Colts 7 on 7: Pictures

Mick Trompen sent me a handful of pictures from the 7 on 7 tournament. I've started a "2014 Season" album that you can find here. I'll be adding pictures to that album throughout the season (as well as putting some on here), so feel free to browse (and email us any pictures you'd like to share). Thanks Mick!

Great job Rocks at 7 on 7! We had a blast! Here's a taste of the pictures...

Position Photos and St. V's Grand Opening

Couple of quick announcements today. First, I've put the position group photos in our 2013 Team Picture photo album here. Good stuff.

Second, St. V's is having a grand opening of their Clay Terrace location. I wanted to pass along the details...

As many of you already know, we have opened a new SVSP location within the Clay Terrace Mall at 14455 Clay Terrace Boulevard, in Carmel, Indiana. We would like to invite you to attend the Grand Opening of this facility on September 5, 2013 from 3-7pm. It is open to the public and no registration is required.

Below are some highlights to the evening:

•  Live broadcast with JMV and 1070 The Fan
•  Professional athlete appearances 
•  Coach Matt Painter appearance 
•  Facility tours and demonstrations including the Alter G anti-gravity treadmill 
•  Drawings for Nike sports gear 
•  Special grand opening pricing on Performance Training classes 

SVSP Clay Terrace Features all the services you have grown accustomed to at SVSP Northwest, including: Athletic Injury Rehab, Performance Physicians (and 8-10am, M-F acute injury walk-in clinic), Performance Psychology, Performance Nutrition, and Performance Training. We will also have customer appreciation activities at SVSP Northwest, with a complimentary recovery beverage from our partners at Rockin' Refuel, the chance to win 12 free Performance Training class sessions, and discounted pricing on training classes purchased between September 3 - September 7, 2013.

Avon tomorrow. Fins up!

Some Ropes Course Pictures

Coach Sattison will be sending me pictures he snapped of the obstacle course a bit later in the week, but for now I have a few from the ropes course we did later. It was a bit of a wet camping trip this year, but still a lot of fun. I love that we're able to start the season this way!

Get another spotter in there!

15 Rocks on a log.

Don't touch the web!

Left foot. Right foot.

Big Thank You's!

I've been delinquent in reporting on several key things. Some of you may have seen this stuff already on Twitter, but it bears re-posting. Good news is infectious, or something like that.

First of all, thanks to everyone who came out to the car wash last weekend. It is one of the few fundraising activities we do for the program, so we definitely appreciate the support. I have a pic here somewhere...

I don't think Coach Schlicher knew a pic was happening.

We also were able to successfully defend our Blood Drive title with a record 89 donors! That's pretty awesome, especially considering we are nowhere near the largest school in the region. Shamrocks can definitely mobilize for a good cause, and that's a big point of pride for our program. We love making a difference. The reward, of course, was being able to take the team to see a Colts practice and have lunch. I've got another pic here...

Defending Champs!

Finally, Coach Zimmer's trip is drawing to a close, but not before he was able to tweet out a pretty cool picture from Jordan. I wanted to share it...

Rocks in front of World Wonder rocks!

The start of the season is just around the corner. Our ticker shows 21 days until kickoff. On Monday, we start two-a-days. Excitement is definitely building among the staff and players. It's a great year to be a Shamrock.

Future Cardinal, Devin Reece

We, as a staff, were extremely happy when we heard Devin Reece had committed to playing football for Ball State University. It's a great thrill for coaches when one of our players gets the opportunity to continue their playing career at the next level. We've been very impressed by Devin's talent, work ethic, and dedication since he started playing for us, and it's pretty cool when folks outside of our program and community appreciate it as well. We look for great things from Devin!

Coach Gilbert asked me to speak with Devin about his recruitment experience, and share the conversation here on the blog, so here we go...

Devin, congratulations on committing to BSU! We have to ask... why did you decide on Ball State?

I chose Ball State because it's a smaller school, which I believe would fit me better, and they throw it a lot as a wide out I love that.

More chances to snag some TD catches, what's not to like about that? So, what was recruitment like?

Recruiting has it's ups and downs but it's nice having schools send you numerous letters each week and getting invites to camps.

Hopefully you have a big mailbox. Is there anything that worries you about your decision?

My only worry is the adjustment from the high school lifestyle to the college lifestyle.

Definitely a challenging adjustment, but I'm sure you'll find a way to maintain focus. By the way, do you really even like Red and Black? How about cardinals? Won't you always bleed Green and Gold and keep a small potted Shamrock in your future dorm?

Black and red are my favorite color combinations. I wear both all the time, but the shamrocks will always be in me because that's who got me to this point.

I'll look for the color combo at practice, then. Maybe pick out a plant as a graduation gift. But enough about the future, what about now? What do you expect from the Shamrocks this year?

From our team this year I expect a full-out battle each week at practice which will carry over into Friday night when it really counts.

Practice hard, play hard. I love it! Do you have any personal goals for this year that you'd like to share?

My personal goals are to become all-state, all conference, and to break the school record for receiving yards for career and single season as well. Also to win state.

Lofty, to be sure. I hope we're able to nail all of those. So, who is your favorite coach? Seriously, we're competitive, so be careful with this one...

I can't really say who I like better as of now because I haven't been coached by Coach Lembo or Coach Gaither.

Well, I was hoping you'd go with Coach Schlicher so we could razz on him, but... deft dodge. Collegiate level, indeed. I have one last question: Home or Away Jerseys, which look best?

I think as a team we will look better in the new white jerseys and the new white pants mainly because no one has seen them before.

Thanks, Devin! Best of luck this year and in the future!

Coach Sattison is in the Field

Coach Sattison is our eyewitness reporter for Build the Rock progress. I've convinced him to send me bootleg pictures and updates as construction progresses. He'll be using Twitter a lot, but I'll try to snag some for re-posting here (and to our Facebook page). Here's coach...

