We all suck at the brackets. I include myself in that. A couple years ago, I decided to see how bad I was. I made my own bracket, based off my picks. I also made one that was completely random, based on the flip of a coin. I skipped (more forgot to do it) for a year or 2, but I can tell you it is back. Here we go.
For this challenge, I used a 2000 quarter, which happened one of the states, New Hampshire. It’s impartial & unbiased, due to the fact that New Hampshire did not make the NCAA Tournament. After all, this is all about integrity. The better seed was heads. For example, in a 1 vs 16, heads is the 1, 16 is tails. This is used throughout the tournament.
In the first round, all the top 1 & 2 seeds advanced. Well done quarter. However, chaos would reign beyond that. 10 double digit seeds would be picked in round 1, including 14 seed UC Santa Barbara, who defeated Baylor. Apologies to the Bears. Unfortunately, my favorite team, NC State, was not one of the double digit seeds to advance. We can’t even win a coin toss.
In round 2, contenders fall hard. Down goes 1 seed Alabama to Maryland. Purdue is defeated by Memphis. 13 seed Furman, who defeated Virginia in round 1 continues to the Sweet 16 with a win over Charleston. UC Santa Barbara moves once again, beating Creighton. 8 of the final 16 teams are double digit seeds. I’m not feeling great about this.
In the Sweet 16, the glorious run of UCSB ends, at the hands of Arizona. They should hold their heads high. The double digits seeds start to fall. By the end of the Sweet 16, only 1 double digit seeds remains: USC. We still have 2 1 seeds, in Kansas & Houston.
We reach the Elite 8. In the South, 8 seed Maryland defeats number 2 Arizona. In the East, number 10 USC continues their unbelievable run with a win over Tennessee. We have an 8 vs 10 in the Final Four. The Midwest Region is a battle of the Lone Star State. Number 2 Texas outlasts top ranked Houston. Finally in the West, top seed Kansas defeats Gonzaga.
We’ve reached the Final Four. Maryland vs USC, & Kansas vs Texas. Our Cinderella 10 seed USC needs luck on their side. They get it. The double digit seed advances to the NCAA championship game. They await the winner of the Big 12 rivals. After a grueling game, and an incredible coin flip, top seed Kansas, and President George Washington come out on top. We have our final.
Number 1 Kansas vs number 10 University of Southern California. Jayhawks vs Trojans. The fate of the national championship comes down to 25 cents, and 1 man holds all the power in this matchup….me. The coin is in the air, quite high. It lands in my hand. As it falls into my palm, the result becomes obvious. In a tournament that started with 68, one comes out on top. Your 2023 national champions will be….the Kansas Jayhawks.
I don’t know how sad this is, but I also have Kansas in my regular bracket. So it turns out, it didn’t matter how I determined it…the result was the same. Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk.
Since my blog site is called Coach’s Corner, you can safely assume I have coached. There are many things I’ve learned and seen. One of those is how people use this one particular word….luck.
This weekend, I watched some baseball; specifically the Braves vs Mets. The Mets won 4 of the 5 games in the series. In the final game, the Braves pitcher, Spencer Strider failed to make it past the 3rd inning, which is not ideal for a starter. After the game, Strider had some comments.
Said Strider: “There were a lot of weird hits. The Mets seem to be having a lot of luck right now offensively. That’s great, it’s August. We’ll see what things are like in October.”
As mentioned above, the Mets won 4 of 5 this weekend. In those 4 wins, the Mets struck out the Braves 51 times. Out of the 108 outs in those games for the Braves, 47% were by the Braves striking out. I guess that was unlikely plate discipline.
The Mets have played most of the season without their top pitcher, Jacob deGrom. He just returned this week. They went 2 months without their other ace, Max Scherzer. They’ve spent a lot of the season without opening day start Tylor Megill, who still isn’t back. They’ve had to alternate catchers all season due to injury. Other key players have been out due to injuries, childbirth, and other things. There was even a game where Luis Guillorme had to bat cleanup. Luis has 4 career home runs in 4 seasons. By the way, the game he bat cleanup was a 7-3 win…over the Braves, in Atlanta. The Mets have dealt with this, and still have a 7 game lead over a good Braves team. Maybe it’s not luck.
When I coached, I’d tell the boys that you make your own luck, and you do so by putting yourself in good situations. It may mean you do things different than others. That was our approach from day 1. We would go on to win 90% of our games over 3 years, 2 conference titles, a regional title, & be the state runner up. We never did worse than the quarterfinals.
We did lose 7 times over those 3 years. The first was us punching up a weight class & finding out how to play against a physical team. We actually beat them once, but fell the 2nd time. In our 2nd loss, I pushed our team too far & wore them out. It was 100% my fault. Our 3rd loss was a great game. They just had guys step up during penalties. A couple that did for us were less experienced, but that helped us long term…just not that night. The 4th was us not defending set pieces. I should’ve done better on that. Our 5th was a state final, against a great team. I made an adjustment I wish I didn’t make in that game. Our 6th loss was a meaningless game, where our goal was to not have injuries or ejections. Our last loss was to a great team who scored an early goal, which I knew we couldn’t allow them to do. We had a chance or 2, but just couldn’t score. It was the 1 time I was there where we didn’t. Notice I never said it was because the other team was lucky.
We did have teams say we were lucky. One team said it after we trailed them 2-0 my first year. We won 3-2. We made sure to never let them hang with us in a game after that. They never were able to the next 2 years. In my 2nd year, we played a terrible game, but survived & won a match 5-4. I remember 2 things: Their people saying how lucky we were, & our people saying how scared they were to play them again. None of our players thought that. We made a point to show how much better we were than them, & beat them 6-1 in the playoffs. Then there was the team we beat for the conference title that year. We came back from 1-0 down, and won in overtime, in the last minute. Their guys said we were lucky. What they forgot was we missed 2 penalties in that game. It should’ve been over earlier. The next time we played was in the playoffs, sent a message, & won 7-1. What I’m saying is Strider’s comments may just give the Mets a little extra motivation.
I said all that to point out that dismissing their efforts & calling it all luck can come back & bite you. You have to have respect for opponents. Saying their success is just luck is a weak excuse. It takes away accountability for yourself.
As mentioned, the Mets won 4 of the 5 games in the series. They did lose 1. That loss was with Taijuan Walker as the pitcher. Walker went into the game 9-2. He allowed 8 runs, and couldn’t get an out in the 2nd inning. It was a bad night. Did Walker blame it on luck? No. Instead, here’s what he had to say.
