The Time is Now! 9-2-10

Wow! Where has time gone? The 2010 season begins in 2 days and I have not even written an update before the season starts. I guess I should have set a reminder on my calendar! I really did have somewhat of an excuse since we sold our home in San Antonio at the end of July. Packing and moving in a 2 week span is a very difficult task, but worthwhile. We have relocated to Fairview, TX. Where in the world is Fairview you say? If you are familiar with North Dallas, Fairview is a spot on the map on the east side of 75 between Allen and McKinney. It is just an awesome area! We have finally settled in and are ready for the season to begin. Matt has had an awesome summer. He spent some time this summer helping Josh Scobee with his football camp and Chris Boniol with his week-long developmental kicking camp. Some of the kids from Josh's camp were from the Shreveport area and have stayed in contact with Matt over the summer. Matt told them he would help them with their kicking game anyway he could. Matt, Solomon Randle, Myke Compton, Chandler Spence and Tank Calais helped Dawgmatic at the year end annual picnic for the Hico Elementary School 5th graders. The guys helped with the games and signed autographs. I think the kids were pretty excited that they came to help and fun was had by all! Matt has taken golf up and is in love with it. He played a lot with Keith Bunch over the summer. Matt worked at Squire Creek CC this summer as well. He got to meet a lot of really neat people. Some of his responsibilities were getting their clubs ready before they played their round, keep the range well stocked and clean their clubs when they were done. One evening the head golf pro and some of his assistants went to the park across the street and attempted to kick a few footballs. Matt said it was quite humorous. Matt did kick a few as well. Matt has put golf and kicking in the same mindset. You make a smooth swing, follow through and stay consistent. There is no need to swing hard as you will have no clue where the golf ball or the football will go. Matt's goal is always be 1 for 1 and the smooth leg swing and follow through it will help him achieve that goal. Workouts over the summer have been grueling! Matt has added a little more weight, but overall from last year he has added a lot of weight. Now that Thomas Graham is a Grad Assistant for Coach Harrington he has pushed Matt past his expectations. Keep pushing Thomas! He needs it! Matt said Thomas was punching a speed bag one day and the bag fell off. That had to be pretty funny to see Thomas keep punching the air! All kidding aside, Thomas is a great person and will help make this football program that much better. He has been a great influence on Matt. From Matt’s point of view camp under Coach Dykes has gone very well. Coach Dykes delivered the team’s goals and expectations early on and they focus on those every day. Matt roomed with Jonathon Zeno during camp. Matt said the team has really come together and believes in the goals that Coach Dykes has put in place. Matt is very goal driven and before camp started he presented Coach Tommerdahl with a folder. In that folder Matt had set his goals for the season and wanted Coach Tommerdahl to hold him accountable for those goals. They made some modifications to the list, made it final and will review it several times during the season. Matt has been kicking well during camp and is ready for the season to start. I would say he has ants in his pants! One day at practice last week they were practicing game winning field goals and he missed one. Matt was pretty pissed at himself and knew exactly what he did wrong! After practice he went back on the field and kicked 40 field goals. He went 39 out of 40 and his one miss was one of his 54 yard attempts. He has so much drive to be perfect that it is sort of scary! Now that camp is over Matt said he has had his fill of Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. I say whatever it takes to keep weight on is a real good thing! From the things that Matt has told me, this is going to be a very competitive and focused team. Matt has been super impressed with Ryan Allen and Ray Holley so far. He is not only impressed with Ray as a football player, but as a person. He is very goal driven like Matt and it does not hurt that they have lockers next to each other as well. I have a feeling that they will feed off of each other and it will help keep them grounded. I still cannot believe the first game is in 2 days. I am looking forward to seeing all of the hard work this team has put in this summer displayed out on the field. I am glad to see them playing Grambling and think this is a good thing for the community and Northwest Louisiana. I