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Championship Chalk Talk with Coach Nick Aiello · Cover IV Podcast

• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Our guest today is Nick Ayala, head coach of the Tau Gangs.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: We will discuss the importance of leadership, preparation, perseverance, the championship journey.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: And this may sound counterintuitive, but we will also discuss the importance of losses.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, coach, for having me on.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I appreciate it.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: You're getting to be a uh regular guest on here and uh welcome to the Cover Four podcast.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: We really appreciate you taking the time.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: I I know you probably got a lot of media uh obligations being uh you know the hope high profile coach that you are, but uh you know we really appreciate that.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: And also congratulations on leading the Tonga Tigers football program to their fifth state championship and fourth in five years.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: You have what I call a goose egg record that other programs would love to have.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have any idea what that is?
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: The Tigers are five and zero in New York State finals.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: I thought you were might be referring to that.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's that's a goose egg that uh a lot of people would be very, very proud of uh is to have that.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: And what I want to do, coach, is start right off with um what I what the first question, and I'd like you just to give uh a sum give us a summary of this season and the moment that you knew this team had the potential to become champions.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, this season, I I've talked about it uh here and there with uh other reporters, but you know, I it it really goes back to losing uh in overtime to Delhi in the in the sectional championship uh last season.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I really thought that that was the motivator all you know this current season.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And and and really it started you know last January and February.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we started with morning lifts, and and that's when you're getting in kids' ears and you're in and you're and I could use that loss as a motivator anytime I talk to a kid.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And and it was it was great.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it we were on the chase again, which um you know we hadn't been on the chase in a while, and and there's nothing more motivating than a loss, and there's nothing better than being on the chase.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I really thought we we had potential.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, this particular group actually went undefeated.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this group of seniors, they went undefeated as sophomores at the JD level.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I I I I knew there was potential there, but it doesn't always translate, and and that's what I was you know worried about as a coach.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: How how do I get that to translate?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: So you know it started in the weight room, uh, morning lifts.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And uh we have a lot of multi-sport athletes, and so I I don't pressure them a lot.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I want them playing other sports.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't care what they are, I just think it's you're in high school once and and play as much as you can.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And uh you know, and that's why I do the mornings, you know, if kids can get in.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, especially if any if if a kid's not doing something, I want to see them.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: But if a kid's it in the middle of a sport, I don't pressure them too much.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: But we had kids coming in, and I thought that was a pretty good sign.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, you roll into uh summer and it it we just took a different approach, uh I think than than most do right now.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought I I think with this group it worked.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we didn't do any seven-on-sevens, we didn't do any um uh you know practices with other teams that a lot of teams are doing out, and we've done that and stuff in the past.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I I really thought that I just needed to get the guys here to work because it that that's what these guys needed to do.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: They needed to change the way they worked, and and that's all we did, and that's all we focused on.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And we practiced and and we ran through things, but it was more or less just getting kids here and and we set a goal um of we wanted to average 25 kids in the weight room.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: And and I can't remember the specifics of it all, but we we blew that goal out of the water.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And and I thought uh you know, going going through the summer, I'm like, all right, you you know, these kids are starting to get it.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so so we roll into preseason and we we decided to play the week double zero game only two weeks in.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: I I thought we'd be alright doing that, and we were, um, you know, physically.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, we roll into that week double zero game, and it was just bad.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean watching that film was just it was bad.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I think we only had 95 yards of total offense.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: We only scored because our uh we returned the opening kick of the second half down to like the 10 or something, and and we knew Windsor had a lot returning up front, um, but they were in the same kind of mode, you know, and kind of a you know, coming off a really good year and and uh having to rebuild some some areas.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So you know, after that game, we had two weeks before our our week one game.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And um and and not only that, we lost our uh really our our only key returner on the line, um, our three-year starter at center.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh we lost him at right before half of that week double zero game.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we we had some rebuilding to do up front on the line.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um we really had to kind of check to make sure we we were running the uh offensive scheme that we wanted.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Defensively, we thought we were all right.