by Jason Strunk
Lubbock High School Head Football Coach
Follow @WestTXCoach
Lubbock HS head coach Jason Strunk with Sonnie Cumbie, TCU co-Offensive Coordinator
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Well, I am two days behind, but it’s better late than never. I always have a valid excuse to be late, especially if football is the main reason.
Without further ado, the week that was:
DWF CLINIC
Texas High School Football is one of a kind.
I have been to clinics dating back to 1996. I have been to clinics in Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, New York, West Virginia etc. Additionally, I usually hit the AFCA Convention in January every year. I have been all over and I have seen a lot. The DFW clinic last weekend was one of the best high school clinics I have ever been to. It should not come as a
Grapevine High School’s Panther-Mustang Stadium
surprise that Texas does it the right way.
I started my trip to DWF with a stop at Grapevine High School to see Randy Jackson and his staff put their team through their off season workout. Coach Jackson is one of the best, which was clearly illustrated by the amount of coaches that stopped in to see his team work.
The energy and juice flowing in that building was impressive. The best I have seen, since I saw the Gators workout when Tebow was their QB. Coach Jackson and his staff dominated that workout and their kids battled to the end. I was beyond impressed.
I was honored when Coach Jackson asked me to speak to his team. That was the highlight of the visit for me. Here is a highly-respected coach in this state asking this Yankee to speak to his team. Absolutely honored.
I finished up the visit with Coach Jackson by conducting mini clinic on nutrition. We had about fifteen coaches in there talking nutrition and high school sports. I cannot thank Coach Jackson enough. What a great time! In fact, it was so good that I am going back there this weekend to see him again!
Strunky did an interview with Matt Stepp of The Old Coach at DFW Coaches Clinic.
From Grapevine High School I went to the Embassy Suites in Grapevine for the clinic. It was first class and it was packed. When you sell out a hotel you are doing something right!
The first person I saw was my good buddy Max Kattwinkel, from Lubbock Cooper HS. I talked some ball with him and his staff. More importantly, we laughed and talked about things other than football. It’s good to get away and talk ball, but it’s also nice to get away and talk about life in general and share a few laughs.
You never stop running into people you know. One of my favorite people and coaches is Shane Mobley, the HC from Sweetwater. Great, great coach and friend of mine in this profession. We talked defense and football for about three hours. Lots of fun. Sweetwater went four rounds deep last year. Great season for them. They are our Week 1 opponent next year again. Tough team. Where else would you find two opposing coaches talking ball for three hours?
I can go on for hours about all the people I talked to and met. That would get boring. But to sum the DFW clinic up in one word: Awesome!
QUOTES FROM THE CLINIC
“Strunky, you are in Texas on a Visa” – Skylar Houston, Sweetwater.
“Coaches don’t use Twitter enough” – Randy Jackson, Grapevine, when talking about social media and its benefits.
“You are much shorter in person then you are on Twitter, Strunk” – Anonymous coach I met at clinic.
“I’m losing weight by eating barbecue everyday” – Josh Ragsdale, HC at Adamson HS.
ANOTHER CLINIC FORMED FROM THE CLINIC
I met a lot of great people at the DFW clinic – one of them is Josh Ragsdale, the HC from Adamson High School.
Rags has put together a clinic for this Thursday at his high school and asked me to come speak. Very honored that he asked me. I will be joining a bunch of great speakers. Looking forward to this!
RANDOMNESS
-I predicted the Pats would win the SB. They did. 19 straight years I have done so. Never once have I cashed in on this with Vegas. I think Corky Blake may have swung me into trying my luck with Vegas for SB 50.
-The Super Bowl was fun to watch. Seeing Tom Brady play in his 6th and win his 4th ring was a moment our generation should never forget. What an incredible QB. Probably the best to ever play the game.
-Seahawks spent more time yucking it up for the camera (Sherman) or avoiding the media (Lynch) then they did selecting the right play (Carroll). All the Patriots did was field questions all week long about air pressure. The better team won. The better coach won. The better QB won.
– SB commercials were a big let down. The Nationwide commercial really dampened my spirits while eating pizza. Had to put the slice down for fear of choking in another unexpected household accident.
That’s it! FIO till next time….