have my tailgate spot for the Grambling game and I am all ready for the game to start. Go Dawgs! Let’s kick some butt this year! I think Coach Dykes is going to do some really exciting things this year and I wish him and his coaching staff the best of luck this year. They have put a ton of work in with this team and it will pay off in the end. I want to give a special shout out to Coach Harrington, Thomas Graham, Keith Bunch, Jeff Springer, Dan Matthiesen, Adam McGuirt and the ticket office. These guys all work behind the scenes to keep this program going forward. They do not get enough credit. Thanks for all that you do for this program! Make sure and listen to the ins and outs of La Tech football every Tuesday night from 6:00PM to 8:00PM on ESPN Radio 97.7 online! I think I have said enough! I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. I write from my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. May your Football Season be filled with many Football Victories, Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel Your Way! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

The Beginning 2010 4/22/10

Spring is in the air! Pollen and allergens are everywhere! La Tech Spring Football practice is slated to start March 17th under the new guidance of Coach Dykes and his new staff. Practices are open to the public and the future of La Tech football looks bright. I am looking forward to see how the combination of Coach Dykes and Coach Franklin is going to look. I hope we have a leader emerge on the team from the very beginning! In my opinion we lacked that standout leader on both sides of the ball. Matt was super excited for spring practice to start. He has been working extremely hard in the weight room along with his kicking drills and could not wait to get on the field. Anytime you have a new coaching staff and a new season beginning you have to go out and sell yourself again. There are no guarantees in life and none in football. How you perform on the field and off the field will set you apart from any competition that you might have. The 17th was going to be a busy day! Not only was it the first day of spring practice it was also La Tech's pro day! Matt said practice went well and that they only wore helmets on day one. They were going to wear shoulder pads on Friday, Saturday, Monday and move to full pads on the following Wednesday. Matt said this was a little different than last year because he reported directly to Coach Dooley and this year he was going to be working directly with Coach Tommerdahl. Matt likes Coach Tommerdahl a lot and is looking forward to kicking deep most of the year. He said the Coach Tommerdahl has some great schemes when it comes to special teams and the coverage. If we can get the 4 plus second hang time we should be able to get coverage down the field. I know it is early, but I like what I am hearing. I was very saddened to hear about the passing of Ross's dad. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ross and his family. I know that Ross will grow from this and become even a better person than he is. I was very impressed that Coach Dykes and Coach Franklin drove down to Houston on their off day to visit with Ross and his family. Matt has told me many times that Coach Dykes is a player’s coach with an open door policy and this shows just that. Matt was happy for the most part of the first four practices and was looking forward to the first practice with full pads on Saturday. I wish I was a little closer so I could have watched in person. I sure would of loved to eat some pizza served by the Regal Blues. I talked to Matt after practice and he was happy with his kicks, but still had things that he needed to work on. There would be two more practices on Wednesday and Friday before the first scrimmage. My oldest son Tyler and his friend Bob made their way to the first scrimmage. He was pretty excited with what he saw. So far Matt has gone through 3 holders and Ross is currently holding for Matt. It is so important that the ball gets put in the same spot every time. Otherwise the ball is going to go all over the place instead of thru the uprights. After the scrimmage Matt said the team was starting to gel and a lot of players were stepping up and making big plays. The next Scrimmage was April 1st and after a good week of kicking Matt was ready when he was called upon. Matt kicked live on four kickoffs with all of them landing in the end zone. He also converted two PAT's. When I spoke to him later that night he was pretty stoked that he was finally allowed to kick deep. With all of the hard work in the weight room and fine tuning things with Chris Boniol things were starting to gel. I am not sure who writes the