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we only gave up in the end nine points.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so anyway, you know, that's that's a really kind of long intro to the season.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we were looking at the first four games as if we could go two and two, we'd be in pretty good shape.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um because we were playing, we were opening up with Deposit Hancock, whoever everyone was saying uh was a team to beat over there.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Then we had Del High week two, then we had uh our first division game against Newark Valley, and then we were playing against BG week four, which would, you know, those three teams from the other division were the three teams everyone was keeping an eye on.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: So we go into Deposit Hancock, um, and you know, we we went we were down by two scores right off the bat.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: And we were making the same mistakes that we were in that week double zero game, and you're just you know ready to just rip your headphones off.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, remember it was a screen.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we were I think it was our second or third drive of that game, and we were third and long for whatever reason.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we were dropping snaps and everything, and we hit a screen and got a first down.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And from that moment forward, we rattled off 28 straight points.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, okay, you know, finally, like we're we're getting it.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: And and we kind of we let him back in the game, and and that tended to be our MO all season long, you know, get a lead and just kind of sit on it and not keep the pedal down.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, we we we walked away from that game with a win, you know, lucky to a Saturday day game against a good opponent, um, and we get out of it.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was 35-31.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: So we're like, okay, all right, we'll take it.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a win, and uh, we played well enough to win, but still a lot of work to do.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: And but we had Delhi the very next week on a short week, too, you know, play on a Saturday, have to turn on play on a Friday, and and kind of the same thing.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: We go up there, um, and we were down seven, six at halftime.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, but we were playing better.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: We I thought we were playing better.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we just kind of out of position, gave up a touchdown, uh, but still making some simple mistakes.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: But we come out at halftime uh just rolling, and and really it was from that point on, from being down seven, six against Delhi through the rest of the regular season, that this team uh really just kept getting better and get better.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: So um yeah, and then from there, uh rolling in the playoffs, we had to face deposit Hancock again.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then we and we played really well in that game.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: We were able to capitalize on some of their miscues, but played well, and then uh then had to play Trumansburg.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: And in to your second question, you know, when I thought that these guys had it to at least be sectional champions, was actually our week uh six game at Trumansburg.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we we beat them, I think it was 22 to 24 to 8.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: 24-8, there you go.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: And um yeah, and Trumansburg was good.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it you know, people kind of think, oh, you're coming from eight man to eleven man.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you got the guys, you got the guys.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: And and they and they certainly did, and it's why we played them again in the sectional championship.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: But it was coming after that game, uh, we we knew we still had to play Spec uh week eight.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: But I I thought, okay, that you know, we're we're doing for one, we're playing really good defense.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um offensively, we weren't you know blowing anyone out of the water by any means.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we you know, we weren't um you know really lighting up the scoreboard, but we were doing some good things on offense, but really we were we were keeping them off the scoreboard.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: So um I thought we had the defense to be able to do it, and um I really thought it was gonna um I was surprised when Delhi beat Deposit Hancock.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was gonna be Delhi first round deposit Hancock for the finals, um, but it worked out.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Deposit Hancock, and we had Trumansburg in the finals.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And um yeah, so we had to beat two good teams to get out of the section.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: And after that, state playoffs, man.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Every anybody's everybody's good.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody's undefeated or one loss, and uh and it that's just a week-to-week thing.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and man, I you know, there's one thing that everyone sees you on game day, and uh I mean I I was so proud of my kids for the way they played, uh not just all season long, but in those playoffs, state playoff games, man, uh not only did they work day in and day out, but they just locked in.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And when they won the sectional championship and knew they had a chance to go to the dome, they that was all that was on their mind every time they showed up to practice.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And and man, it was it was a lot of fun to be around for sure.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it sounds like you had a really focused group.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that I was coming back, driving back from Arizona, and I was going through Tennessee and I was listening to Tuckahoe game on the radio, and I and I had my headset, and I think my wife was driving, I think I scared her a couple of times when the coach of me came out.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: I, you know, because it was a little rough there going, because neither of you really got stops until like late in the second quarter or quarter there, and I would yell or something, and I said, I'm trying to drive off the road.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: But you really started off with some adversity.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think the student athlete you mentioned you lost when that was Derek Mills.