An Article and A Record

Quick update today as we get ready to start two-a-days next week. I don't know about you guys, but I'm beyond ready to get this season underway. A lot of things to get excited about this year!

Case in point, here's another nice article about Devin Reece's USA football experience from the Indystar.

Also, we wanted to mention Cory Sucese for breaking the school bench press record. He turned in a 385lb performance, nudging out former Rock Derrick Rose at 380lbs. (Not to be confused with the Chicago Bull... Our Derrick is the more outspoken one.)

Congrats to Cory and Devin. Just another couple of reasons to come out and see the Rocks this year...

Reece Report: HC Sports Daily

A nice article about Devin Reece just crossed my desk a moment ago. For those of you that have not seen it, here's the link. As if y'all needed another reason to come out and see the Rocks in action this year...

Go Gold!

Sheridan Scrimmage

Well, the scrimmage last night was a short one. Storms rolled in, driving us inside. We were able to play against several of the teams there. Frankfort, Sheridan, and Lebanon were represented. It was a fun day, and it's hard to be upset about the rain. Our poor fields needed it. Still, pretty funny that we break the drought on the day of our scrimmage.

If you're not following us through our twitter account (@ShamrockFB), you're missing out. I try to tweet live from the field during our events. I've also gotten the scoreboard running on our home page. You can see the recent "game" score against Sheridan. (I just put in 7 to 7 to make sure it worked). When the season start, I'll be posting live tweets and scores from the box, keeping you up to date even if we're on the road (or you couldn't make it).

Two-a-days start on the 30th. That's less than two weeks away. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling hungry.

Rocks Making a Difference

Here's a story I'd been holding on to for a little bit. I received the picture first and had to go chase down the story. Here's the pic:

And now, the story.

Peyton Medlin is a lovely little girl who was dealt some very large hurdles at an early age. She's been diagnosed with a myriad of medical problems, but continues to beat the odds. If you're looking for specifics, I would encourage you to visit her Caring Bridge website here, and read up on her story. There's even a nice entry in the journal about our visit.

Her Parents, Julie and Adam, moved to Indiana from Arizona solely in order to be closer to Peyton's doctors in Ohio. The church they attend, Northview, donated a remodel to their home in order to accommodate Peyton's special needs. Obviously, this is a great gift, but it also means that the house is going to be a wreck for a short while.

Young Life, and the Shamrocks involved with the program, wanted to help Peyton's family out, too. Football players shine in a lot of areas, but one staple (as any player could attest) is when it comes time to move. There's nothing like getting a group of football players to move that heavy couch. And TV. And Fridge. Just make sure to put a lock on the fridge.

Anyway, the guys stopped by Peyton's house to help pack a whole bunch of stuff into storage to make room for the remodel. They also sacked a few dust bunnies and generally helped get things ready for construction. Once construction is finished (sometime in early August), they are going to return and put it all back.

In September, Peyton will be going on a Disney cruise which she is super excited about. As you might expect, our Shamrocks got an impromptu education about princesses and favorite Disney characters. They may have picked up a thing or two about American Girl Dolls as well.

We wanted to highlight and thank the Shamrocks involved in this little service project. It looks like they had a blast and really made a difference off the field.

I'm sure we can find a way to translate this to on-field success. There's the obvious strength gains from heavy lifting, but what I'd really like to see is the Aladdin play perfected:

"Show them the world. On one, on one..."

Reece Report: Some Long Horns, International Banners, and a Familiar Face

I believe this may be the last batch of photos. Thursday was scheduled to be the last day. Devin should be on his way home (if not back already). It looks like the trip was a blast, filled with both fun and hard work. A pretty neat experience that Devin can take with him and bring back to help the Rocks win a whole bunch of games this year. Here are a the last shots...

Those are some long horns.

Banners at the hotel HQ.

More than just Sweden was involved.

They play football in France?

Made some new friends.

Taking the field.

"You're on."

Replay looks like a TD to me.

Watch the snap.

Recognize that Trainer?

Once a Shamrock, always a Shamrock. Family.

SkyZone Photos

I've got a bit of a backlog on pictures right now. I have another batch for the Reece Report and a touching story about the team making a difference in their community. But today, we have a couple of fun shots from the team trip to SkyZone.