articles during the spring practices, but I thought the write up on special teams about the kicking and return game was pretty much spot on. Kicking, Return game to highlight 2010 season for Tech's special teams! Matt was coming home for the Easter break and I was looking forward to spending a couple of days with him. My wife was not going to be able to make it back home from Dallas for Easter, but my oldest son Tyler was going to hang out with Matt and I over the weekend. One of these days we will live in one house after our home sells in San Antonio. Matt made his way back to Ruston Monday. There is one more week of practices before the Spring Game on April 10th! Practices went well during the week and Matt was ready for Saturday. Matt said they did work on a couple different kickoff schemes and that from time to time there were going to be a few surprises, but for the most part the ball would be kicked deep! Right now I am singing the song "I'm So Excited" You really do not want to hear me sing. As always when there is a game of any kind in Ruston we have many family members who pack up their cars and head to Ruston. Not only was April 10th the Spring Game it was also my mother-in-laws birthday and we would be celebrating in the parking lot after the game. Happy Birthday Meggie! My oldest son and I left San Antonio at 5:00 AM Friday morning and would make our way into Dallas to pickup my wife before heading out to Ruston. Our goal was to get to Ruston in time to see the practice on Friday afternoon. We did make it on time and got to see some of the offense work through several different plays and schemes. It was funny watching Matt working with the defense as a running back dummy. After practice we hooked up with Matt for a bit before dinner. Matt was not going to join us for dinner as he was hosting a recruit and would be joining Coach Tommerdahl and the recruit’s family for dinner. We had a wonderful dinner with Dave & Jane Matthiesen. What a great evening it was. Matt had a breakfast with the Boy's and Girl's Club before the team breakfast, so we did not see him before the game. We made our way to the parking lot around 10:30 where we hooked up with the rest of the family and had a few adult beverages before game time. I did get to meet Coach E.J. Lewis before the game. We talked about La Tech and football. It was such a joy to talk to him and he wanted Matt to know if he needed anything to make sure and call him at anytime. The La Tech family is truly amazing. One great thing about social media and BBB is you get to meet and talk to some amazing people who love everything about La Tech. I finally got to meet one of those amazing fantastic people before the game. Ms. Dawgmatic I am so glad I got to finally meet you and I feel like I have known you forever. Thanks so much for all of your support and kind words! Its game time and I am excited to see where the team is at. Matt over kicked his first kickoff. I am sure the excitement played a small factor. I was a little disappointed that there was only one offense and one defense, but that is just me. It all worked out ok! It looks like we have quite a few wide receivers and running backs to start the season with. The quarterbacks all competed well. In my opinion only, I thought Ross and Steve stood out to me. I was pretty stoked when they sent Matt out to attempt a 57 yard field goal. He had the distance, but was just a bit left. At half time we went out to the Suburban for a few minutes I got to meet Mr. Russell Rainbolt who was on his way to his car. He is in the La Tech Hall of Fame for football and track. It was really cool to meet him. The second half was more like the first half on the offensive side of the ball. I was very impressed with our defense. Matt made a 40 yard field goal to end the game 44 to 44. It was fun to watch and it gave the several thousand fans that showed up a good glimpse of what to expect this fall. We met up with Matt after the game on the field. He told me that the 57 yard field goal was supposed to be 55 yards, but Coach Dykes backed it up two yards. We spoke to Coach Tommerdahl for a little bit and then headed out to the parking lot for a birthday celebration. We decided to move over to the east side of the stadium so we could have a little shade. We had a few adult beverages, snacks and Johnny's pizza. Mr. Fred Dean was walking to his truck and came up and said hello to Matt and introduced himself to all of us. It was so cool to meet Mr. Dean. Later that afternoon the male hormones were kicking in and several wanted to go on the field and show off their kicking abilities. We all took turns kicking field goals and some of our kicks were extremely ugly. I was kicking with a sock on and using my