Raise 'Em Right!

When  my daughter was born, I would sing to her every night. Songs included Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, The Alphabet Song, Hush Little Baby, and--of course--The Buckeye Battle Cry and Carmen Ohio.

Lately, I have been singing the songs to my son, and she has definitely picked up on more of the words of the latter two songs. Sometimes she tries to sing them to herself, and I have to say, it warms my heart. She doesn't quite have the words down, but she gets the gist of it. I have been trying to catch her on camera, but she clams up when I pull the camera out, but I at least wanted to share what I usually hear from her when she attemps to sing it.

In Ol' Ohio, there's a baby
Known throughout the land
Eleven warmers, brazen fold
Who fames shall never land


And when the ball over
our cheers reach the SKY!
Ohio field hears again
The Buckeye Bat Cry!


DRIVE! DRIVE down to the field
Men of scarmitt and grey!
Don't go through the vine,
We win this game today!
COME ON OHIO!


SMASH through to dickory
We cheer as you go!
Our smwhuwh defend, we fight to end
for O-HI-O!

2012 Women's Football Clinic

Coach Meyer and Me

As I mentioned in my Spring Game entry, I learned about a unique opportunity to attend the Women's Football Clinic, which was to be held June 9th at the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility. I wasn't sure what to expect, as the description was less-than-descriptive, but I heard a couple of things about meeting Coach Urban Meyer and learning more about football (two things I knew I would enjoy), so I signed up and invited my friend Kim to join me.

When I received the itinerary for the event, I was still a bit befuddled. It briefly mentioned offensive and defensive demonstrations, auctions, and drills. DRILLS? Hmmm. Okay. It also encouraged participants to wear athletic shoes. In my mind, I pictured most of the women attending to be in their mid-to-late 50s, so I couldn't imagine what they had planned for us. I also wasn't sure who was running the camp, but it guaranteed a photo opp with Coach Meyer, so again, I was game.

Lines to see Vrabel and Fickell

So when Kim, her sister Abby, and I arrived at the camp, we were still a bit unsure about what we were in for. Immediately after registering, we received a goodie bag with sunscreen (the camp was to benefit cancer research and funding at the OSU James Cancer Hospital as well as the Stefanie Spielman Foundation), a nice bracelet, and a nifty keychain. We jumped in line for our photo with Coach Meyer, and as we stood there, we noticed a separate line growing. Apparently people were having their pictures taken with defensive coaches Fickell (formerly the interim head coach) and Vrabel (former OSU great and New England Patriot). My fascination grew -- these were some of the bigger name coaches on staff! That's impressive!

Me and Abby

The line for pictures moved quickly, and when it came my turn, I felt like a groupie. I tried to maintain my composure, said "Hi Coach" and stepped up for my picture. He smiled for the camera, patted my shoulder, and  said, "Have fun today!"

As we took our seats to start the day of events, runningbacks coach Stan Drayton stepped up to the podium with his wife beside him. This was a theme throughout the day -- the coaches brought their wives with them, and you could just sense the utter respect they had for these women. It was heartwarming. Drayton introduced Athletic Director Gene Smith.

Kimmie and Me

Now, you may have read some of my opinions on Gene Smith. Sufficed to say, he was also taking pictures with fans, and his line was not very long. His bungling of last year's events did not make him popular in Columbus. However, as he gave his introductions, I have to admit that he was quite charming and really comical. He poked fun at himself and the mess he had made of some things recently, telling anecdotes along the way.

Coach Vrabel was hilarious!

I have to tell you that from the very beginning of the day, all of the coaches were pushing for high-energy experiences from all the "campers." They wanted to see people jumping out of their seats, screaming and cheering. At one point, Coach Meyer sent a woman back to her seat because the crowd had not properly applauded as she approached the stage.

One of the nicest coaches out there.
Hoping he does really well as
Defensive Coordinator this season!

Moving on to Coach Meyer's introductions,  he stressed the idea of competitive excellence through instruction and repetition (reps). He even emphasized that back-ups needed to get mental reps as they watched the starters play -- highlighting that ever-popular theory of reloading rather than rebuilding.

The coaches who did the demonstrations were not the assistants and graduate assistants that I expected -- they were all head coaches of their respective groups. The RB coach, LB coach, WR coach, Strength coach, Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, etc. I recognized all of their names, and their attitudes and instruction were fun-filled and informative, all presented with humor and levity.

