Field, not the most impressive structure you have ever seen, but you could sense the history. To be a part of the rivalry between Harvard and Yale, must be incredible.
So tomorrow we head out to Canada. We are leaving the hotel at 7:15am - which the guys aren't too fired up about. But I don't know how long it will take to get through customs and I don't know how long the actual drive will take, so I'm not taking any chances. The best part is that all the guys need to have their passports on them. I'm guessing that we'll have 2 guys who leave their passports in their bags, which will be stowed away under the bus. I know that we actually have very responsible guys, but most of the them are either 18 or 19, and they do goofy stuff like this all the time!
However, when we get there, they are hosting a reception in our honor. I'm excited to meet the opposing coaches and the head referee. Afterall, I would like to get a few of the rules clarified so I know what to tell the coaches.
More to come tomorrow!
Movie Review
The Departed - Great movie! Matt Damon and Leo DiCaprio were great! Of course, Jack Nicholson was incredible, as usual! This movie had so many twist and turns! Not too mention the blood and guts you'd expect from a mob/gangster movie. There was some debate at lunch today that I would give this movie a higher rating than Casino. What can I say? It was a better movie! 4.5 STARS
The Blind Side - Another excellent movie. I find it a little funny that they would make the coach look like a bumbling moron and then he ends up with a coaching position at Ole Miss. I loved the story, it was heart warming and very up-lifting. I did love the cameos by the real life coaches. However, what I find funny is that when the movie came out Ed Orgeron was not the head coach at Ole Miss, Houston Nutt was not the head coach Arkansas, Lou Holtz was not the head coach at South Carolina and Phil Fulmer was not the head coach at Tennessee. Just goes to show how crazy being a D1 coach can be! But all in all, I can appreciate the story and really enjoyed the characters. I would recommend it. 3.5 STARS
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Pro Football Hall of Fame and Beyond
We boarded the bus in the parking lot of the hotel in Mansfield, Ohio, and made the one hour trek to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. As we walked in the door, it was very clear that our guys would be in awe the entire time at the HOF. It was great to watch the kids learn the history of the game of football. They really took the time to read the plaques at each of the exhibits, and watch the videos at each disply.
The picture above is a quick glimpse into what we saw. The top left picture is myself with two of our QBs - Kendall & Keith. Bottom left was during an talk that this gentleman gave where he showed important pieces donated to the HOF. He said that only 5% of what they have is actually displayed and that there is so much more down below in the basement and in storage. Bottom right is an old Green Bay Packers helmet, I had to put this in there, afterall I married a Wisconsin girl from a Packer family! As for the picture on the top right, this is the first helmet/facemask that was worn. It did not look comfortable! But the quote of the day came from Larry who said, "Doesn't he know that he is wearing his cup wrong?" I'll let you as a reader figure that one out, but I just about died laughing!
After the HOF, we went to lunch at the Hometown Buffet, where we gorged once again! After a healthy drive we made it Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. We stopped at the Wyoming Valley Mall for a little dinner and then headed back to the hotel. Right now most of our guys are either in the pool swimming, in the gym working out, or huddled around the television watching the Bulls/Heat game.
Tomorrow we'll depart about 8am (local time) and drive 3 hours to Yale University. After that...you guessed it, another buffet! I learned a long time ago, the hard way, never let a football team go hungry! Buffet, buffet and buffet!
Movie Review for May 18th
Scale: 1 Star (Don't even rent it!) to 5 Stars (Classic)
The Hangover - A continuation from yesterday. Do I really need to even comment? It's simply one of the best movies of all time! I'll be one of the first in line to seen The Hang Over 2! 6 STARS
Casino - This is a great movie for anyone who loves Las Vegas (which I do), loves biopics (which I do) and mob movies (which I do)! Robert DeNiro, Joe Peschi and Sharon Stone...need I say more? I've seen it at least a dozen times, and I'm sure over time, I'll see it a dozen more! 4 STARS
Miracle - You know you are old and you watch a movie about an event that occured when the kids asked how old you were they played in the game against the Russians in 1980. For the record, I was 5, I'm not exactly Father Time, but with each new group of freshmen, I realize that I am getting a little older! But I digress, this really is a great movie! It shows the other side of a team coming together and why a coach might push his players more than they are comfortable with. But that's how you bring people together. Kurt Russell did a great job in this movie. I'm not a big hockey guy, but I understood everything that was going on. 4 STARS
Great day of movies! Yale University is on the agenda for tomorrow! Look for a new post tomorrow night!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Is that Guy Fieri driving the bus?
No, but it sure looks like him! Our bus driver showed up this morning right on time at 7am for our 7:30am departure. As I approached the bus I noticed he looked very familiar! After talking with him, I realized that he was not moonlighting as a bus driver. However, this guy who driving us on our epic journey was just as cool. Another good guy!
Today was a driving day. The highlight of the day was lunch at the Golden Corral. Now most might think, how can that be a highlight? Well, if you have ever traveled with a football team, you know how much food we eat! When you walk out of the GC with a full-belly and slip into a food coma for the last part of the drive, life is good!!!
We have arrived in Mansfield, Ohio; about an hour west of Canton. We'll be leaving here tomorrow at 9am and be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame by 9am. I took a quick poll of the guys on the bus, and it looks like I am the only one who has been there before. It will be great to see the faces of our players when they walk into this remarkable place!