In case you didn't know (like I didn't before the trip), SkyZone is a giant, indoor trampoline park. Think of a giant room, filled with trampolines. Then put a whole bunch of football players on them. Playing dodgeball. Got the picture? Well, if not, here are a few that were taken for you. Looks like a blast, doesn't it?

Prior to Rock Invasion

If you can dodge a linebacker...

The big yellow divider.

Don't toe the line.

Scrimmage vs. Pike

As I mentioned yesterday, the Shamrocks had a scrimmage against Pike Tuesday night. I managed to snap a few pictures in between plays. It was a fun evening, but not our best energy level. We need to keep the throttle on full if we want to achieve all the goals we've set for this season. We can't afford to take days off, especially going up against a team the caliber of Pike.

Still, there were some good things, and it's always a great day to be a Shamrock. Especially when you get to play football. Every play, every down is a blessing... and it will all end sooner than you'd like. We'd do well to keep that in mind.

Younger Defense

Older Defense

Rock O

Sideline view during the scrimmage.

Looking down the field.

Getting read to score.

Reece Report: Jamboree

I'm running about a day behind with all that's been going on. Today we'll have some pictures from the International Jamboree down in Austin, TX. Tomorrow, I've got a few shots of our scrimmage with Pike last night. Not that anyone would confuse Pike's stadium with UT's stadium (no offense to Pike), but I wanted to split up the events.

I tweeted out some of the initial reports from the Jamboree yesterday. It was moved up due to the threat of rain (you'll notice the clouds in the background on some of these). Devin scored a couple of TD's for USA Blue, and had a solid showing all around. Here are some pictures from the event (you should be able to click on these to get a bigger view).

This one's a little grainy, don't know why, but it was a good shot of Devin. 

Those jerseys are pretty sweet, if you ask me.

Action shot against Sweden.

A pretty neat view looking across the stadium.

Sideline, looking toward the scoreboard.

Reece Report: Day 4 Photos

Yesterday morning all the teams had a combined practice. They have three USA teams, Red, White, and Blue, as well as team Sweden (in yellow). Got some great pictures of Devin on an international stage:

Surrounded by Swedes

Watching Red on the adjacent field.

Adding some YAC.

Get up!

Get... sideways?

Neat shot with the campus in the background.

Nice little post route.

Several of the evening practices have been cancelled due to rain. This morning Devin had a walk-through for the Jamboree which was moved up to 2:30pm (from 7pm) due to more rain in the forecast. I should have some pictures from that late today or early tomorrow.

The rest of the Rock will be scrimmaging tonight. I'm hoping to snag some pictures of that and will try to demo the live scoring app on our website. Probably be shooting out some tweets as well, so if you're not there cheering in person, hit us up with some "rah, rah" on twitter.

Go Rocks!

Reece Report: Day 3 Photos

I collected everything from Sunday and decided to share it this morning. Devin tells me that he "killed" in 1 on 1's and 7 on 7. Team was a little more difficult, as the defense stepped it up. He has been starting X for the USA Blue team, working hard, and having a blast. Here are some shots from yesterday:

Take a knee.

1 on 1

Showtime

I see a window where I'd have thrown the ball.

Getting engaged

In other news, exciting week for the Rocks this week. Tomorrow night, Rocks scrimmage Pike @ Pike. 7pm. Going to try out the live scoring app on the website. We'll see how it works. Wednesday there is a team trip to Sky Zone. Friday night, we have a Rock playing in the IHSAA North/South All-star game. 7pm @ North Central HS. Come out and support your Rocks!

Reece Report: More Day 2

Got a few more photos from Austin that I wanted to share...

Longhorn Stadium

From the outside.

Devin with Kain Daub, a LB from FL, same HS as Tebow. He and Devin are playing on the "Blue Team."

Lunch time.

Reece Report: Day 2 Photos

Got another batch of photos from Austin. Some action shots in these. Devin had a second practice this morning before lunch. Devin shot me a text last night, he was pretty tired but having fun. A lot of catching drills and 1-on-1 work so far. Here are the pics:

Friday Night Lights

A little chat after the first practice last night.

Devin and his roommate, Brannon Barry from St. Charles, IL

Inside foot up. 

A bit high... no problem.

Low? That's cool, too.