I could go on for pages trying to convey to you the energy and experience of the day, and you still won't fully grasp how entertaining the activities were--how each coach mixed comedy with coaching, all the while threatening us with grueling workouts to come in the afternoon's 87-degree heat.

As the presentations went forward, they pulled volunteers onto the stage to represent the positions on the team. From Coach Fickell, we learned that OSU primarily plays a 4-3 defensive strategy; that almost no one knows the name of noseguard on the defense for OSU (because they rarely get the credit or the blame) even though they are one of the anchors on the defensive front; and that the middle linebacker needs to be THE leader on the defensive side of the ball. Without a strong leader in that position, the defense will falter under pressure.

If you are going to read this blog,
you must understand that I love Troy Smith
as a college football player.

On offense, we learned (from Coach Tom Herman) the importance of equating numbers -- that is, pulling defensive players out of position by using different formations that will confuse or mislead them, thus equaling the amount of blockers to tacklers, and giving the RB or QB a chance to run a successful play.
Coach Mickey Marotti was probably my favorite. They call him the "FUN" coach, because he is insane. He has more energy that anyone else I have seen at his age, and he managed to yell at us and make us laugh simultaneously. I can understand why Coach Meyer brought him up from Florida.

Best Rivalry in College Football!

Then it was time to get serious -- we needed to focus on the meaning of the day, which was raising money for "the cause." Representatives from the OSU James Cancer Clinic gave presentations about funding, research, and prevention. And after our lunch, we moved on to the silent and live auctions to raise money for the cause. Items included pre-game sideline passes, dinner with the team the Friday before a game, tickets to the OSU-UM game with pre-game sideline passes and the chance to sing Carmen Ohio with the team after the game, and various autographed items. Unfortunately, the silent auction and live auctions weren't anything in which I was involved. The majority of the silent auction items went for $500-$600 each, and the bidding started around $500 for the live auction items, and eventually they sold for $3300 and $7000, respectively. It was encouraging to raise so much money for the Stefanie Spielman Fund, but it did alienate a lot of the group who couldn't afford to participate. If I had to make any suggestion for next year, I would include a variety of raffle items, leading up to a grand prize, and I would sell tickets for $5 each. That would raise at least $2000 and would allow everyone to get involved.

I found my locker!

After the auctions, there was a brief equipment demonstration as well as a talent show featuring former player Kirk Barton and some of the assistant coaches. It included popular dance numbers, and Abby and I enjoyed the opportunity to get up and move around a bit.

Then it was time for drills for Abby and me. The other half of the 800 women in attendance went on a tour of the locker room and facilities. I wasn't sure what to expect of the drills, but I can tell you that next time I will be wearing athletic shorts. I also have a new appreciation for the football team! The coaches did not torture us -- but they did give us a great taste of what the football players endure in training for the season. We did footwork drills, blocking drills, catching, passing, tackling (my favorite), fumble recovery (MUCH tougher than it looks on TV), and just plain sprinting.

The "Naughty List"

Finally, we came back inside and it was our turn to do the tour. Kim had gone with the first group, so she led me on the way. We went through the locker room, the hallways, the meeting rooms, and the players' lounge. We saw the trophies, inspirational quotes, memorabilia, and the weight room. One of my favorite parts was the "Naughty List," as I like to refer to it. It lists each of the players based on attitude and effort. Scarlet is the best, Grey is the middle, and Maize (i.e., a TTUN color) is bad. Let's just say that two of the players who were recently suspended were in the Maize section, and I am guessing it will take them a while to get back up to the Grey!

Kim enjoying the air conditioned players' lounge

We ended the day with something called a Smokehouse Challenge. It began with a sprinting competition, by age group, and ended with a push-up challenge (i.e., push-ups done in 10-unit increments). As I watched the winner do roughly 175 push-ups, I noticed the coaches down on the ground, cheering the competitors forward. I saw Urban Meyer, head coach of the OSU Buckeye football team, pouring water on the women to cool them off. I saw inspiration and leadership and camaraderie.

  I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for next year's Women's Football Clinic. I will be registering right away! I encourage all of my female friends to attend. You will have a blast, and you will get some great personal memorabilia out of it! And most importantly, you will be supporting an amazing cause -- Cancer Research and Prevention.

Woody Hayes' Chalkboard

After the drills

Ahhh, memories. It looks a little lonely though.

Coach Schlegel (he couldn't
believe I wanted a picture with him!)

I was talking when Abby snapped this.
Coach Meyer was telling me
how much he loves Script Ohio.