Movie Review for Tuesday, May 17th
Scale: 1 Star (Don't even rent!) to 5 Stars (Classic)
The Big Lebowski - An American classic. Jeff Bridges is great as the Dude. If you have never seen it, go rent it today! It was a great movie to kick-off this trip! 5 STARS
The Town - I have never seen this movie before and have to admit, while I am not a Ben Affleck fan, I enjoyed the movie. Of course, it's kind of an Italian Job set in Boston. Gee, there is a shock, Ben Affleck set sets a movie in Boston! 2.5 STARS
The Program - A classic football movie from 1993. The football scenes are a little far-fetched, but hey, it's Hollywood! It's a good movie and a great one to watch on a football road trip. Although it's funny to listen to D3 players compare their lives to the D1 experiences they see on tv. 3 STARS
Katt Williams stand-up - He was very funny! I don't know if his humor was totally understood by all our players and coaches, but he was funny nonetheless. Now this was no Eddie Murphy or Richard Prior stand-up, but it was good. 2.5 STARS
The Hanger Over - Although we only watched about 15 minutes of it because we arrived at our hotel, it was the best of the them all! Fifteen minutes of the Hang Over is equivalent to the God Father triology. I'm sure this will be the movie that we use to kick-off the drive to Canton in the morning! 6 STARS! YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S OFF THE CHART!
After touring the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we'll continue onto Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania!
Today was a driving day. The highlight of the day was lunch at the Golden Corral. Now most might think, how can that be a highlight? Well, if you have ever traveled with a football team, you know how much food we eat! When you walk out of the GC with a full-belly and slip into a food coma for the last part of the drive, life is good!!!
We have arrived in Mansfield, Ohio; about an hour west of Canton. We'll be leaving here tomorrow at 9am and be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame by 9am. I took a quick poll of the guys on the bus, and it looks like I am the only one who has been there before. It will be great to see the faces of our players when they walk into this remarkable place!
Movie Review for Tuesday, May 17th
Scale: 1 Star (Don't even rent!) to 5 Stars (Classic)
The Big Lebowski - An American classic. Jeff Bridges is great as the Dude. If you have never seen it, go rent it today! It was a great movie to kick-off this trip! 5 STARS
The Town - I have never seen this movie before and have to admit, while I am not a Ben Affleck fan, I enjoyed the movie. Of course, it's kind of an Italian Job set in Boston. Gee, there is a shock, Ben Affleck set sets a movie in Boston! 2.5 STARS
The Program - A classic football movie from 1993. The football scenes are a little far-fetched, but hey, it's Hollywood! It's a good movie and a great one to watch on a football road trip. Although it's funny to listen to D3 players compare their lives to the D1 experiences they see on tv. 3 STARS
Katt Williams stand-up - He was very funny! I don't know if his humor was totally understood by all our players and coaches, but he was funny nonetheless. Now this was no Eddie Murphy or Richard Prior stand-up, but it was good. 2.5 STARS
The Hanger Over - Although we only watched about 15 minutes of it because we arrived at our hotel, it was the best of the them all! Fifteen minutes of the Hang Over is equivalent to the God Father triology. I'm sure this will be the movie that we use to kick-off the drive to Canton in the morning! 6 STARS! YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S OFF THE CHART!
After touring the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we'll continue onto Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Headed North of the Border!
As many of you know, after our young men finish their finals, we'll head out of town for a game against the University of New Brunswick-Saint John's Seawolves. All said, it is about a 24 hour bus ride to UNB-SJ. 
We will be stopping along the way for a little sight-seeing. Our first stop will be the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Be sure to stay tuned for more updates as we travel throughout the U.S.
For more information on the Seawolves, you can visit their website at www.seawolvesfootball.ca.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Recruiting went very well...Let's get started!
Our coaching staff did an excellent job of recruiting this past off-season. I have to say I am eager to watch this group of young guys come in and compete against the returners. Now you have to remember, eventhough we are heading into our third season, this is only our second recruiting class.
When we first got here in the summer of 2008, we had about 75 players suit up for the first game. I expect that we'll suit 125 players for our opening game this season. The key for us as a program has been our ability to develop our first recruiting class. Of the 125 on the roster, only about 45 are freshmen. This means that our returning players far outnumber the freshmen...this is how we have elected to build our program. We knew that it would take time and a whole lot of patience.
I have to admit, eventhough we have had patience, we have had some great leadership by some young men in this program. What's really been fun is to watch some of these great kids go onto their respective post-graduate studies or start their careers! Those guys, and they know who they are, will always have my utmost respect for the way they handled the change in coaching staffs. They were first-class all the way!
I do love the summer time, but I have to admit I am often bored in the office. Not that there isn't work to do, because as I learned very quickly, in running a football program, there is always something that needs to get done. I'm bored because I enjoy spending time with my players...they are great kids! Funny thing is, I know exactly how my youngest daughter feels when her big sister goes away to volleyball camp for the week. The younger one constantly talks about how she can't wait to see her so they can play! I can't wait for our guys to come back so we can run around and hit some people!
Good times are just around the corner!
When we first got here in the summer of 2008, we had about 75 players suit up for the first game. I expect that we'll suit 125 players for our opening game this season. The key for us as a program has been our ability to develop our first recruiting class. Of the 125 on the roster, only about 45 are freshmen. This means that our returning players far outnumber the freshmen...this is how we have elected to build our program. We knew that it would take time and a whole lot of patience.
I have to admit, eventhough we have had patience, we have had some great leadership by some young men in this program. What's really been fun is to watch some of these great kids go onto their respective post-graduate studies or start their careers! Those guys, and they know who they are, will always have my utmost respect for the way they handled the change in coaching staffs. They were first-class all the way!
I do love the summer time, but I have to admit I am often bored in the office. Not that there isn't work to do, because as I learned very quickly, in running a football program, there is always something that needs to get done. I'm bored because I enjoy spending time with my players...they are great kids! Funny thing is, I know exactly how my youngest daughter feels when her big sister goes away to volleyball camp for the week. The younger one constantly talks about how she can't wait to see her so they can play! I can't wait for our guys to come back so we can run around and hit some people!
Good times are just around the corner!
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