Run Backwards

Most of our conditioning at South consists of the normal, everyday routine exercises i.e. suicides, 17's, lunges. However, this off-season I've done more research and consulted with professional athletic trainers for exercises that focus more on core and lower body strength. The other day, I took my players to the track to complete what I call the "Arsenio," which is a 800 meter running forward then a 400 meter run going backwards. Doesn't sound like a lot, but its can be very grueling. The first 400 meters is not bad even the second 400 is manageable. However, its the run backwards that hurts. Running backwards strengthens opposing muscle groups that you normally work on while moving forward. It strengthens calves, quads, shins, and helps create balance. Besides running backwards we've done wall jumps, bear crawls, crab walks, dips, push ups, wheelbarrows, squats, squat jumps, jump tucks, farmer carries, base line lunges, push mans, theres more I just cant remember right now. We are still about 4 months away from the beginning of our season, and Im confident this will be the best conditioned team I've had.

South Trivia: Name three South players from last years team that played on three different varsity sports. Name the players and the sports they participated in. First non-player to email me the right answer wins a prize.

Lunch With Durelle

A few days ago Durelle sends me a text that he is leaving for NY in a week, so I invited him out for a "good-bye" lunch. In the first few minutes after we sit, he shares with me how excited he is to be moving on to the next part of his life. Not only is he looking forward to what the college life will bring him, but Durelle is anticipating even more the time he will get to spend with his family in NY.
Just recently all of his family from NY was down here due to an unfortunate event. Even though they were not here on the best of situations they were able to come together and forge a stronger family bond. It also gave Durelle an opportunity to talk to the NY part of the family he rarely see but will be his closest support for the next two years.

After swapping pictures on our iPhones, his with family pics and mine of my recent trip to Alaska with my wife, its time to order our lunch. He orders a rack of ribs with double fries and I order a Mahi sandwich with asparagus. The only reason I include what we ate is because Durelle has the metabolism to eat a mountain of ribs and fries and burn it off in 2 hours while me, at age 37, I have to stick to fish and veggies or I get an instant gut.

Even with all of the catching up of our Summer experiences the majority of our conversation focuses on the past, and the good times we had this year. One might think how many memories can you have in one year, but for Durelle and I we have plenty.

Besides the many normal experiences we had with basketball our journeys go beyond the court. Durelle was a student in my 6th hour Honors Government class, we had frequent McDonalds and coffee breakfast meetings, and we both participated in the Knights and Squires competition where we placed a controversial 2nd. If you ask all of the people that attended the event, they would tell you we should have gotten first. For Durelle and I it was a great experience no matter the outcome.

With the end of our lunch near, Durelle asks our waitress to take a pic of us. He's been really into this app called Intagram which is an app that allows people to follow you and view pictures you take on your phone. Durelle is quick to tell me he stopped following me on Instagram because of my lack of posting pics, but I just blame it on my wanting to be private. Well, Durelle posted our pic and thats what you see in this BLOG my guess is that he used the Toaster filter.

Good-bye Durelle and good luck and make sure you start following me on Instagram again.

Big Hen & Durelle

Henry Brand & Durelle Bailey

Good Luck to Durelle and Henry as they leave this week to start their college careers. Durelle will be attending Hostos College in Bronx NY where he will be playing basketball for the school and studying business. Durelle only played one year at South but made a huge impact on the school and team in a short time. What I will miss most about Durelle is his ability to make the best out of any situation. When times were tough, thats when Durelle pushed even harder.

Henry Brand aka "Big Henry" will be attending Easter Maine Community College. He is also playing basketball for the school and wants to major in Nutrition. Henry's road that led him to this point was a tough one, with many hard lessons. However, with experience and maturity Henry was able to focus on his priorities and had a stand out senior year. Henry was a standout athlete on Football as well as basketball and still hopes to play college football after community college. What I will miss most about Henry was his loyalty to me and the team. He never once wavered from what his responsibilities and duties were on the team. For that I will always be loyal to him. 

One thing is for sure when it comes to Durelle and Henry, they will both be greatly missed and can never be replaced.