“It wasn’t a good day for me. I don’t want it to happen in a big series like this, but it did and I’m going to move on from it. … My velo wasn’t very good today either and I was leaving too many balls over the middle of the plate. I didn’t do my job today and the bullpen had to wear it, which I’m not proud of at all.”
He said he didn’t have his best, let the team down & held himself accountable. He said he’s move on from it. That’s how you do it. Understand mistakes were made, learn & move on.
If we want to flip this luck conversation, maybe we could look at last year’s Braves. They defeated the Dodgers in last year NLCS. The Dodgers didn’t have Clayton Kershaw for the playoffs. Max Scherzer only pitched once, then was scratched from a start, due to a dead arm. Normally they would pitch 4 games of a 7 games series. They combined for 1. Scherzer beat the Braves Saturday night, allowing 0 runs over 7 innings, while striking out 11 Braves. They were also without Max Muncy, a player who had 36 home runs that season. Some could say maybe they were lucky. Personally, I don’t think that. They got hit at the end, and the right time. That’s what it takes.
There is a phrase stating “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.” I don’t like that phrase. Again, you put yourself in positions to be successful, & success tends to follow. Calling someone lucky when you fail is a cop out. If we want to change it up again, we could say the Braves were lucky Taijuan Walker had a bad night. They could be 9 games back instead of 7. We won’t do that.
Finally, as a coach, don’t make luck as an excuse for why your team lost. Parents, don’t make luck an excuse either. If you let them have these excuses now, imagine them in 10, 20 or 30 years doing the same thing, thinking nothing is ever their fault. Look at the world we live in today, and you see it. Too many times I had to hear how the refs were against us, & the other team was lucky to have them there. I get that officiating can be bad. I also know if you do your job & play to your potential, their bad call can be overcome. Too many times I’d hear people complain & yell about this & that, while not realizing the reason we were in a situation was likely a mistake on our part. We did not make excuses for our performances. We didn’t blame other teams in our less than stellar moments. Instead, almost every time, our players stepped up, & overcame the adversity or obstacle in front of them. That’s what the best teams & players do.
The last couple weeks have been frustrating. It seems like nothing has gone right, things break down, seemingly nothing I’ve done has gone right, & a combo of feeling like I’m letting people down/not hearing back from some has just been a bummer. For me, feeling like you’re letting people down, whether you are or aren’t, is the worst. I’ve had better days.
Last week gave me a little perspective. My work vehicle had/has issues. I got a lot of that worked on then. For work, my dad let me switch to his vehicle, b/c it’s easy for me to work out of. So we trade his CRV for my jeep. He meets me to get my work van back, offers dinner.
I like food, so I say yes. When I get there (Court Street), he’s talking w/someone I’ve never seen, looks to me & says “He’s joining us for dinner.” I’m good with that, and so we go in. The 3 of us spend a good 90 minutes or so in there, mainly w/them talking about the old days.
Dad pays for all of it. I had chicken parm, he had a calzone, the other guy had a burger. I find out he’s also a Jets fan…he liked Joe Namath. He was extremely grateful & thankful. I go home, they stick around & talk for a bit. Those who know my dad know he can talk. I’m the quiet one in my family.
Later I asked dad who he was. He told me he was a homeless man. He’d seen him once or twice around town, & at the local shelter. They had mutual friends growing up. He was outside the restaurant, & asked for money for a burger. Dad asked if he was hungry, & told him to join us.
I’ve had that on my mind for a few days. I know the vast majority of us would ignore the man. When things aren’t great for me, I can’t say I’d be any different. But not my old man. He tries to be there for people, whether it’s for me, or a stranger. He’s a good man.
Things may not be great, but they could be worse. Perspective changes things. Obviously things happening elsewhere show that as well. I hope we treat each other better, & help people out.
In 2001, I was a kid with no real ambition. I went through the motions. I had surgery during the summer to remove my gallbladder, which had a growth on it. Thankfully it was a benign growth. While doing nothing, I realized I wouldn’t be an athlete that could do anything. I still loved sports. That fall, someone gave me a chance to keep being involved in sports. Even though I was dumb at first, and declined, I eventually accepted. That’s how I became a coach.
Twenty years later, I’ve had a chance to coach future pros. I’ve been lucky enough to go to 3 state championships & 2 sports. I’ve had a chance to be a head coach for a soccer team that made the final, and won 2 conference championships. However, at least for now, it’s time for me to step aside, which means I will not be coaching soccer in the fall for my alma mater, East Lincoln. I will be focused on my job, which in the last few months, has taken up more and more time, and will continue to do so. So now, I will be a fan of these guys.
Greater Charlotte Soccer Coach of the Year for 2019.
I’ll brag about some things. I think I get to do that now. In 3 years, we went 61-7-1. We won 2 conference titles, the 2A West in 2019, and never did worse than the quarterfinals. Each year, we were ranked in the top 10 in the state at the end, including 1st at the end of 2019, even after being state runner up. We only lost to 1 team in conference, Newton. We went 4-3 against them in 3 years. I don’t think anyone else can say they have a winning record against them. To me, Angelo Palozzi, Newton’s coach, is the best coach around. I have a ton of respect for him. To say that we had a winning record against him says a lot about our guys. I won the Charlotte Observer Soccer Coach of the Year, & the Greater Charlotte Soccer Coach of the Year awards. I consider those to be more of awards that represents the team & all they did. But the thing I like saying the most is we never lost to a team in the county. We tied once, but won the other 16 matchups.
Between my time on varsity for both soccer and basketball (head coach for soccer + assistant for both), I got to be a part of 283 wins in 14 combined seasons. Add JV games in for both, and we’d be around 400 at East. I got to be a part of 6 teams that won the conference championship (4 basketball, 2 soccer), plus 2 other basketball teams that won the conference tournament. We went to 3 state finals. While we didn’t win any of them, it was an amazing experience getting to those games. Only 2% of teams get to those games each year. It was a pretty good run. While all that is great, that’s nowhere near the top of the list of what I’m most proud of, or why I have done this for so long. The rest of this will go into that.
I want to tell what coaching means to me. As I said, I started in 2001. I was 16, a high school junior. My mom wanted me to get an extracurricular activity, or a job. I didn’t. She helped with a soccer league. A family friend asked me to help, and at first, I said no. As we got closer to their deadline, I kept thinking it over. In that time, I lost a friend in a car accident. I needed something to do to help get through that. Ultimately, I said I would. It’s the best decision I ever made.
The first team I helped was named the Thunder. I still have the shirt, though it doesn’t fit. My first game was a blur. All I remember is we lost, and I was miserable. That same day, another friend was laid to rest, after his car accident. He was the 3rd in our class that we lost; the 2nd in 6 weeks. He was a person I’d always discuss sports with growing up, and even though we cheered for polar opposite teams, it was always a blast talking with him. It was a rough time for many of us, and we didn’t know what to do, or how to deal with it.
