Elite Georgia high school program has real issues

[g8orbill]

Players for elite Georgia HS team Grayson stage walkout to protest practice conditions under head coach

Damn - full contact practice in shorts

 

[Gatormb]

My junior year (1971) at The Bolles School in Jax I quit during the two week pre-season training. Since Bolles had dorms we stayed there for two weeks.

Since we were a small all boys prep school the coaches felt the need to put us through "get tough" drills. Line up one on one, hit and then wrestle. Get the other guy on his back and you were allowed to do anything. Punch them in the stomach, chin whatever.

I always ended up on top but refused to hit my "opponent". I'd known them since the 7th grade.

So the coaches put me in with the three biggest seniors in a four way and told them to kick my ass. It was three against one. I knew a little bit about wrestling and locked on to a leg and they couldn't turn be over. Coach Soloman started kicking me in the arm in an attempt to make me let go. It failed. That was the a.m. practice. I quit before the p.m. and had to go on the field and tell the team. While walking off Soloman yelled at the team telling them they didn't have a hair on their asses if they didn't kick mine.

Nobody moved. My senior year I avoided the "football meetings" but Coach Tucker talked me into coming out saying things would be different

Oddly , Soloman became the new head coach and I was an all conference tight end with 35 catches and 5 touchdowns. Also played DE both ways as we only has 21 players. Seven of us started both ways.

Got scholarship inquiries from Georgia Tech and Appalachian State but my girlfriend was already at UF.

 

[g8orbill]

my high school coach in the late 60's could be pretty ruthless - I suffered a knee injury in my Jr year(torn cartilage) in a game and he made me get up and walk off the field- I fell you pain mb

 

[cover2]

Not excusing coaches requiring procedures that can lead to injuries, but it is not uncommon for above the waist contact practices in shorts, helmets, and shoulder pads to be held. Just shorts with full contact (if accurate) however, is not using good judgement. That should be a time for soft contact with attention given to footwork, hand placement, and other techniques and fundamentals at or as close to game speed as can be managed. Toughness has to be ingrained in the psyche of a productive and successful player, but not at the risk of injury or unreasonable degradation.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I was an all conference tight end

Yeah, yeah, yeah, in my experience everyone who claims to be a tight end was actually a punter/kicker.

You arent especially hairy and love soccer, are you?

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, in my experience everyone who claims to be a tight end was actually a kicker.

You arent especially hairy and love soccer, are you?

Well he did say the coach made him "come out" so they have a lot in common already.

 

[Thick&ThinG8r]

The strangest part of the story is they are #1 team in Georgia and #2 in the southeast, not some over matched team with 25 players the coach is trying to turn into a juggernaut in a few weeks.

 

[Homer J]

Well he did say the coach made him "come out" so they have a lot in common already.

I caught that too