shoe as a tee. I missed my first two 30 yard field goals left and Matt moved my shoe over to the right so my ball would go more down the center. I got myself in position and did my knee lift like Matt does and attempted to kick a 30 yard field goal. The next thing I know is I am on the ground in severe pain and my left knee cap is on the back side of my left leg. I tried to move it some and that did not work. Matt was very calm and was by my side as well as many other family members. Dan "The Equipment Man" suggested to Matt that the trainers might still be there and sure enough Keith Bunch and some of his staff came down in the cart. Keith talked to me for a minute and told me he could set it if I wanted him to. I told him to go for it and he took my leg and gradually turned until it popped back in place. It felt better, but man it hurt like a SOB. They put a brace on it and drove me to the top of the field house. I made my way to the training room and Keith checked things out. There is definitely some damage in the knee, but no one knows for sure. Keith fit me with a compression sock and a knee brace. He also gave me some crutches to use until I could make my way back to Texas. I feel like a total fool and I know my football career is over. As we get older we get smarter and we think we can take on any athletic challenge that is presented to us. I think I let my smartness get the best of me as I thought that I could go out and kick 30 yard field goals with a 47+ year old body! When the hormones kick in we become invincible and we can do anything! Wrong! I was so very lucky that things worked out the way they did and that Keith was still at the stadium. We made our way back to Matt's apartment and celebrated Meggie's birthday with my brother-in-laws (Mike) world famous buttermilk pie. Man was it good! The rest of the family watched the baseball game from the outfield by Matt's apartment. We made our way back to Dallas to David and Barbara's (Janet's Aunt & Uncle) house. This would become my home until we could figure out what the next step was. I was also fortunate that Meggie (Janet's Mom) was here as well. To make a long story short, I had surgery a few days later to repair a torn MCL, ACL and a partial tear in the PCL. I also had a dislocated Patella and a 1.5 CM piece of bone broken off of my Femur. My lower thigh muscle had a tear as well. I am in full recovery wearing a flexible brace and will need to wear it for the next 12 weeks during the healing process. My knee is still pretty swollen and I have to keep it elevated as much as possible. A special thanks to all of my family and friends for all of the support and guidance during this time. I am a full believer that even though we are older that we are not always as smart as we think. I asked Matt later that night if I made field goal and he broke the news to me that I hit the crossbar and it bounced backwards. That really suck's! My football career might be over, but my love for the game will never go away. Ok enough of me. I want to end the spring season on a positive note. Not only has Matt excelled on the football field he is excelling in class. When he has spare time he plays golf with Tank and Chandler. He participates in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as well as being on the Student Athletic Advisory Council for La Tech. This summer he will be working with Chris Boniol during his week long developmental camp in Dallas and will be working with Josh Scobee at his camp in Longview. All in all we are very proud of Matt and are so glad that he ended up at La Tech. I have to give a special shout out to Keith Bunch and his training staff for helping me out and being there during my kicking woes. Not only am I thankful for all of the support from all of my family and friends, but I am so very thankful for the level heads of Matt, Mikayla (My Niece) and Dan "The Equipment Man"! I have to thank my oldest son Tyler for taking care of our two dogs during this time and I could not function without the awesome help that I have received from my beautiful wife, my awesome mother-in-law (Meggie) and Janet's amazing Uncle David. David and Barbara have opened up their house to me in Murphy and we are so grateful! I promise I will leave all of the kicking to Matt and will watch from the stands in the future. I will pick back up College Football Dad with summer workouts. I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. I write from my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. May your springtime be filled with Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel your Way! I smell summer vacations! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed Spring and Summer! College Football Dad!

