Season is over

Santa Paula walloped my team 30-6 with all of those thirty points being scored in the first quarter.  We just could not get uncorked.  Multiple interceptions by SP stifled our offense and our defense was as porous as a sponge.  Oh well, we finished at 5-5 and made it to the semis with that record and I am happy with that.

Tomorrow is the last game of the season for my oldest son's team at Camarillo High.  They play their cross town rival Rio Mesa High and many of his friends go there....so it should be a fun game to watch.  One of Josh's best motorcycle riding buddies starts at running back and linebacker, so they well definitely be seeing each other on the field.  Report to follow.

HOT November

It's November third and it was Ninety Three freaking degrees here today....YUCK!!!

This Saturday my team plays in the semis.....we are ranked fourth and we play the number one seed, Santa Paula.  We played them and lost earlier in the season, but we held them scoreless for almost three full quarters...it wasn't a walkover for them.  I'm optimistic that we can beat them, but we have to have everyone perform at their very best.  Wish us luck.....more to follow

Life as we know it......

Life in the Swindle home is BUSY!!!!  All three of my boys play football...as I have reported here on occasion, haha.  The youth team I coach has our first playoff game this Saturday...against a team we have already beaten in the regular season.  But, I never underestimate and opponent and with the prospect of rain the night before...the field could be the equalizer!!!

Okay, I am going to start bragging out loud here....my youngest son is an actor....a for real on TV and movies actor.  He has done commercials and an independent film and is in the running for some parts in BIG movies and he just landed a gig on NFL Gameday doing a spoof skit as the guys doing their run down on teams and games that day.....it will air this Sunday...so we are excited!!!  It is rather apropos that he is on this....he is the starting middle linebacker on his youth team....so there you go!!

My oldest son has been doing really well this season on his HS football team too...he is a first string wide out and a second string Safety.  I know he will continue to do really well if he stays with football...he has speed, great hands and a natural smartness for the game that can't be taught.  Plus, he is growing like a weed and I suspect by the time he is a Senior he should be of a size that would interest colleges...I hope, I hope, I hope!!!

Football mania

Last Thursday my oldest son's Frosh team from Camarillo High travelled to Oak Park and whooped up on the Eagles.  Josh had several rocking solo tackles on kick offs......it was fun to watch him get down field, shed the blocks and make the hits!!!

Saturday my J2Gold team travelled to Apollo High to play the Simi team...we won 40 to 22.  As Defensive Coordinator for our team I was able to start some kids that don't normally play lots.  Simi has a losing record and so I was able to put in kids that are second string and play them lots and lots.  They rose to the occasion too.  One boy I started at corner back had six solo tackles, a couple of blocked passes and one interception.
My boy Joey had a couple of sweet passes he caught and one interception.  At Safety I had the smallest kid on our team and he had several solo tackles and an interception too.....so it was a really great day for the kids and they had a ton of fun in the win.  We even had a kid who normally only plays noseguard play at fullback and he scored a TD!!!!

This coming weekend we play the first place team....but I think if we play to our potential..we can beat them.  The boys will have to really keep up the intensity and their desire to win, but I know they have it in them.

Also, my youngest son filmed an AT&T commercial this week...he was one of the principals.  It is a kid and his Dad at a football game and should be out soon....so of course we are crazy excited!!!

It never rains in California

Well.....not quite true....it's been raining for a couple of days now.  Not a big down pour mind you, it is after SoCal, but still...it has been wet.  And....I'm loving it!!!  Our football fields are soggy and this weekend's games should be a hoot.  We need to relish the wetness while we can....October can be notoriously hot and dry and with an early wet down and cool temps....I feel we are probably in for some dry east winds and heat soon.....UGH!!!!
Freshman football tomorrow....Camarillo at Oak Park....should be a fun one!!

Scorpion Football

My oldest boy made first string Wide Receiver on the Freshman Football team at his High School and today is game day.  This will be his first game as a starter, so we are all very excited for him.  Go Josh!!!!