Two weeks later, the head coach told me he would not be there for the next game, & I, a 16 year old, was in charge of a bunch of 7 & 8 year old kids, who were looking for guidance. I didn’t know what to think. I was scared. For some reason, I had this feeling for the first time of not wanting to fail others. I still have that. Then the game came, and suddenly I felt relaxed. On October 13, 2001, I was a head coach for the first time. We won 3-1. That was the day & game where I became hooked. It was also the first time, where after everything we went through that year (losing friends, surgery, 9/11), that I felt happy about something.
My first team as an actual head coach, the Jets, 2002. I was 17.
The next season, I had my own team, the Jets. We tied our first 4 games. When we won our first one, I ran around like a fool. My mom acted happy about it, but I’m pretty sure she was embarrassed. Eventually I would stop doing that. I’d coach 1 more season, with a team I named the Mustangs. I thought that might be it, with graduation ahead. To tell you the truth, I never thought I’d coach again. I was gone for a year. Then I was back. For several years, I’d coach in our small league, then went to another once that league ended. I’d eventually run that other league, but never really enjoyed being in charge, & wanted to coach. After a couple seasons, they decided to have someone else run it, because I couldn’t be there on game days, due to my job, once I got hired by USPS. However, that led to an opportunity in basketball, & a chance to coach 2 sports.
My first basketball team, the Wolfpack.
I got a chance to coach a basketball team in a league I once played in. I never won anything in it as a player. As a matter of fact, I never won anything as a kid. We once tied for first in baseball, only to see the league give the other team the trophy. We owned the tiebreaker. It’s been 28 years, and I haven’t forgot. I was told I drafted the worst team in league history. In our first game, 5 players showed up. We didn’t score until 3 minutes into the 3rd quarter. Somehow we came back and won. The supposed worst team ever ended up going 17-1. I coached one more season there. That’s where I started working with a kid named Max Fletcher. It turned out we worked pretty well together. Eventually I’d move on & help coach an AAU team, which ended up finishing top 10 in nationals. But soon, I would also end up coaching in a school for the first time.
Later, someone from my first league, named Bill Sinclair, invited me to help with a team. Bill helped me when I was a kid, and taught me some things about coaching. He always said make sure you have fun. I always tried to do that. We lost Bill recently. We lost a good man. That led to me meeting another coach, Louis Nesbitt. The 3 of us worked together at Mt Holly Middle. We all loved it. Nesbitt & I became basically the best of friends, pretty much like brothers. We’d work together for 2 years there, winning a championship in basketball. Our 2 teams were the first to make the basketball playoffs in school history, & we won the first championship in basketball. Our soccer team made the playoffs for the first time in over 10 years. I’d coach another season at Mt Holly, with Mike Nixon, who is one of the most fun people on Earth. He would carry on & win 2 soccer championships. Then Nesbitt & I would reunite, & coach soccer together at Mallard Creek.
First basketball team at Mt Holly
While at Mallard Creek, I got an email from Coach Chip Ashley. I’d asked him about coming to East Lincoln a while back. Just as my soccer season at Mallard Creek was ending, he asked if I still wanted to come to East, & join the staff, led by Coach Hodges, & later by Coach Hancock. Obviously I said yes. That’s how I ended up here. I got to meet up with several people I’ve had way too many laughs with: Reggie, Coach Schenck, Jalen, & later, Fann. Ashley later connected me with Coach Jason Dragoon, who offered me the JV soccer team. I spent 3 years as the JV coach.
State final, 2015. We faced a future 2nd pick in the NBA Draft.
Before the 2017 season, I was down. I didn’t feel I was doing well as a coach. I felt like I had no purpose. I was ready to quit. I was offered a job up the road at Maiden. I never could convince myself to take it. Looking back, I’m extremely thankful I didn’t leave. When I decided to stay, I told Dragoon I wanted 1 season to see if I wanted to still do this. Not being sure whether I wanted to do this much longer was a big reason why I didn’t leave. It wouldn’t have been fair to the other school. He moved me to full time varsity assistant. It was the year our current senior class came in: Aaron, Caleb, Chase, Christian, Conner & Will. We all started together. We all stuck together. At the end of that season, Dragoon stepped away.
There was an opening. I debated whether to apply. Two things happened that helped me decide. First, several players, in both soccer & basketball told me to go for it. If they didn’t, I never would have applied. The second thing was a promotion at work that actually gave me more time to coach. It was strange how that worked, but it did. In a way, I guess everything has come full circle. Everything happened at once. I felt like that was a sign, so I went for it.
After a lengthy wait, I was offered the job. To be honest, I never felt like I was the candidate that was most wanted. Even now, I still sort of feel that way, in that I know some still wanted someone else. However, I always felt like I was the right person for the job. I thought the job offer was a joke at first, but once I realized it wasn’t, I took it. I was given an assistant. It was Coach Ashley. I brought in another. It was Max. I always said my first call would be to him. I kept my word. If we do this again, he’s my first call again. Those 2 were incredibly fun to be around. It made me calm, and eased my nerves. Coach Ashley would always challenge me to think on things. Max & I would bounce ideas off each other. It was a great bond we had, and I’m always grateful for them.
My first team as head coach at East, 2018
My first team made the quarterfinals. It was a great year, a fun first experience. I had some bad nights, based on errors I made in games, and a couple sleepless nights, including after our final loss to Salisbury. But I was living something I dreamed about. I wanted them to understand why I wanted to do this, & what got me to that point. Before our 2nd game, we went to the far end of the school, and to a memorial for my classmates, Kate, Nicole & Travis. I remember telling them there’s no guarantee we make it to the next day, & this doesn’t last forever. I’ve thought about that a lot the last week or 2. That was where I wanted them to know this was not a team, it was a family. That became a theme for us over 3 years. I also wanted them to think big, beyond just winning a playoff game. I wanted them to believe. It took some time, but that happened. They also made me believe. At the end of the final game, I remember telling them they were difference makers on & off the field, and the reason I knew that is because they were for me. I’ll get back to that.
2019: conference & regional champions
Then there was 2019. We were expected to succeed. That’s what we did. We won the conference, in incredibly dramatic fashion. We rolled through the playoffs. Then we fell short in the final. It was a phenomenal season, which no team in the county had ever experienced. It did not end how we wanted, but it was a great ride. Looking back, there was one thing I wanted, besides the trophy. I wish we could sit back & enjoy the season. We were so focused on the task at hand, that I felt at times we didn’t understand at times how fun it was, until we got toward the end. Then it was a blast. That team was tremendous, flat out dominant, and worked so well together. I’d sometimes just sit in awe of what was going on. We were goal oriented, which is what you want. But one thing I wanted for the next season was to just embrace everything from day 1, and be more relaxed. We were looking forward to doing that in the summer. Then came a pandemic.