The New Era! 3/16/10

What a week this is going to be! March Madness, College Basketball brackets, St. Patrick’s Day, Guinness Beer and oh yes the start of La Tech spring football. I can smell the pigskin in the air! Smells like fine wine to me! I am not into college basketball like I should be, but when March Madness hits I am on point! I am going to step out on to some of the smaller branches with my prediction, but my big gut tells me to pick West Virginia. Ok I did it and now I hope these branches can hold me until the end. I titled this post the New Era, because I think it is the beginning on some great things at La Tech with the football program. Coach Dooley is gone and Coach Dykes is in place. I see Sunny days ahead. I wish Coach Dooley and Coach Russell the best of luck at Tennessee. They brought Matt to La Tech and we are very grateful for that! Let the New Era begin! I ended the season with this quote and I will begin the season with this quote as it is the belief that Matt and I live by! “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson The intent of this first blog of 2010 is to shed some light on the happenings with Matt from the last game until the beginning of spring football. Some of it is pretty funny! A quick side note before I continue. Since Matt's last game in December up until today, Matt has added 20lbs to his body. He has taken his weights and eating right to new heights and Damon needs a round of applause for pushing Matt. Can I get a Woo Hoo? All kidding aside, Matt is very focused and driven and will be in prime shape when the season starts. In mid December Matt traveled down to Miami to hook up with the rest of the family for a 50th Wedding Anniversary cruise for his grandparents to the Eastern Caribbean. Growing up Matt did not have the opportunity to travel very much so this would be quite an experience for him, plus he had a great travel agent work with him. Matt hit up Samana, St. Thomas, Tortola and the Bahamas! From the dance floor to the togas to the casino, Matt had an awesome time and had more food opportunities then he knew what to do with. I have to tell one quick funny on Matt. One of the nights on the cruise there was a White Hot Party and you were supposed to wear all white to this dance party, so Matt took his sheets from his bed and made a toga! Toga man danced all night long! It was good for Matt to wind down and then start refocusing for next quarter and next season. Christmas & New Years flew by and before we knew it Matt was back on campus Jan 2nd. Jan 4th weights at 6:15AM and after two days it was very hard to walk. The stair climbing is going to be tough for the next few days! Matt had seen snow in pictures, but now he was getting to experience it in Ruston. He was short on time one morning and did not have time to defrost his window and drove to the field house for workouts with his window frozen and window down so he could see the road. His water bottle that was in his car was frozen solid. Now that is cold! Matt hung out with Josh Scobee in the middle of January. They went to the driving range and hit some golf balls and then they hooked up at the basketball game the next night. Matt said it was so cool that Josh came to his apartment and picked him up and they got to talk about football and life. I have not met Josh yet, but Matt said he is so down to earth and feels at ease when he is with him. They talked about working out some after the spring game. Matt traveled back to Dallas in early February to hook up with Chris Boniol for a 3 hour kicking session. Coach Dooley had Matt making so many changes to his kickoff approach that he was in need of some step refinement and no one knows Matt better than Chris. After the first hour Matt was back in sequence and they developed two different approaches and step patterns. These approaches can be changed up depending on what side of the field the coaches want the ball kicked to. Matt was stoked as he was back to kicking with great hang time and between the five and the goal. For early spring this is good and Chris was very excited as to where Matt was at this early in the year! Matt had his steps back and his mental toughness and the desire to perfect his craft will keep Matt focused on the teams goals as well as his personal goals. As he adds more weight his kickoffs will continue to get deeper. I have a few more funnies from February. Jordan Mills, Rufus, IK and four others borrowed Matt's car to for all of them to go get their hair cut. I can just imagine seven big guys getting in Matt's car with some sitting on someone’s lap. I wish I had a picture of that. The other was when Matt was eating sushi on campus and IK and Rufus saw Matt and they wanted to know what the green stuff was and Matt said t was guacamole. They both tried it and were on fire as they just tried wasabi. Matt said they were trying to wipe off their tongues. Matt said it was so funny! All was good as they all had a good laugh. Matt has been kicking on Mondays and Wednesdays in February. His field goals have been spot on and his kickoffs have been greatly improved now that Chris has his steps back in the right pattern. Matt has met with Coach Dykes several times and they will have