A Great Adventure

I have been following a blog of one of my old High School Football Coaches....it's called "Coaching for Pizza".  The name derives from his initially coaching Euro Football over in Italy, he has since moved up to Sweden.  But, his latest musings have been about his "Camino" or Pilgrimage across Spain on foot!!!!
He started in France, crossed the Pyrenees and has trekked across Spain and it has been like following a combo of Jimmy Buffett, Papa Hemingway and Jack Kerouac all rolled into one.  I believe this Pilgrimage has something to do with his Catholic faith, but regardless of creed, it is a pretty amazing thing and it makes me want to do it to.....add another one to the bucket list!!!
Thanks George for allowing us daily views into your life and adventure, it is inspirational and a very motivating force to have read. 
It's the grand adventures in our life, especially the ones that come at a toll, that bring us our greatest joys and memories.  If it is easy, then everyone would do it......so.....way to go Coach!!!

Football Saturday

Great weekend for our boys....we're 2-0 today.  Joey's team played first at 10AM at Rio Mesa High, our home field, against the Oxnard Knights.  We won 27-14 and Joey scored his very first ever Touchdown!!!!
Oxnard had some BIG kids, but they were a bit slow.  They did have one very slippery back, but we managed to keep him contained for the most part.

Noah's team won 28-14, he ran at Fullback all day and was the go to guy.  "Five yards and a cloud of dust"...that's my boy.  All of our scores came on passes....the QB has got one heck of an arm for a ten year old.  And they also have a pair of very talented receivers. 
It was freaking HOT in Moorpark where our kids played...probably about 100 degrees.

Looking forward to next week!!

Another Game Day

This morning my youngest son's team travelled to Santa Clarita to play their Junior Navy team....we won 18-0 against a team that we were not supposed to beat.  It's always good to go into someone's home and whoop up on em'.  Noah didn't play as much as he usually does, but when he was in....he caused some havoc.  They will not forget number 25 anytime soon!!

Santa Clarita J2 Gold came to our home field...Rio Mesa HS to play our J2 Gold.  SC was unbeaten and had run up two very high scoring games.  They won by a score of 42-28, but the game was closer than the score indicated.  They got one cheesy TD on play where the runner was clearly down, but the refs did not blow the whiste and our kids stopped playing thinking it was a dead ball.  The guy just kept on trucking and when our kids quit, he took off and scored.  It was just a bunch of BS if you ask me, but you can't beat the refs.  They had another TD where I had an all out blitz going and we had three guys on the ball carrier, but they didn't wrap him up and off he went....that kid ran hard though, gotta give him props for that.

We scored three TD's on passes, they ran a 62 defense and were very vulnerable deep.  One of our players caught those three TD passes by himself.....Chase had one heck of a day for sure!!!
We ran the ball well enough, but that six man line was tough to penetrate and they held us to only one rushing TD.
My biggest beef was my kids not wrapping up and tackling hard enough....it's like they were playing patty cake and it drove me nuts.  My blitz calls and line stunts had them confused and we had kids in their backfield the entire game, we just couldn't make the stops when we needed to...daggonit!!

One bright spot was a kid I put in at Defensive Guard, he had several solo tackles for losses, he squeezed through the Offensive line and made some great plays....way to go JA!!!

Next week is Oxnard, they run an option style offense....so more preparation and hopefully we put another tick in our "W" column.

more football

My oldest son plays on Camarillo High Frosh football team and they were 1-0 going into yesterday's game against Righetti HS.  No more, they are now 1-1.  We were up 20-0 at the end of the first quarter and it went downhill from there.  I'll just say we lost and leave it at that.

Tomorrow both my younger boys play teams from Santa Clarita.....this organization plays the same offense and defense from the youngest age up to the oldest age group in the league.  They start basic and by the time they reach the Senior division, the kids are well trained and know their system in and out.  So..it will be a challenge to beat them as they are always tough, but they are NOT unbeateable.  I have drilled my defense on reading the Double Wing, which is what SC runs, and hope they retain the info I gave them and play how I know they can.  I think we can actually win, so I guess we something to look forward to...wish us all luck!!!

Game Day

This past weekend we had one good game that we won and one that we lost.  My youngest son's team lost their game against Ventura....we gave that game away with all the mistakes and turnovers.  Teams just cannot turn the ball over and expect to win.  The Head Coach got thrown out too, the ref was just too over zealous about tossing him, but he was advocating for his kids' safety and that is always acceptable. Noah was in on many tackles and carried the ball a bit, but it was a pretty lackluster performance.