We weren’t sure we’d play this year. I didn’t think we would, all the way up until the first day of tryouts. I felt bad for our guys, particularly the seniors, because they weren’t sure they’d have a chance to actually play their final year. We had many conversations about that. It was tough on these guys. Then we got a glimmer of hope, and a date was set for the season. We were able to gradually do extra things in workouts. Our workouts literally started in the summer with us passing the ball to ourselves off a fence. That’s the extent of what our limits were. We heard people say we’d be down, would struggle, wouldn’t make the playoffs (especially after the teams were cut from 64 to 32), & so many other things. However, every time I’d ask the boys about their expectations, they always had high expectations. Once I heard that, I felt good about us.
We had no jamboree, no non-conference games, & 2 weeks of actual practice. We did this while having players out with injury, or Covid. We had another coach, Coach Peter Horvath. Understandably, after some Covid issues in the area, not being able to see his son, who lives in Europe, and just being more at risk, he decided to opt out. It was a decision I understood & supported. We didn’t have everyone at a game or practice until late February. The first practice was early January, & first game was late January. Our first game was basically an experiment. Thankfully things worked out, & we won. We had to evolve as we went on. From the beginning, I said the team that adapts will win. They did just that.
Almost everyone from the team (minus Jackson)
We found a way to win the conference. It wasn’t bad for a team that was supposed to be down. We made the playoffs, which many didn’t expect. We made it all the way to the quarterfinals. Our final win was against Salisbury. I always wanted a 2nd chance against them. I was happy we got that. Unfortunately that’s where the road ended, as we lost the next game. But I could not have been any more proud of these guys than I was. They fought all the way to the end, earned the respect of so many, and got their time in the sun. The seniors finished with more wins than any other class in school history, with 75. While it was shorter, they got their final season in. I hope one day they know the impact they had on me & this team.
After our last regular season game, I talked to my boys on the field, & told them this would be my last season. It was tough. It has been a struggle at times. My job allowed me to be out there more the last couple years. Recently I got promoted. It added over 20 hours a week. There could be more coming. It’s one reason we moved practices back. The other was to make sure those in remote learning didn’t have to rush over. Also, we’ve been shorthanded at work, and getting days off has been difficult. My day would be wake up at 5:15, get in to the office by 6:45, get done, and make it to the field for practice by 4:30, or a game by 5. For away games, usually Coach Ashley would help us by driving the boys to the game, I’d meet them there, he would take my car back, & I’d drive the bus back after the game. Some nights, I wouldn’t get home until 9 or 10, after taking care of everything. Then I’d watch film, go through everything, and by the time I’d go to bed, it was after midnight. That’s been the daily process for a couple months, and it was exhausting, physically & mentally. Most nights, I wouldn’t even make it to the bed before falling asleep. With everything added on, I started to see I couldn’t 100% commit to being there full time in the fall.
I told the boys we could have 1 game left, or 5. There were some tears, mostly mine. What ended up happening has made me love this team even more. I got several messages from these guys saying “We’re going to get you 5 more games” & a bunch of “thanks for everythings.” We didn’t get 5…but we got 3. That sentiment meant so much to me. I’ve never felt closer to a team than these last 2 weeks. Someone once told me that when you coach, players don’t care, and once you’re done, they’ll never reach out or talk to you again. I never believed that. This reaffirmed my belief. I was always worried that each game could be the last, but I was also happy just to have whatever time we had. After the 2 playoff wins, I’d finish each postgame by thanking them for giving me a couple more days to be their coach. I’d take a deep breath before saying that, as a sigh for the stress of the game, and just to take a minute to stay composed. It meant a lot.
After that final regular season game, from there on, I said something over & over. “Whatever we do, we do together.” It meant 2 things for me. For the whole team, it was a message that no matter what, we are a team, win or lose. It was also for the seniors. Those were the guys that started here the same year I got to join the varsity. While I wasn’t the head coach then, I’ve felt a special bond with those guys. Whenever it was over for one of us, it was over for all of us.
The seniors, Max & I were all together at the end of the game. Chase was the last one off the field, because the ref started the game back up while he was running toward us. Once he came to me, & the rest of us, also with tears like myself, that’s when it hit me that this was the end. Everything we did, we did together. Aaron, Caleb, Chase, Christian, Conner & Will set such a great example for the team. They got their season to show what they were capable of, and man did they show out. I am sad their time is over, but so happy for their accomplishments. They were difference makers. As I said earlier, I almost quit before their freshman season. They helped me remember why I loved the game so much, and helped me realize I wanted to stick around. I’ll always be grateful for that.
This team as a whole showed they were difference makers. As I said, in a moment where I was most down, they brought me back up. They, along with the previous 2 teams, gave me a belief & confidence I never had before, in myself or others. I’ve always said they made me look much better than I actually am as a coach. But they always gave me a chance to believe in what we were doing. We’ve always been a player oriented team, where they could always throw out ideas & opinions on things. This team embraced that. That made me happy.
I will always support these guys. I’ll be at some games, just in the bleachers. I won’t be their coach, but I will be a fan. I always said whenever I left, I wanted to leave it better than it was when I started. Things weren’t bad when I started, but I believe we accomplished that goal. One other goal I’ve had, & told these guys, is that I wanted it to be where I didn’t need to coach them up on everything in a game, and they could make decisions on their own. We’ve done that. Another way to put it, I wanted them to be able to succeed, no matter who was coaching them. Now we’re at that point where there will be a change. I have full confidence in them, no matter who is in charge. I hope they get a great coach, one that’s better than me. I don’t think that will be too difficult. I also hope the next coach gets to understand & see the same love & appreciation I’ve had for these players. While I won’t be coaching them, I fully believe in those boys.
As for myself, I may have more free evenings. I’ll have a lot less emails to send out. I’ll try to find a hobby, go to games, and try to do more to take care of myself. That last one will be a big focus. Maybe I’ll actually get more than 4 hours of sleep at night. I hope to keep in touch with people that have been involved. I’ve met many great people over the years, & consider them friends. I’ll probably need to lean on them some. So I ask you to not be a stranger. I’ll appreciate that.