a different scheme that will allow Matt to kickoff instead of playing darts! Can you imagine playing darts with a football and your leg all of the time? It just does not work. Matt likes Coach Dykes a lot and said he is real down to earth, approachable and easy to talk to. Matt did get to come home for a few days in mid February. It was great to have him home for a few days even though his home will be in Dallas as soon as our home sells. To show you how Matt functions, while he was at home he contacted the kicker for the high school team he played for and spent 2 plus hours working with him on his kicking game. That is a proud dad moment for me as an eighteen year old has the mindset to give back and help his high school team! Matt returned to La Tech and continued to hit the weights, excel in class and kick! Matt's overall GPA after the winter quarter was a 3.625 and we were super stoked. Matt did not come home for his quarter break. Instead he made his way down to visit his grandparents in The Villages in Florida. He flew out of the Monroe airport and Coach Dykes was on his same flight to Dallas before they caught their flights to their final destinations. They got to talk about football and family. Matt said the conversation was awesome. He has been working on his golf game and was looking forward to playing some golf with his grandparents. He played three rounds and was happy with his results for only playing golf for less than a year. Matt got to spend a couple days in Tampa visiting with my brother and his cousin Brycen before heading back to The Villages for another round of golf and a birthday party with about 26 guests. Must be nice to have a birthday party and everyone watching your 2009 highlight video while they serve you cake! Matt shot 98 on his last round and finally broke 100! I know he had a great time and what an experience it must have been to get to hang with grandparents for a few days and meet some great people who are all now new La Tech fans! Now that Matt is back in Ruston his focus is on school, weights, running, and kicking. Matt is super excited about the new coaching staff and the 2010 season. Matt has a great relationship with Coach Tommerdahl and is looking forward to working with him this year. Even though Coach Tommerdahl was the special teams coach last year, Coach Dooley called all of the shots in the kicking game. Spring practice starts tomorrow and he is in prime shape physically and mentally! As a kicker you cannot peak too early and kick your leg out before the season starts. I hope you all are as ready for this New Era as I am. I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can at the spring game, but I am looking super forward to meeting Mrs. Cox! She has been so kind to us and she has provided me some awesome recipes to cook. I love to cook and learn new food things! I can't wait for the spring game and the new offensive scheme! My business has been off this year, but I want to thank my mentors for keeping me focused on the long term goals and encouraging me to work even harder. Matt & Tyler thanks for being my rock and my hope! I can't wait for the new season to start so I can share my passion of college football through his eyes! I will write during the spring session and then pick back up starting with summer workouts. I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. I write from my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. May your springtime be filled with Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel your Way! I smell summer vacations! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed Spring! College Football Dad!

Reflections! 12/31/09

I sit here and reflect on what has just happened over the last 6 months. I have been on one of the wildest rides of my life and I got to continue my passion for college football through his eyes! We knew that Matt was very self driven and passionate about achieving his first year goals, but I had no idea he would achieve them the way he did. I am so proud of his work ethic and dedication to his team. I know Matt will work even harder in the off season and will get bigger and stronger. Mental toughness and the desire to perfect his craft will keep Matt grounded and focused on the teams goals as well as his personal goals. One of my all time favorite business quotes is what Matt is doing in his football career and what I want to do in my business career! “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson My reflections will be highlights on the good, the bad, the ugly and the many people that we are so thankful for. Before I begin I have to thank Chris Boniol, Matt Stover and Josh Scobee for their support and constant communication with Matt. Matt's stats for the season were quite impressive in my mind for a true freshman swimming in shark infested waters. Matt ended the season 12 of 16 for field goals with only one miss less than 50 yards and he was 42 of 43 on PAT's. He was the leading scorer on the team with 78 points. His kickoff average of 57 yards is a little misleading when you play a hit the numbers game and you have some that go out of bounds. I am not a fan of this type of kicking, but what do I know! I am just a College