Joey's team....the one I am Defensive Coordinator for won.  We played Saugus and won 12-6.  The score should have been twice that on our side, we had a TD called back and then we got stuck on the one yard line and turned to ball over on downs.  Still, my defense rocked and we had some great performances and I am pleased. Joey did great, he kicked butt at his linebacker spot and carried the ball like a bull.  I promised a one hundred dollar reward for a TD and he bulled his way down to the one yard line and unfortunately, we were stopped.  Next time Joey.
Next week we play a Santa Clarita team that runs the Double Wing...and they are very good at it....I have a HUGE challenge coming up and I hope we are prepared for it.

A Not so quiet Labor Day

I have been on duty for two days straight.  Yesterday we had a fire on the beach in some bushes.  A fire on the beach isn't much of a problem really, it can't go anywhere, but the smoke does interupt the flow of traffic on HWY 101....so we put it out.  We went on two older folks who are residents of a local popular surfing beach....first the man after he fell down.  We picked him up and put him in his bed, bless his heart.  Then after we had been back at the station for about fifteen minutes....."DING"...bells go off for the same residence..this time the wife had fallen.  So, we did what we always do....we went and picked her up and put her into bed with her husband.  The old guy asked us if we wanted to just the stay the night at their place and have a few beers.  While that sounded really good, we were on duty and so must abide by the rules, but it was tempting!!!
Then, around 4AM the bells went off and we were dispatched in our water tender....a giant rolling water supply....to a brush fire up in the Piru area.  It was up in the hills in the oil lease area and it was a fairly small fire as fires go, but it still required water and there is no water supply up there.  We got back to the station around 11 AM and cleaned up.  I tried to take a nap, but that didn't happen....call me a "wahmublance".
The today we had another beach fire that was in some bushes and putting out a decent amount of smoke and wafting across the 101 by La Conchita...so we put that one out too.  Dinner was Carl's Junior Grilled Chicken Salad....tasty.  I'm hitting the sheets now, but I did get to watch Boise State beat Virginia Tech in a televised football game that was a hard fought battle and really fun to watch.....go Broncos!!!

I've also been following an old High School football coach of mine in his blog..."Coaching for Pizza".  It chronicles his coaching American football over in Europe and is fun to read, but right now he is on a bit of a "walk about" over in Spain and I am righteously jealous.  I want an adventure too!!!!!  Way to go George, one day I just might follow your footsteps on the CAMINO......awesome adventure.

Football Saturday

Saturday was a long day, and though it was a good and fun day....we went 0-2 with our boys' teams.

We started the day off by meeting in the parking lot at Rio Mesa High for a breakfast cookout with my youngest son Noah's team.  Can I say that this just plain ROCKED!!!!!!  We had chorizo and egg burritos, we had sausage, cheese and egg sandwiches, watermelon, danish, donuts, juices and coffee and it was really, really tasty.  Thanks to all the Mommies that cooked for us.....great job girls!!

First game was versus Westlake and they walked on us, though our kids played well enough, Westlake was not to be stopped.  Noah was starting Middle Linebacker and was in on many tackles.  He also played fullback and pounded out yardage up the middle, he is an animal.

Second game, Lancaster......yuck!!!!  We played the West Valley Rebels and they walked on us too.  They had a tailback that could run like a madman.  I think their kids were an "A" team, we are a "B" team....they definitely out sized us.  Oh well, at least we got the first game of the season over with and shook out the cobwebs.  It was not a league game either, so the loss doesn't count against us.  We definitely have some room to improve, but the adjustments are easy enough to make and with some extra coaching on pass coverages...we should be much better.  My son Joey played outside linebacker and hit like a madman.  He also played fullback and while he didn't run the ball much....he did an outstanding job on his lead blocks and his pass blocking which enable the QB to get off some great passes.  We lost 32-7...oh well.

Next weekend will be here before you know, though not soon enough for me.  Man I love youth football, and especially watching my boys play...what a great thing for a Father to have.!!!!

surf day

I surfed yesterday with my son Joey and seven of his teammates from football.  The waves were small and mushy, but we all had a blast anyway.....kids are good at having fun.  One of the Dads dropped off two pizzas, so we feasted on the beach, that was pleasant.