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: And and then a lot of teams, I mean, it's one individual student athlete, but he was, like you said, a three-year starter in one year made interior linemen, and he goes down, you lose that game and you and you're in the hole the next game.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of the teams would have folded it.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I think, you know, mentally you're tough obviously at the leader role, but that emul emulates down, uh it permeates down into the team itself.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's a reflection on you, because you really didn't look back from there.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you you won two games that were close by four points.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: That was the first deposit handcock and then the new fane game.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Other than that, you you know, you held three opponents to a single-digit uh performance and you had one shutout.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that to me, that's you know, face inversely early and working through it and bouncing back.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that's one of the things I saw from afar in being a coach, is that that to me is like you know, you guys have got something there.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: All right, and the next question I have for you, coach, is what did this team have in common with past Tioga Tiger champions and and how are they different?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, as we started getting into playoffs and and even talking with my other coaches that have been around for a while, um, you know, this team really reminded us uh of the 2015 team.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, we we during that year we lost to Newark Valley kind of midseason, and that that really drove us the rest of that year.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: And and it was also a year where a lot of people doubted us because we uh we we lost four state semifinals prior to 2015 in a row.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and those teams were were loaded.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and really it was a young coach that didn't know a whole lot to get them through.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: We played some really tough competition in those state semifinals, but um yeah, and and all those guys were gone, graduated, and in that 2015 there were a lot of new faces uh besides one, and and that was Jesse Manuel.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: And uh but that team, you know, a lot of doubters, but they they were the same set, they just worked and they worked and they worked.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: They weren't very good, but they got better.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: And and even I remember going into week eight of that year, we had to play, I think it was Oxford, we had to play Oxford week eight, then turn around and play him again week nine.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was like back to back, first round of playoffs.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember after playing them the first time thinking, you know, how the heck are we gonna get these guys to be able to win in playoffs?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: And but it was kind of the same deal.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like once we hit playoffs, the the kids just kind of kind of locked in.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And even going through the state playoffs, like I remember we played a really good quarterback in the in the state semifinals that year.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and kind of the same deal.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Really tall, good thrower, had had um uh he had a really good running back next to him, had some some good receivers, and and it was a you know huge game, a close game.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: We got one final stop um at the end uh to close that game out.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and so even going through it just it just felt that way.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: It just it just felt really similar, the similar types of uh kids attitude.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: And and the one thing I forgot to mention too, uh, but but very similar was the senior leadership between those two teams.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, kids that just not a lot of vocal leaders, but just a lot of kids that uh just showed up and and worked hard and practiced hard and were there to pick each other up in in tough games like you were talking about, um you know, where you get behind, like it just didn't seem to phase those guys.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: They just kind of pushed each other onto the next play.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, and and and this team too, it reflected a little bit of 2021.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that was another team coming out of COVID.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: I remember thinking, man, these guys worked really hard.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and they they deserve they deserve deserve a shot.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and they and they came off a tough loss.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Those seniors of 21, a lot of them were sophomores on a team that lost in 2019 in a close state semifinal game, and that drove them and drove them.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, very similar to those two championship teams, um, and and and really the especially as we work through the state playoffs.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: I thought the similarities just keep kept racking up.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the things that is a common thread of our conversation here is we're talking about a champion.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: You're you're on the podcast because of the championship.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: But we're we're having a conversation about a lot of losses.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: And the losses are not always necessarily a bad thing.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: In your case, they've been extra motivators.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to say anything.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: If the student athletes get it and want it and are involved, you really don't have to say anything.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: They understand.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: So for those of you out there listening that are coaches, student athletes, whatever, losses aren't always a bad thing.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I as a coach, I mean, I like undefeated seasons, those are great and everything, but if you're gonna have a team experience a loss, get it done early.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: You did it well this year, and that leaves an indelible mark on them that you know, we don't want to feel that again.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, you had the the physical loss of a you know, an excellent student athlete in that as well.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um the the next question I have for you, coach, is uh I know coaching is teaching, and teaching is coaching.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you teach and coach?