Football Dad and a Travel Specialist! I think that there are situations where a pooch kick is the right thing to do, but not as a common theme. I hope CD and CT work on kicking it deep during the off season and CH works on maximizing his leg muscle. I went back and looked at all of Matt's kicks and not one kick was completely blocked the entire season. There were a couple of balls that got tipped, but still went through the up rights. I think special props needs to be given to the special teams O-line and the trust and timing with Thomas, Cade and Matt. That is an awesome stat that most people do not look at. I want to take time to thank those who have made an impact on me during my first season as a Bulldog. I have to start with my wife for her strength and courage during the season along with my oldest son for his extreme support for his younger brother. I want to give a very special thanks to Thomas Graham for taking Matt under is wings and being the most ultimate mentor for Matt that we could have ever asked for. I have to thank all of our immediate family, close friends and friends of family for traveling many thousands of miles in support of Matt and the Bulldogs both home and away. I have met or had email communication with so many awesome people during my freshman year. (Tom Morris, Philip Parker, Dusty McGehee, Rusty Anding, Adam McGuirt, Ross Harper, Don Garland, the La Tech Football staff and Ross aka Marketdawg) I thank you for all of your support and welcoming us to the Bulldog family. I have to thank Jonathan Ford and the BleedTechBlue Radio team. Fantasy Cruise & Travel was a sponsor this year and I will do it again next year. I also have to thank Matt’s original roommates; Josh (Summer Camp), Doak, Matt and Vince. These young men will be very successful at La Tech and they are just good people. Last but not least I have to thank Dan “The Equipment Man” Matthiesen. Dan and Matt are currently roommates and they keep each other in check. Dan is an awesome person and will keep Matt in line! I am not sure if this should be the Nelly Awards or just reflections of the season, but here we go. I am going to start with the ugly. The ugly for the season were the kickoffs that went out of bounds and the missed 38 yard field goal at Nevada. Directional kicking to a number on opposite sides of the field will cause balls to go places they should not when you do not warm up this way. I hope we can kick the ball deep next year and yes I understand that the coverage team was banged up this year and the return personnel will determine where CD wants the ball kicked, but kick it deep! The bad for the season for me was the missed PAT at the Idaho game, the missed 58 yard field goal at the Hawaii game and the missed 52 yarder against San Jose St. Matt had missed one PAT during his high school career and now one for his college career. I feel like Matt will make several 50 plus yarder's during his college career, but I thought 58 yards might of been a stretch this early in his career. With this being said I am a huge fan of CD and how he not only coaches, but he teaches life’s lessons. How these young men react to adverse situations will help them be prepared for what life throws at them. Now for the good! The 46 yard field goal in his first college game at Auburn, the 3 field goals against LSU, the surprise on sides kick that he recovered against Boise St and his only tackle in the San Jose State game. I will also include the missed 56 yard field goal against Idaho. I was very proud of the effort in this game winning kick that had the distance, but missed to the left. It was not about the miss, but that with the game on the line that good contact was made and it had a chance! The other made field goals and PAT's were all awesome in how they were made, but this is what his craft is and should be made to ensure your starting position and a possible future career. I saved the Double Drawer’s Award for Mr. Tom Morris for taking pictures of the away games that I did not attend. I got to watch these games on TV or listened over the internet. This was one of the hardest things mentally I have ever gone through and thank goodness that I had extra pairs of drawers! I am looking for care packages for next year! Seriously a very special thanks to Tom Morris for letting me use some of his pictures for my blog for the away games I did not attend. Even though the team did not have a winning season this year they were in all of the games during the second half of the season. La Tech would end up at 4 - 8 for the season. With the playing time of so many freshmen and more home games I feel like the 2010 season will be a winning one and the Bulldogs will be bowling again. It has been a blast for me this season to take my thoughts and share my passion through him. I appreciate all of those who have followed my journey. I write from my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. I will continue to write about Matt and the football process up to when spring practice starts on a limited basis. May your New Year be filled with Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel your Way! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed New Year! College Football Dad!