Here was a snapshot of the construction I took yesterday. It's really hard to focus on school with all of this going on right outside my window! It looks like they are nearly done surveying and have brought in some pipes to start actually digging into the ground to start the foundation. I couldn't help but think how perfect this timing is. We have finally started some skill development outside our normal weight training, so as a team we are laying the foundation for our upcoming football season as well! I know they say "a watched pot never boils," but I will try to blog updates as often as possible! For a daily picture update, follow me or our football account on twitter: @coach_sattison and/or @ShamrockFB, and as always, its a great day to be a Shamrock!

-Coach Sattison

Academic Top Ten: Spring Break Edition

As a Spring Break treat, we've looked into grades!

I know, you're all excited, reading this on your mobile devices down in Florida with the rest of Indiana on the beach. Did you caravan down there? I remember on one of my own breaks not too long ago, we stopped at a random Steak and Shake just outside of Atlanta. It was maybe 2AM (we were driving through). Walked in, and the entire place was filled with the same people we'd hang out with on a random Saturday night! Many of the end destinations were different (PCB, Daytona, etc), but apparently we were all making the Atlanta Steak and Shake a hot spot for a night. And who doesn't have stories about Atlanta traffic, am I right? (Gotta hit it at night!)

Ah, the joys of being a Hoosier on Spring Break.

Anyway, I promised a top ten before I got all reminiscent on you. While you're out enjoying your sand and sun, remember that grades are still very important to us Shamrocks. Enjoy your break, but be ready to work when you get back. We're building something special here!

In a very particular order, here are the top ten GPA-earners in our family:

1. Mitch Turley
2. Johnny Crawford
3. Matt Kinney
4. Ben Huntley
5. Madi Turley
6. Will McCool
7. Sam Trompen
8. Renzo Alvarez
9. Turner Edwards
10. Paul Waite

Great job, Rocks! I'm sure all ten of you are hitting the books hard right now instead of getting a tan... right?

Rocks Don't Need Sleep

We were back to our regularly schedule workouts this morning, what with no more pesky two-hour delays (I'm sure y'all were heartbroken last week). As difficult as it is to yank myself from my nice, warm bed so early, I have to admit that I look forward to the workouts. I'm sure several of you are rolling your eyes. Of course coaches love morning workouts!

Not always true, says I. Sure, many coaches are morning folks, but I am not among those ranks. Mornings are still very much my arch-enemy. Sleeping in is wonderful, even a few extra hours, so I feel your pain. You'll just have to trust me on this one.

Even so, there's something about the energy of our workouts that takes me from bleary-eyed to awake more effectively than any cup of coffee. It's great to be a part of our football family and witness our young men working hard even before the sun has risen. If I have to be up, I'm glad it's among Rocks.

Sleep is a valuable commodity in today's go-go-go world. If you're going to sacrifice it, you may as well sacrifice it for something you believe in. As much as I'd love to stay up late watching one more television show or catching the west-coast games (Blake Griffin is pretty awesome, if you ask me. The man can dunk a basketball. No joke.), I know I'm getting far more out of these early morning workouts... and I'm not even working out! There's just something about sacrificing toward a shared goal that is fulfilling. It's something only members of a family can have experienced!

Just wanted to check in today and share this. I was doubly fortunate to lose some sleep this weekend with the coaches as we attended a large coaching clinic on Indy's west side. We were able to hear a lot of very knowledgeable coaches speak and share notes on how we could improve our program.

I've also been trying to keep an eye on the push to fund the new stadium. We're hoping to have some exciting news in the near future, but I have nothing concrete yet. If you've not considered throwing in some money for a brick, check out my post from a couple weeks ago for more information. Money is tight, I'm sure, so it may cause you to lose a bit of sleep... but we've already set the bar as a family in that regard, right? Westfield desperately needs an upgrade!

Haunted House Trip

Coach Gilbert already sent a message out via Hudl, but I wanted to post something on here, too. The haunted house trip is still on! Bus leaves on Thursday at 5:30pm from the locker room. Don't be late. The cost is $13. No food will be provided, but the do have a concession stand there.

This is a team activity! Coach Gilbert is assuming that everyone is going. If you are NOT going, please contact Coach directly.

For those that are going, tweet us some good pictures at @ShamrockFB! Who are the scaredy-cats of the team?

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..."

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.

Team Competition Standings

Coach G passed along the most recent team competition standings. I wanted to put these out there so you can see who is tearing it up, and who is bringing up the rear:

1. Team 5 (53 pts)  
2. Team 6 (48 pts) 
3. Team 4 (40 pts)  
4. Team 3 (38 pts) 
5. Team 1 (34 pts)  
6. Team 2 (33 pts) 
7. Team 7 (33 pts) 
8. Team 8 (21 pts)

Come on, Team 8. Everyone loves a come-from-behind win!

Steal The Bacon

Next match.....Coach Hammer vs. Coach Bennett.....don't miss it!

We've heard...

...That requests have been submitted to Coach Carnes for highlights. Awesome! We're getting the emails. Keep 'em coming.

...That Cory Sucese is trying to video tape himself doing a center throw-back. E for effort, but we're really hoping there are other entrants. Nothing against Cory, and anything to show some center-love is fine by us... but we somehow doubt the play falls within the rules. We'd rather not have the winning play result in a storm of flags. Or Kostecka's cleats (if they ran out of flags). Just sayin'.

...That Coach G is rooting for the Giants. Looks like we won't be ordering those cutoff hoodies for the staff next year.

...No, Carnes. We're not going with sweater vests, either. Unless Tressel gets hired by the Colts. Anyone wanna bet some sprints?