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I just always kind of felt and kind of saw myself doing that.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I remember just being in high school thinking that you know I wanted to I wanted to teach someday.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: I I had an aunt that um uh taught at the school, you know, I went to in western New York.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, you you if you're a teacher, you have you you've had teachers that you look up to, um, you know, that I'm still in contact with today.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And and um yeah, and and it was one of those things I I I really felt that it came it came pretty natural to me.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um I had a great professor at Ithaca College that he actually he he knew what kind of school I wanted to be in uh with our conversations and he he he put my full placement at Candor, you know, kind of a smaller district.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's where I, you know, kind of district I grew up in.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: And um and from there um Ryan Doherty was the principal at the time, and his dad Pat Doherty was the superintendent at Tyoga and he knew there were openings at Tyoga, and that's how I ended up here.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it just I I've always felt like it's been a really good fit for me here.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: And um I taught for 18 years in the high school uh teaching history, and uh just last year uh I I switched over.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm teaching middle school tech now, and so we're in the woodshop and doing all those sorts of things, and and I loved teaching uh high schoolers.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: I got along with them great.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and and I wasn't sure how I was gonna like the middle school, but you know, I like that as well.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's a different group of kids, but you know, we we have a lot of fun, and so teaching just kind of came uh you know, natural.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: It was what I wanted to do, and then then the coaching opportunities that came with it.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um I don't know what's happened, but when I got hired, it was pretty much you're getting hired as a history teacher, and you're gonna coach three sports a year.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't care that you have to get your masters, and uh and so I had to coach three sports.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um I did football, basketball, baseball, probably for the first five years.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And um and and I got my master's in between because I had to get that done.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and I think all that experience coaching different sports, it just it teaches you about competition from from a coaching's pers perspective.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: And um and and they go hand in hand, you know, teaching and coaching.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: You you you learn you learn a lot.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean you'll you learn that there's different types of kids, there's different uh kids are motivated differently.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um you you learn that uh you know how do kids handle wins and losses?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: How do you get them through wins and losses?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: How do you um you know get them to work hard?
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: How do you get them to focus up?
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, all those things go hand in hand.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh Yeah, I I think you know, we you were just talking about losses.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um as a coach, I I felt like I grew the most with with big time losses.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: And you look and and you always reflect on those losses, and you might think about the game, but really you under eventually you understand that it's not about that particular game, it's you know, what did you do during preseason or what didn't you do during preseason that could have helped you along the way, or you know, how did you coach this particular kid?
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: How come you know this kid fell off and didn't improve for mid-season?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: You think about all those things, and but it's no different than teaching, you know, going back to your question.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I taught a regents course for you know, Global Two Regents for 18 years and and you know, trying to work with a kid on his essay writing or work on a kid, you know, on a particular content area that he doesn't quite get, you know, it's it's all the same thing, it goes hand in hand.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Sports go hand in hand, it's competition, uh, no matter what sport you're you're uh coaching, and and um and yeah, you know, it that's something I love.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: I love working with kids, and and I just feel like, especially now um that I'm in a pretty good groove and and it comes pretty natural to me.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it before I go on to the last and final question, I just want to talk a little bit uh about the team itself.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: I know that uh from a coaching standpoint, I've always been one that they people would ask me, where do you start at a team?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: I say, I'd like to start with the offensive center.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: I want somebody that's smart, um, you know, that can make decisions and and do the right thing, and then I build the offensive line out from there, and then maybe I go into some of the ball handling positions.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: But you had an offensive line initially that first game, you kind of had to piecemeal things, but uh Austin Mabalo, Mark Watkins, James Howey, Gavin Kitchhart, and Mark McCain, and then also ultimately Nate Hulbert uh was in there as well.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: He had to get replaced because of an injury at right in your final game there, I believe.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: But those student athletes tend not to get much recognition.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um a lot of times the recognition they get will be offensive holding, and I know they don't call the numbers in high school, but you know, offensive holding or legal block or you know, ineligible downfield, all that stuff.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: But these guys I saw this year did an exceptional job for the times, and I was able to see or hear the game.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: But behind them, you had a classic, what I call Tioga Tigers uh running back.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and as a third T in that Tioga Tigers, the T is for toughness.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: And uh this Logan uh Logan Bellis, I saw some highlights of him in your championship game from the end zone, and he came through the liners a couple of times.