San Jose St. 12/5/09

Oh no it is here! I have been dreading this week. It will be our last game of the season. Am I disappointed? You bet I am! Am I proud of this team? You bet I am! If we can beat San Jose St, then the seniors will go out with a win. I don't know too much about San Jose St, so let’s take a look. A Spartan is a group of elite warriors from ancient Greece, located on the island province of Sparta. Spartan warriors are trained from infancy to be nothing but soldiers. They are to be perfect in every respect and aspect of war, and nothing else. Weaklings perish soon after birth; youth are taught to thieve and terrorize the slave class to harden them; young men are taught to nothing unless it has something to do with the arts of war - Even music and dance are there only to help keep step when marching and obeying orders. The result is a man who thinks nothing of danger, expects to win, and creates a sense of dread in his opponents. If all of this is true then, San Jose St has not lived up to their definition. Ok, that is enough about a fake Spartan! The travel business has been a little up and down. Some last minute holiday travel, spring break and the 2010 summer are the hot topics of the week. Who knows maybe one day the La Tech Alumni association might want to put together a group cruise or something. I bet that would be a hoot! I guess it is time to jump right in the middle of the last week of football for the Bulldogs. Matt had a full week to rest his ankle during Thanksgiving and would test it on Monday. His practices went well. His field goals were spot on. They broke down file on the San Jose St kick return team. Coach was working on the number hitting thing again. I just wish they would let him kick the ball. What difference is it going to make? His critics already think he can only kickoff to the 25! If you ask me those people do not know crap when it comes to kicking a football. They just want a line drive into the end zone that looks like a wounded duck. It’s not going to happen! The young man only kicks where the Coaches tell him to kick. Oh, I forgot, wounded ducks only fall out of the sky in McKinney, Texas. Ok enough on the venting! I just wanted to see if I could get some feathers ruffled! HaHa! Matt said the rest of the week went well. They really wanted to send the seniors out with a victory and that was the only thing on Matt’s mind. We were going to have a lot of family and friends attend the game. My sister and her family would be attending their first game. With the game starting at 1:00PM we would arrive at the stadium around 9:30AM. Our tailgate would be a liquid tailgate and it would consist of beverages for all ages. We met the bus at 11:00AM as the team drove in from Monroe. Matt looked sharp as he got off the bus. Mom & Dad got a big old hug and off he went. We head back to the suburban for a few more cold ones. We made our way into the stadium around 12:15PM. We saw Matt warm up for a few minutes, but we really wanted to be there to applaud the seniors. It was their day and time for them to shine. Gentlemen good luck to your future and lot's of success to whatever life brings you. I have to give a very special shout out to Thomas Graham. He has taken Matt under his wings and shown him the ropes in college football. I know Matt has the utmost respect for him and Janet and I could not have asked for a better mentor than Thomas. Not only is Thomas a great deep snapper, he is a great person and he will be missed on this team. Game time is here, so let the butt kicking begin. We started off a little rough as San Jose St would score first and at the end of the first quarter the score would be tied 14 - 14. This is not the start that we need. I need to give a special shout out to Matt for making his first touchdown saving tackle. It looked like a take down in a calf scamble. Awesome tackle Matt! Something has got to kick in real quick! Wow did we kick it into gear. We score 31 points in the second quarter. Matt got to attempt a 53 yard field goal and he toed it missing it left. Matt would end the 2nd quarter with a 40 yard field goal. Are you kidding me? Where has then type of explosion been all year? San Jose St would score on a 80 yard pass and Matt would make a 32 yard field goal as the 3rd quarter comes to an end with the score 48 - 20. San Jose St would drive mid way through the 4th quarter, but oops they throw an interception at the six and we return it 96 yards for a touchdown. The final horn sounds and the Bulldogs run away with this one 55 - 20. Matt was good on all of his PAT's and ended up with 13 points for the day. What a way to send the seniors out with a victory. We met Matt up by the locker room after the game. He hates taking photos but with new family in attendance more pictures need to be taken. It was pretty cool when his cousin came up with a mini helmet and asked Matt for his autograph. It really was classic! We were very proud of Matt's efforts in this game as well as the whole team. We are very sad because the season is over and we are not bowling, but on the other hand we are excited Matt will get to join us on the cruise we are taking to celebrate my parent’s 50th anniversary! Our evening would end with a family meal at the Log Cabin. Matt was going to hang with his older brother Saturday night and we would meet up with them Sunday morning for breakfast before we head back to Dallas and then myself to San Antonio. The Caribbean was now in our future! What a season it has been. We have met some fantastic people this year. Everyone we have met has been so kind to our family and we truly appreciate your open arms. We really appreciate everyone’s support during the season and look forward to meeting many more of you in the upcoming seasons! I will be writing an overview of the season before the end of the year. My goal is to write every 2 to 3 weeks on Matt's football happenings leading up to the spring game. I really appreciate those of you who have followed my blog and I hope I have not offended anyone. I write from the heart and apologize if I stepped on someone's toes. I want to give a special shout out to Mr. Tom Morris for allowing me to use his pictures for the games I did not attend. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!