I expect that at some point down the road, I’ll at least want to do this again. Whether it’s school or club may be a thought as well. The question will be if I can. I’ll learn about that over the next few months. Two things won’t change. One, East will always be home. I’ll always have love for this place. Two, I can’t imagine having a bond with a team like what I’ve had for the last couple years. I tell these guys they’re family to me, and that’s one thing that’s made this extremely tough. But that is exactly how I have felt about them.
I want to say one more thing. I want to thank every player I’ve had over 20 years. Each one has done something that has helped me, and allowed me to do something I love. I’ve had a chance to coach a lot of kids that made it to a college sport. A couple have or will play professionally. I’ll now have more chances to watch all of them. But every player has done something. My hope is that I have been able to help players along the way, on and off the field. I think of our seniors this year. The respect & quiet confidence from Caleb, the kindness & humility from Christian, the dedication & desire to improve from Will, the calmness & hilarity of Conner, support & appreciation of & from Aaron, & the leadership & daily conversations I had with Chase, which is funny because Chase never talked his freshman year. Those things, along with everything from our underclassmen have made me want to be there every day. I’m excited to see what Braxton, Landon, Beckham, Helmut, Luke, Blake, Eli, Danny, Connor, Christopher (I’ll miss the pre & post practice/game elbow bumps), Jason, Mason, Brandon, Thomas, Jackson & Carter all do, as well as possibly Evan if his injury heals. I’ll be in a different place than normal, but I’ll be keeping up.
To those guys….keep doing your thing. You’ll be just fine. To the Seniors, I’m proud to have been there since day 1. We go out together. I hate I won’t be on the sideline next year, but I am thankful for the time I had. I know emotions aren’t usually my thing, and I may not have shown it all the time, but I’ve had great joy in doing this. I got to live a dream, and it’s because of the people I did it with. To them, I say something Coach Ashley instilled in me that he said to his teams: I’m proud of you, I love you guys, & thank you.
March Madness means 1 thing. A new tradition has emerged…my coin flip challenge.
I am usually terrible at filling out a bracket. However, I did pick the champ last year. This year, in my actual bracket, I picked Duke to beat Kentucky. I’m not proud of that. But what would a coin say?
We changed one thing up this year. Instead of a quarter, we upgraded to a 1985 JFK half dollar. 1985 was a good year. The rules were simple. Every game is a coin flip. Heads was the better seed, tails was the worse seed in each game. In the Final Four & championship, I did a best of 3.
So how did it go? Well, in round 1, all the 1 seeds advanced…even Virginia. There weren’t many upsets, though Bradley defeating Michigan State was a big one. Two 13 seeds advance, as do two 12s. But overall, not many besides that. In round 2, Virginia goes home early, falling might Ole Miss. Kansas goes home, preventing the Roy Williams loyalty test game. However, most top seeds still remain.
The Sweet 16 didn’t bring many upsets either. The 3 remaining 1 seeds advance. Houston defeats Kentucky. In the 1 battle of Cinderellas, 8 seed Ole Miss defeats 12 seed Oregon to get to the Elite 8.
In the Elite 8, all 3 remaining 1 seeds win again. I didn’t even have 3 1 seeds on my actual bracket. Ole Miss continues their incredible journey to the Final Four. Along with Ole Miss is UNC, Duke & Gonzaga.
This is how you know this is legit. The 2 teams I hate the most are Duke & UNC. My final in the coin flip challenge is Duke & UNC. I’ve never been more disappointed in currency. The final, again, was a best of 3. Duke won the first toss. UNC won the 2nd. The final coin flip went way in the air. When it hit the floor, there was one champion.
According to my JFK 1985 half dollar, your champion will be Duke. In the illustrious 3 year history of the coin flip bracket, I’ve never had the same team picked by me & by a coin. So congrats, or I’m sorry Duke. We’ll find out soon enough.
For most people, Thanksgiving is one of those feel good days. Everyone comes together, has a lot of food, watches football, and eventually fall asleep with the tv on. I do most of that. However,there’s one issue….Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday. I associate it with one thing, my grandpa, or as I called him, Pop.
When I was little, I apparently struggled with the word Papa. I’d get most of it out, but only say “Pop.” That stuck with him, and that’s who he became. I don’t remember a whole lot from when I was little, but I do remember some things. When at his house, we’d watch football or a race. We’d go to Tweetsie, the zoo, or some other place. He always seemed happy.
What I didn’t know when I was little is that Pop smoked a lot for years. He apparently gave it up around the time I was born. He wanted to be around, and apparently wanted me to be around someone who didn’t smoke. I found this out later. It’s also the reason I’ve never smoked (that, and I don’t feel like burning my lungs). I remember my sister being born 2 days before Christmas. She got to go home on Christmas, but first we stopped at his & my grandma’s house. I still remember everyone being really happy. That was the only Christmas we all had together.
Many months later, Pop got sick. He got checked out, but found out he had lung cancer. While he had quit smoking several years before, the damage was done. Eventually, that November, he was told he could have up to a year to live.
Pop passed away the day before Thanksgiving that year. It was just a couple weeks after getting that prognosis. I remember seeing him at his home the day before, with a breathing machine. That vision never went away. The next day, my dad picked me up from school. When we got home, I asked him how Pop was. He stood in the doorway, fought back tears & said “He’s in a better place now.” I didn’t know what that meant that day, but soon did.
My dad & I have some differences. The biggest is he talks a lot, & I don’t. I was always the quiet one in our family. Between him, my mom, who now lives in Arizona, & sister, I didn’t have a choice. But one thing we have in common is that we don’t show a ton of emotion around people. I had an accident when I was about 20, where I cut my hand open while trying to open a box. I walked to him calmly, asking for a band aid. My hand was covered with blood. He looks at me, shakes his head & calmly says I don’t need a band aid. Instead, we need to go to the hospital. He wrapped my hand in towels & we went. The whole time, he never showed any worry around me. He kept me relaxed. A few years later, my grandma would tell me that he told her that in reality, he was worried I’d lose my thumb or have severe nerve damage. Thankfully that didn’t happen. In her words, she’d never seen him like that.
Fast forward to today, and why I’m telling this story. After Thanksgiving lunch, I went home & got my mail out of the box. While I get tired of seeing letters due to my job, I should probably still do that much more often. Judging from the postmark on a letter, I had apparently missed grabbing a letter from the last time I did it. Everything else was from the past week. This one was postmarked 3 weeks ago.
The letter was from my dad. We text, talk & see each other a good bit, so this was a surprise. He sent it right before our soccer playoffs. I didn’t see it until Thanksgiving Day. He basically told me how much he enjoyed seeing me coach over the years. He hasn’t been able to make many of the games, but does try when able. He even mentions my patience, which made me laugh, since he was at the game against Newton, where I almost lost my mind (those who were there know why).