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, he got whacked and did not even phase him.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: And he's not the biggest guy.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: And he came out and and I'm thinking that that's somebody that you know is like the the heartbeat of the team.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like to single one guy out, but he's I kept seeing him over and over, and along with Duncanson there a little bit, um, but I I saw that.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then the other thing that I wanted to mention to you is I used um sibling references sometimes.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: Now you've had the opportunity to do that a number of times.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: You got Duncanson, you've had Bellas, you've had uh Kitcharts, you know, and so you got a lot of that.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: And all I would have to say is, well, Mike wouldn't have done that, or Steve wouldn't have done that, and then leave it alone.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's all you have to do.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: But the motivation I think comes not only from um what you say, it's but it's what you do, and that matches.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: When that matches, then you get that that build.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you build the camaraderie and the culture and everything like that.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: So that's in a kind of a nutshell because you had a history of uh running backs.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Now, some of this information that I'm sharing with you today, I got from one of our cover.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: For football analysts.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: You may know a guy named Tim Burney.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: I call him the original TB, but he's a great source of not only knowledge for football, but a lot of things.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I ask him I said, give me off the top of your head some of the Tioga Tiger running backs that we've seen in the past.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: You got Logan Bellish, you got Jesse Manuel, Emmett Wood, Brian Doherty, Roger Olmsted, Tim Sines, Casey Kitchart, Cody Bennett.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it goes on, I'm sure there's some we've missed.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: But that to me seems like that's a staple along with obviously your defense and your offensive line.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: That those seem like stables that have carried over year after year.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, you just have somebody like uh Logan that just steps up and and goes with it.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, uh we've been the benefactor of of all those tailbacks.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, and there there's a lot of backs in there too that that might not um get the recognition, but they were just as good.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's uh and you know that you know a back is only good as good as their line.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, going back to you talking about our line, um, you know, Logan will be and all our backs will be the first one to tell you that.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, and and the thing about Logan is is no one he was he was kind of off everyone's radar because he couldn't play as a junior, and uh because he he hurt his knee in the week zero game of his junior year.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: And um he tried to tough it out a little bit, he couldn't run the ball anymore, but um he ended up playing a little bit of defense for us, but really he was trying to trying to wrestle on it, but he ended up getting surgery in March, and and uh which is amazing because he got surgery in March and he's playing football six months later, and and uh and man, he he he showed everyone what he could do, you know, and and um I'm I was just so happy for him after losing his whole junior year uh of being able to have that type of year.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then and man, in the state championship, really in the last uh last week of his senior year, we played on Sunday state semifinal and carried the ball, I think it was 31 times.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then I my plan was to I is as long as the game was okay, I was gonna rest him in the first half.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think he only carried like nine or ten times in the first half of that state final, and he ended up with 29 carries, and so we we really kind of leaned on him in the second half.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: And um Yeah, and and you talk about that list of running backs, and and I was lucky enough to coach quite a few of them.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and you and that's just our style, you know.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: I I think it goes back to Jim Haggerty, it goes uh back to you know, the guys that coach in our youth that either played for him or played through the Tyoga program, and and um and yeah, yeah, you know, and Logan I mean I've been watching Logan since he was he was in the youth program, and I I knew he was gonna be special.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I he is tough, you know, and and one of the things we say is is be the first one up off the turf.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if you watch that state final game, he was getting he was getting hit pretty good.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: And um and and man, he was the first one to pop up, Bill, and and that can wear on a team.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it kind of makes it look a little crazy, uh, which is okay.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: And and um and man, I just I I can't say enough about how happy I am for the year that he had with with everything he went through as a junior.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: And he and and that carries over, you know, like you were saying, you know, you look at Jaden Duncanson and how hard he ran, just even with his kick returns for us.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um you look at our fullback this year, Matt Stodder, you know, he's running hard because he sees the other guys running hard.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it becomes an attitude of your team.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: It carries over, and um, I think it carries over in the in to everything you do, the way you play defense, it carries over to the linemen and how they get off the ball.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if we expect our running backs to run a certain way, we expect our our linemen to block a certain way.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and it just said it really sets the tone uh for what we do, and and you need leaders like that if you're gonna have a special year like we did.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's a good contagious thing.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's a really good contagious thing.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: Now, coach, for the last um question I have for you, what legacy do you want for the teams that you have led?
