Post by marinersmedia on May 20, 2010 14:45:23 GMT -5
Coach Reflects on the Changes and Improvements from 2009 to 2010
BALTIMORE, MD (May 20, 2010) – One of the joys of being a parent is watching your children grow up into young men and women. You listen and watch in awe as they say their first word and take their first step. You tend to feel their pain as they suffer through their first broken bone. When you have to discipline them, the saying “This is going to hurt me more than you”, rings so true.
School, practice, boy scouts, girl scouts, rehearsals and then, you’re back at it the next day. Soon, those mundane, routine days turn into years. Before you know it, you wonder where all those days have gone. They really weren’t quite as mundane and routine as you thought. As your children prepare to venture off on their own, you hope that all the love, the discipline and work has nurtured and sculpted them to take on the real world. In the back of your mind, you hope, they will always remember where they came from and where home is.
Building a football team is not that much different. I look back on my four seasons in Baltimore and see the trials and triumphs that have been a part of my career here. You invest your heart and soul into building something that will be successful and endure the peaks and the valleys. You develop players and coaches so that they can see the rewards of their hard work and dedication.
Last season, we had a pretty solid ball club. However, we knew that we needed to make some changes that will get us to our ultimate goal in winning the AIFA championship. We needed to upgrade in certain positions in addition to adding depth all the way across the board. That is one of the big differences between lasts season’s squad and the 2010 team. Other differences, which I believe to be the biggest changes, are our maturity and experience under the same program. Players have not had to deal with a lot of change in coaching styles and in our systems. Continuity is one of the cornerstones we set up on the foundation of the Mariners organization.
In addition, players took ownership of their efforts on improving individually, both during the off season and this regular season. They understand that no one will give them anything. They must earn it, maintain it and keep it.
Because of these fundamental ideas, and unity of focus, we are looking at the opportunity to go to the playoffs for the second year in a row. I’ve read the playoff scenarios, and to be quite frank, I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter whether Team B and Team C have to win or lose “X” number of games for us to qualify for the playoffs and/or earn home field advantage. I believe in controlling your own destiny by continuing to win football games. We will not put it on anyone else’s shoulders but ours.
It has been fun and extremely rewarding to watch this team grow up. I am very proud of them and my staff. We all want to leave a legacy here and become a part of the history of professional football championships in Baltimore.
Bruce Springsteen said it best, “Poor men wanna be rich, rich men wanna be kings, And a king ain’t satisfied till he rules everything.” I may not be the greatest messenger, but I know that the team understands the message: We won’t be satisfied until we win that Ring.
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.
BALTIMORE, MD (May 20, 2010) – One of the joys of being a parent is watching your children grow up into young men and women. You listen and watch in awe as they say their first word and take their first step. You tend to feel their pain as they suffer through their first broken bone. When you have to discipline them, the saying “This is going to hurt me more than you”, rings so true.
School, practice, boy scouts, girl scouts, rehearsals and then, you’re back at it the next day. Soon, those mundane, routine days turn into years. Before you know it, you wonder where all those days have gone. They really weren’t quite as mundane and routine as you thought. As your children prepare to venture off on their own, you hope that all the love, the discipline and work has nurtured and sculpted them to take on the real world. In the back of your mind, you hope, they will always remember where they came from and where home is.
Building a football team is not that much different. I look back on my four seasons in Baltimore and see the trials and triumphs that have been a part of my career here. You invest your heart and soul into building something that will be successful and endure the peaks and the valleys. You develop players and coaches so that they can see the rewards of their hard work and dedication.
Last season, we had a pretty solid ball club. However, we knew that we needed to make some changes that will get us to our ultimate goal in winning the AIFA championship. We needed to upgrade in certain positions in addition to adding depth all the way across the board. That is one of the big differences between lasts season’s squad and the 2010 team. Other differences, which I believe to be the biggest changes, are our maturity and experience under the same program. Players have not had to deal with a lot of change in coaching styles and in our systems. Continuity is one of the cornerstones we set up on the foundation of the Mariners organization.
In addition, players took ownership of their efforts on improving individually, both during the off season and this regular season. They understand that no one will give them anything. They must earn it, maintain it and keep it.
Because of these fundamental ideas, and unity of focus, we are looking at the opportunity to go to the playoffs for the second year in a row. I’ve read the playoff scenarios, and to be quite frank, I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter whether Team B and Team C have to win or lose “X” number of games for us to qualify for the playoffs and/or earn home field advantage. I believe in controlling your own destiny by continuing to win football games. We will not put it on anyone else’s shoulders but ours.
It has been fun and extremely rewarding to watch this team grow up. I am very proud of them and my staff. We all want to leave a legacy here and become a part of the history of professional football championships in Baltimore.
Bruce Springsteen said it best, “Poor men wanna be rich, rich men wanna be kings, And a king ain’t satisfied till he rules everything.” I may not be the greatest messenger, but I know that the team understands the message: We won’t be satisfied until we win that Ring.
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.