But further down, he mentioned how Pop would be proud. Seeing that on Thanksgiving hit me like a ton of bricks. I had heard my grandma talk about him earlier at lunch. Now I was reading a letter about him from my dad. It’s something I’m going to probably always keep with me.
I don’t like this day, but I appreciate it for what it is. I’m thankful for the people in my life. I’m thankful for the opportunity to coach. But I also know that those people & those opportunities may not always be there. So appreciate those that are in your life, those that help you, and and the things that you get to do. And do that every day, not just one.
When I was 8 years old, I played on a coach pitch team. We were pretty decent. I say that for 2 reasons. First, I remember 2 games, and we won them both. Second, I remember what should’ve happened after the last one.
In our last game of the season, in the spring of 1993, we were 1 game behind the leaders. We beat them early on. We played a good team in our last game. The leaders played the worst. The leaders would lose their game. We won our final game. I know that because I got a game winning double. We were tied with the other team, and had the tiebreaker. We were champions….or so we thought.
That afternoon, we had a league banquet. I’m excited because I knew I had the hit that won us a championship. Our team is fired up. Then they start giving out trophies to everyone. They call the Braves, Yankees, Dodgers, & other teams up. Then they call my team, the Angels. We noticed there was 1 team they didn’t call yet…the Royals. After us, they get called up, and get the big trophy. It turns out the league organizers went ahead and got the Royals a trophy, because there was supposedly no way they’d lose that game. We never got a winner’s trophy.
I never won anything on a team as a kid. In basketball, we’d be stuck against a team that had a kid that got to play down an age group, and was the league’s best player. He was 6 inches taller than anyone else. It got to the point to where I wouldn’t want to play because I already knew the result.
It took a long time before I got to win in sports. It took no longer playing for that to happen. I had surgery after my sophomore year in high school, & knew my playing days were pretty much done. After some convincing, I got into coaching. High school me eventually made a good decision.
For a few years, I coached some younger kids, starting with U-8, them moving to U-10. We had several solid players in that time, and a whole lot of success. Eventually, I tried to move up. That’s where things got tricky.
About 10 years ago, I applied for a middle school coaching position. I felt like it was time, plus a lot of my old players wanted me to coach there. It was Stanley Middle. They were looking for a coach, & I was looking for a team. The players wanted me, their parents wanted me, the football coach even recommended me. Then one day, I got a letter from Stanley. I ran inside, excited to see what it said. They told me I wasn’t what they were looking for. I was miserable. They eventually gave it to a coach that now also coaches high school ball. To this day, I still have that letter.
A couple years later I joined on at Mt Holly. Things worked out: We won a lot, got a trophy & banner, and us coaches really worked well together. I really couldn’t have asked for a better person to work with. In that time, we played that same Stanley in soccer & basketball. Our team never lost to them in either sport.
When I was waiting to get hired here at East, the memories from what happened with the Stanley job really came back. I felt like then & now that I was the best person for each. One difference was at Stanley, I felt like the preferred choice by the parents, while here, maybe not as much. But because of the past, I expected the same result. Luckily things turned out well here.
I’ve had success in certain areas. While I know some have perceived me as this quiet guy who doesn’t know much, I just go & trust the people that put the work in to do what they do best. I’ve always been the quiet one, whether with family, work, school or coaching. Plus I occasionally stutter & still have awkwardness at times.
I’ve said all this to help people understand my background. I never was a winner as a kid. It took a while for me to get a chance as a coach. But once I got one, I didn’t want to blow it. That brings us to now.
Without the stranger, more complicated path taken in my coaching journey, I may not have had the great experiences I’ve had. I wouldn’t have met a lot of the people I know. I wouldn’t have many of the opportunities I’ve had. And I wouldn’t have a chance to be with the team I’m with today.
This team has accomplished so much. When I got this job, someone sat me down, went over some things, and told me something that stuck with me. They told me not to talk about championships, deep playoff runs or anything elite teams concern themselves with. I sort of got what he was saying, because we had been inconsistent at times, and just average. But I just could not do that.
At our first team meeting, I asked what their goals were. Some said wining 1 playoff game. Some wanted a goal record for the team. Others wanted to win conference. My message to them was you have to be different to do those things. We had to have a different mindset to overcome adversity. We had to have a different work level to compete. And finally, we had to have different expectations of each other. I wasn’t sure if the message resonated. Then these guys started playing. They were the different team.
They’ve won 18 games, tying a school record. They’re over 100 goals, a school record. They’ve changed the perception of the program & raised the standard. They’ve given themselves a chance to be great.
It wasn’t until I stopped playing that I started having success in sports. In reality, it’s really been being around the right people who are willing to push themselves to be successful that’s allowed for that. That’s been the secret to their success…effort & belief. That’s something these guys have. And that’s something that could take them a long way.
I don’t know how the rest of this season will go. We could have anywhere between 3-8 games left. But these guys have already shown that with the willingness to try to be great, you give yourselves a chance to be just that. I hope we get a couple more weeks of doing that.
17 years ago, I was recovering from surgery. I didn’t really have much I cared about. I was a smart kid, but had no motivation. I was also coming to the realization that I wasn’t going to go anywhere athletically. Everyone else probably realized that long before. I thought I was completely done with sports. Then someone reached out & offered me an alternative: coaching. All these years later, I’m thrilled to say that has led to me to where I am today, as I can announce that I’m the new head coach of the East Lincoln men’s soccer program.
I’m writing this to introduce myself to some new people. A lot of people around the program know who I am, but they don’t know me. So here we go.
Two months after the surgery, my mom wanted me to do some extracurricular activity. I didn’t really care. A man named Tracy Outen talked to her about having me help his soccer team. The first thing I said was “No way.” Soon after that, I lost a friend. I, along with everyone at school, was miserable. We had gone through this before, and would again. During this, I needed to get away from everything. I knew nothing that could do this for me. I started to have this thought that I couldn’t get out of my head. I wanted to be a part of the soccer team.
Tracy was waiting for me to come back. He said he knew I’d reconsider, so he kept it open. We were the Thunder. My misery didn’t go away for a while. Our first game was the day of a funeral for another friend. It sounds self centered, but I didn’t get that place away from my trouble for a while. Then came a game a couple weeks later.
Tracy couldn’t make the game. There was one other coach for this team….me. I’m a 16 year old kid with no experience, no idea what was going on, & here I am, having to lead a bunch of 7 & 8 year olds who thought I knew everything. I didn’t sleep the night before, because I knew I’d fail. But when I got to the field, something flipped. I was calm, relaxed, & felt like I knew what to do, though I probably didn’t. Apparently something worked, because we won 3-1. I still remember a lot of that game. That day, everything changed for me. I was excited for something. I also realized I really liked this coaching thing.