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I I think about that and and and and one thing I've always thought is is is I is how lucky I am that I came into a program like like Tyoga's.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I was talking, you know, earlier about it just being seems like it's always been a nice fit for me.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: And uh you know, one thing I I always thought when I first started is you know, I need to leave this program stronger than than what I found it, you know, if if that's possible.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh and so everything we do is really around that idea.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I I look at my staff now and I had I had five former players uh that have played for me in the last 16 years uh helping helping us at the varsity this year.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of that's because uh the JV team folded.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Four of them were supposed to coach my J V team, but we had to fold that because of numbers, and uh you know, so they were up with us the whole time, and then we had another player um former player with us.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, look at Modified, um, the line coach down there was a former player for me.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was able to convince two other former players to go down and coach at the youth this year.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: And and so you know, to me that's that's fulfilling that uh sort of I guess role that I think I have to to lead the program as as strong as possible whenever that time is.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh if I have kids that love playing here so much that are willing to come back and coach and kind of pay it forward, um I I I think that's fantastic.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um I we we put a lot of work into as best we can keep our youth program strong.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, we I'm I'm you know, going back to you know how we started this year, I as as a staff we met, I think about four times last March and April.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: And we broke down every piece to our program.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, everything from how do we want to teach read steps to what tackling drills do we want to do to what plays can we get rid of so we can be better at the ones that we like.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, what what can we teach at the youth program and still down there so as they come up through um and in in and that was just terminology, you know, what words can they use so when they get to modified, they're hearing the same words, and so it carries all the way through.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, every little piece like that, I I think it just kind of goes back to you know, how can how can we make this program stronger?
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you look at it from Jim Haggerty and what he established, um you know, a guy that pops in my head is like Don Dunbar, who had a big um piece to our youth program and starting that, and and there and there's many others uh that helped with that.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I look at the other varsity coaches we had, and Scott Taylor, uh, who coached for a while, and Pat Taylor's at a UEGO now, um you know, and Will Cook, and and I was an assistant under a guy by the name of Jeremy Pacini.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: I learned so much in those four years just about coaching football.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, how so how do I how do I keep that going?
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, when I'm long gone, it's it's still just the program and it's the strength of the program, and it's a program from youth through varsity.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you know, if there's any legacy that uh these championship teams could leave, is is it's that, you know, that that these championships happen because of how strong the program is, and with so many people that put time into it, with the community that supports it so much, you know, how can we make sure that success just continues um uh you know for many years to come?
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's um one thing that you didn't say that says a lot, and I've heard this over the years.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: You did not say once my team or me.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: You talked about program, and you're the the leader of the program.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: To me, that speaks volumes of what you didn't say, because there's so many coaches out there that say that, you know, my team this or my team that, just that.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: And to answer your um, I guess you your legacy, what you want it to be, I'll tell you you're doing a darn good job at it.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: And you've already laid a heck of a foundation um with you and your staff and a whole community in the program.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: And um I really appreciate you coming, taking the time to to come on the program and and share this knowledge.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope that others, uh whether you want, you know, you're a student athlete in Tug or you're someplace else where you want to be in coaching or teaching or whatever, that they listen to this and really take heed in what you had said because there's a lot of validity to that.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, it's not just hearsay, you do it.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you we went out like Nike, just do it.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: And you've done it, and it and you're in a small program in a in a small community.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: So that's your you're you're demonstrating that that's pretty much irrelevant.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you can you do what you do with what you got, and you're doing a great job with that.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: So unless you got anything else, coach, I really appreciate that and uh continue success there.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: I enjoy watching uh, you know, the teams that you put out on the field, and uh we'll go from there.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you very much for being a guest on the podcast.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank thanks so much for having me and thanks for promoting Section 4 football and talking to us coaches.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I I I love listening to other coaches too.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh but yeah, but thanks for having me.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate your words.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: All right, you take care.
• 31:18
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• 31:22
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• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Your inputs are never out of bounds in football and life.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's not where we line up, it's where we want to go.
• 31:38
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