Up on the Promenade.....the beach walk way......I met an old gentleman running who I instantly recognized as the track coach from a rival High School back in my day.  He also was a college coach at the rival JC of my school.  Coach Tuck Mason was at Oxnard High when I attended TOHS and then when I went to Moorpark College, he became the head coach of Ventura College. Anyway, I said "hi coach" and he stopped and we chatted...he remember me too, which was nice and made me feel quite good.  It was nice little visit and reminded me of how life seems to go in big circles.  It was good to see him still running and being active....he has to be in his mid seventies or so by now and he looks great!!

We had a really good football practice today, my boys are finally getting settled into my defensive schemes and have their assignments down fairly well. I am thankful for this as our first game is this coming Saturday...so the timing is right.  Let us hope they keep on improving.  I keep teaching them new things and adding in little bits here and there for them to digest, it is interesting to see how they are taking it all in and how they are progressing. I think I have a very good set of defensive alignments and packages and we will be pretty hard for the opposing team to figure out.  I am pretty certain of my starting line up too, but have one or two possible line ups, we'll see how things go the next two days and I'll have it solid for Saturday.

We had a "coaches meeting" at a local watering hole....a sports grill and bar where they serve good food and ICE COLD beer......rather pleasant.  We hoisted a toast to one of my old HS football coaches who is on a walkabout in Spain right now....go George!!!  The meeting consisted of diagraming out our line up with starters and substitutions and talking about our kids.....it was productive and pretty fun.

Today is now the first day of school for my boys and my oldest son is at his first day of High School at Camarillo High.  He is also playing Freshmen football....so it should be a pretty exciting year. Our youngest has another audition for pretty huge movie...one starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.....go Noah!!!
Joey is in eighth grade this year and has grown so much.  His team is the one I am coaching and Joey is starting strong side linebacker and fullback.....he is doing awesome.  I am excited for the boys starting school and also for my wife....she now gets a few hours free for herself each day.  Mama deserves her time, she has definitely earned it.  Go Marnie!!!!

Old Friends

I just found an old teammate from my German football team....the Osnabruck Silverbacks, though they are now named the Tigers.  Germany has an amazing American Football community, more teams there than any other Euro country.  I am so glad to have found Knut.....he was a great linebacker and awesome friend.
I have also connected with the General Manager of my old team and have been invited to come over and coach for them again.....what a stoker!!!!  It will be three years at least before I can retire from the FD and be able to go over and coach for a season....but it gives me something to really look forward to.
I might be able to swing going over for one month next year or maybe the year after....we'll see how that works out and how the wife feels about it.....that is key!!!!
We will try to establish a "sister team" relationship with the Tigers youth football.......our Cougars would fit well with that and it would be fun.
I have emailed Knut a few times and we have chatted a good bit, what a treat to find an old friend so far away and so much time gone.  Funny how life goes in circles some times.

Our First Game

We finally got our first game scheduled....only one week away....great timing there GCYFL.  We will be playing the Valley Panthers and of course I am excited to see how our kids do.  We have the "potential" to be an amazing team, but you know how THAT goes.  Still, I am optimistic.
I am the Defensive Coordinator and am using a different defensive alignment than the kids are used to, but they are picking it up well enough and they are looking forward to seeing how well they do with it.
My main alignment is the 3-5-3, it is a very blitz oriented defense and and very aggressive one too.  The boys love the fact that they are shooting through the line all the time and have done well with it, so we shall see how it goes.  I also have a couple of other more standard alignments, but the 3-5 is my go to defense.
Kick some butt J2Gold!!!!!

My Crazy Life

Hi there.......I am a busy man.  I have three boys who are very active and require tons of my time....but I am not complaining...I have a sweet life.
I coach youth football....the Camarillo Cougars, specifically....J2Gold, the 12 and 13 year olds.  Our season is beginning soon, September 4th is our first game and we are crazy excited.  I am the Defensive Coordinator for the team and I feel we have a pretty amazing group of kids to work with and am anticipating some great success this year.  My middle son plays on our team and I get to coach him, so you know I am having a really fun time.  He plays Linebacker and is one very kick butt player.

I stay pretty busy at work too, I am a Firefighter in SoCal and we are just coming into our brush fire season....looks like it could possibly be a busy one.  I don't mind too terribly much, the overtime from fires helps the home finances, but it will take away from my coaching time....so I am having mixed emotions about it all just now.

Well, that is it for now....just wanted to start off and get this thing rolling.  I will be giving at least weekly updates on how our season progresses.  Adios for now.