The next year, I had my own team. I thought it would be easy. Then we couldn’t win. We tied our first 4 games. The first game, we led 1-0. My center back yells for me, says “Watch this” and does a cartwheel. As she did this, one of their players ran by her with the ball, and scored. The final was 1-1. Finally toward the end of the season, we got a win. I jumped around like an idiot. My folks were probably embarrassed.
The next few years, my teams kind of dominated. It got boring. I also started coaching basketball, thanks to a man named Tug Deason, and won a lot there. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Then, a guy who helped me when I first started, named Bill Sinclair, invited me to help him. Bill would have a thermos of coffee with him every day, whether it was 10 or 100 degrees. That would lead to me meeting a guy named Louis Nesbitt. We hit it off immediately, probably because we were both pretty confident in ourselves, didn’t take life too serious, and enjoyed laughing at dumb stuff. We also saw the game the same way. At Mt Holly Middle, our soccer team qualified for the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, with 0 club players. In basketball, our 2 years happened to be the first 2 years the school made the playoffs. They also had the only championship appearances, and only championship. It was a pretty good time. We would also coach together at Mallard Creek for a year, with me being his JV coach.
I’d coach another year at Mt Holly, with Mike Nixon (aka Not Coach Billy). I knew my time there was coming to an end, but was conflicted about leaving, because I knew what we had a chance to do. That team would win a championship. I also helped a travel basketball team that finished in the top 10 in nationals. But I always said one thing….there was 1 place that I’d leave to go coach if the chance ever came, and that was my old school, East Lincoln. While at Mallard Creek, Coach Chip Ashley sent me an email, asking if I wanted to come to East for basketball. I’d asked him about 6 months prior, he said he’d look into it, then there was 6 months of nothing. I’d never thought much about it, until that email. I was going home.
Since being here, I’ve been very lucky. We’ve won 3 conference championships, 2 conference tourneys, 3 sectional championships, & 2 regional titles/state runners up. It’s been a pretty solid run. At the end of the first season, Coach Ashley & I were talking, and soccer came up. I had not asked, but it led Coach Ashley asking Coach Jason Dragoon about soccer. It turned out he needed a JV coach. Dragoon called me, and left a 5 minute message. I had to listen to it a couple time to make sure I didn’t miss something. That took a while. He offered me the position. After a lot of thinking, I took it.
Nesbitt & I were similar people. You’d thought we were brothers (until you saw us), because we acted the same. Dragoon & I were a little different. I was the quiet guy. Let’s say he’s slightly more talkative than myself. But I loved it, because he gave me a chance to work on things. He told me first thing that this would be different for me. He was right. I was taking over a team that went 2 years without a win. I wasn’t used to that. We managed to win a couple games. Again, when we won our first game, I jumped around like an idiot. I wasn’t quiet that day. I’d coach 3 years as the JV coach at East.
After that 3rd season, I felt something I never felt. I’ve always said if I wasn’t excited during the season, I may need to move on. The year before, I briefly had the same thought with basketball. I lost a little bit of it after that 3rd season. I thought about 1 more year, and if it didn’t work out, I had a good run. Another school, Maiden, offered me a job, which I later found out would’ve been their varsity head coach position. Despite that, I turned it down. I still remember a conversation I had with a basketball player about this later on. He thought I was crazy for not taking it. He wasn’t the only one, and quite honestly, there was a time where I thought the same. So I didn’t really disagree with him, but I never felt right about it. I knew I may never get another shot at my own team, but I just couldn’t do it. Dragoon offered to switch things up. He had me become his varsity assistant. I felt like he had an idea I was a little down about things. The change turned out to be exactly what I needed.
I had not worked with some of our varsity that much. Some never played JV. I wasn’t sure how they’d really deal with me. It turns out they welcomed me in like I had been with them for years. I also got that coaching bug back. I had talked about maybe just that 1 season, and being done. By the end of the season, I was disappointed it was over. I was ready to get back at it. Then everything changed.
I was substituting for a teacher one day, when Dragoon pulls me into his room. He talks about the future, and I’m not sure where this is going. Then he tells me he’s stepping down. That was how my morning started. I was lost for the rest of the day. Two days later, he told the team. We were all shocked. They said the hiring process would soon start.
Before they started the process, I was unsure whether to put in. It would be awkward taking over for someone who had been there 17 years, someone who took me under his wing. At the same time, I felt it would help if they had someone they knew, and that was basically me. I talked with a few players, from soccer and basketball. I asked each one what they thought. Each cone said go for it. Had one said no, I wouldn’t have applied. Eventually I’d get an interview, then a 2nd. Then I heard nothing for 6 weeks. Finally, in late April, I got a call. I was sitting in my car, in a rainstorm, trying not to get drenched. That was the day they offered. I had to keep that on the down low for 6 more agonizing weeks. And that’s where are now.
I believe in 2 big things for success: Opportunity & being different. People gave me chances when they didn’t have to. When someone does that, you have to make the most of the opportunity. If you don’t, it may never come back. In terms of coaching, I tell kids if you give me a reason to play you, I will. But you have to take advantage of the opportunity to do so. Also, make sure you don’t forget those who gave you an opportunity. I don’t delete contacts, because I know if we have a good relationship, we can help one another down the road. I’m a big believer in paying it forward. That creates opportunities for others.
Being different is tough. We can all coast by, possibly have moderate success, but probably be nothing more than average. We can make the playoffs, get beat in the first round, and say let’s do it again next year. Being different means you aren’t satisfied with that. It means you’ll do more than an average player or team. It means you’ll go the extra mile. It means you’ll do what it takes to have success. I add one more thing to that…you do what it takes, as long as it’s the right way. To be a champion, you have to be different.
I remember Chazz & Sage Surratt, along with Cam Dollar after practice. They’d ask one of us coaches to stay for 30 minutes to an hour after. The sole reason was so they had more time to get better. Everyone else would go home. They’d stay, work on sprints, stamina, shots, and anything to make them better. It’s no coincidence that they’re all Division 1 athletes.
Even when Sage was a middle schooler playing for me, he was like this. We had a kid whose mom would be way late to pick her kid up….sometimes up to an hour. Sage noticed this, and would start to stick around. After he started, others stuck around and shot. By the end of the season, most everyone stayed, and either shot around or played. Us coaches just sat and watched. That whole team was different, but it started with 1 guy being a leader. They also won a championship.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been in deep thought. Part of it is getting prepared. Part of it is how I got to this point. There are a lot of people who have helped me, and many are mentioned above. But I’m not here without the people that give me a chance to coach…the players. I think of the old players, and the other kids that basically grew up with me. They’re all adults now. But they started with me when I was a kid. Then I think to the kids now, the basketball kids, as well as soccer. I could name almost all of them still. The point is it takes a lot of people to have great success. It takes support to find your way. I’m not one who wants to have to find success on their own, because at some point, you won’t have a solution to a problem. You’ll need someone. Plus, it’s more fun to share success. So to everyone who has had my back at some point, who has given me an opportunity, and has helped me along the way, thank you.
As for what’s coming up, I ask for support. I have to find my way with a team that could be really successful. I basically am trying to direct them, and hopefully it’s the right way. It may take a little while, but I think we’ll get it right. But I do ask for that support. I’ve seen places where there is no support, and it’s awful. But I don’t ask that for me, I really ask it for my team. Support them. I’ve had my success, and I’m grateful for it. I’ll take more for sure. However, I want these guys to experience some of the great moments I’ve had the privilege of living.
Lastly, and really finally, I know that for some, I may not have been the top coach they wanted. There was another that we all know and like (myself included) that was interested. He is at another school, and we’ll see each other a few times. But I’m more than good with that. It gives me something to prove. That motivates me. That makes me work harder, and hopefully helps make the team better. At the end of the day, I don’t need to be the top coach. I just want to be the right coach. I can’t wait to get started.
I’ve been told that I could write a book or a sitcom based on dumb things that have happened in my life. Maybe I’ll get to that someday. But I have a story that could be turned into one of those terrible movies, probably involving Adam Sandler. It involves murder, March Madness & macaroni and cheese.
The NCAA tournament was being played. As per tradition, I was completely unproductive, due to the fact that all I did this day was watch basketball. I’m completely oblivious to anything else going on. It turns out, a lot was happening just outside.
A man had moved into my neighborhood a couple weeks prior to this day. He and his wife had split up. It was not amicable, as you’ll soon see. I never met the guy, didn’t know who he was. All I knew about him is what I learned after this night.
There was a murder on the other side of town that day. It turns out this new neighbor was the suspect, and the victim was his ex wife. Police were investigating, and realized he had moved to my neighborhood…directly across the street from me.
Police were waiting to talk to him when he gets to his home. There were 2 entrances, and a cop car at each one. The guy sees them, and starts shooting. He sped to his place, and holed himself up in his home, around 7 or 8 PM. For the next 4 or 5 hours, there’s a standoff. Meanwhile, I’m still watching basketball, oblivious to the situation.
Fast forward to about 10 PM. There’s a few minutes between games. I get hungry. Usually if it’s this late, I’d just drive to Cookout. But I decided to stay in, and cook something. I wanted some macaroni and cheese, & nothing was stopping me from having some.
While making dinner, I started hearing things. Something seemed off. Then I heard a pop, like something just blew up. What I didn’t know at the time was that was a tear gas canister being shot into the neighbor’s place. But it made me curious enough to look outside. When I did look out, I saw about 7 SWAT Team vehicles. It was at this point that I realized something had actually been going on. I was only about 3 hours late in realizing this.
My place had a sliding glass door at the front, which happened to face the kitchen, which also happened to face where this guy was having a standoff with police. It was at the moment when I realized that if something went down at that moment, I could be injured or killed by a stray bullet, while making macaroni & cheese. That’s not the ideal way to go. Luckily it was done quick.
I call the sheriff’s office to see what’s up, and that’s when I learned what was going on. They also told me to go as far away from the window, and stay low. What they didn’t tell me was they evacuated the surrounding buildings, except mine. They sent them behind my place. So here I am, a grown man, eating macaroni & cheese on my bedroom floor, while watching the NCAA tournament, not knowing there are people just outside my back window using my place as protection.
Around midnight, there was another pop. Soon after, there were several. And then it was over. The man agreed to surrender. Then as he’s making his way out, he decided to go back in for a second. He came back out with a gun in his hand. He was shot & killed immediately.
The next morning we’re all walking around, checking things out. The picture above actually shows from my sliding door how close this was to me (he was staying in the place on the right side). There were bullet holes in cars. One building had holes. The window of his place was busted. There was police tape everywhere. There was a tarp over part of the railing to cover up any blood. It was like an episode of CSI. Thankfully none of that damage made it across the street to my place.
Throughout 75% of this incident, I had no idea anything was going on. It wasn’t until I decided to make that mac & cheese before I knew anything. It was one of the craziest nights I’ve ever experienced.
Last year, I started a new tradition. You see, I really suck at picking teams for the March Madness brackets. So I decided to just throw all guessing out the window. This began the Coin Flip Challenge. Every pick is decided by a flip of a coin.
This year we used a 2015 quarter, with the Blue Ridge Parkway on the back. There were 63 flips of the coin. Heads would be the better seed, tails the lesser seed every time.
Round 1 brought immediate upsets. All the 1 seeds advanced. However, only 2 of the 2 seeds made it to the 2nd round. We said an early goodbye to Cincinnati & Purdue, as well as 3 seeds Michigan & Texas Tech. Sadly, my team, NC State, failed to win against Seton Hall. Also, the entire Midwest region went heads. 8 straight coin flips went the same way.
Round 2 saw destruction. Every 1 seed lost. Both remaining 15 seeds from round 1 (Georgia St & Cal St Fullerton advanced to the Sweet 16, while 14 seed Stephen F Austin kept their run going. Only 1 top 2 seed advanced to the Sweet 16…Duke.
In the Sweet 16, number 14 Stephen F Austin defeated 15th Cal St Fullerton. The other 15 seed, Georgia State, also fell short. There were 8 teams left: Kansas St, Tennessee, Missouri, Houston, Wichita St, Stephen F Austin, Seton Hall & Duke.
Amazingly, in the Elite 8, the better seed win every game. 4 straight heads flips carried Tennessee, Houston, Wichita St & Duke to the Final Four. This continued into the Final Four. Tennessee defeated Houston, while Duke defeated Wichita St.
It came down to one flip. Six straight heads flips had occurred prior to the final. Would we have 7 consecutive, or would tails not fail? Duke was heads, Tennessee tails. After the flip, there was one champion: Duke.
So forget your bracket guesses. Grab a quarter. Chances are you’re just as likely to be right doing that than actually analyzing your bracket. And yeah, I guess congrats Duke. However, last year’s coin flip champion was Notre Dame. In reality, they didn’t make it past the first round. So again, congrats Duke!
Coach's Corner 