Schurr is out in Full Force
There are a lot of things going on – Dodgers and Cardinals, Blackhawks vs. Flyers, Lakers- Boston, and Schurr vs. Knight Train.
I went out to Schurr High School last Friday to check out spring practice. It was typical spring football, coaches running the kids through blocking schemes, passing drills and defensive techniques. I took the camera and snapped a few shots all the while scribbling some notes on a note pad.
I had a few words with Head Coach Ben Negrete and O-Line Coach Philip Jimenez. We didn’t talk about anything deep. They both told me about how hard the kids had been working and how spring work outs have been going so far. It was mostly typical conversation for football in early June.
But what wasn’t typical was the amount of kids that Schurr had out on the practice field. Usually during spring we like to check out the numbers. It gives us an idea of how many kids will be out in the summer and how many kids are on the JV and freshman levels.
As I surveyed the field while walking in I made a quick mental note of all the groups running through their various paces. There was about eight groups of at least 15 kids each – more in a couple of them. A quick calculation told me about 130.
After talking to Jimenez and Negrete it was confirmed that that total was actually closer to 150.
150! That’s not a football roster it’s a small army. Most local congregations are smaller than that. Schurr won the CIF title in 2006- their first since 1980- and as a result the interest has been growing. But 150?
“Well last year we had about 100 so we were kind of surprised when this many kids came out,” Jimenez said. “We we’re like wow what’s going on?”
100 to 150 is almost like adding an entire roster.
“Yeah it’s always exciting to have the kids come out,” Negrete said. “We’re excited about the upcoming season.”
Excited? Some coaches would be doing back flips to have 50. But to have three times that many? Ok so it’s still early in June and they might lose a few kids when “hell week” arrives. So they lose 15. Oh no they’re down to 135!
Now about Schurr vs. Knight Train. I wrote the story along with some pictures (pretty good ones I might add), and posted it on the website. Like most of our football stories the story took a lot of hits, and plenty of comments.
Most of them were fans of other schools talking about what Schurr could be missing this year and pointing out what they do and don’t have coming back. Arroyo honks came out in a big way making a case for the Knights in 2010.
“Knight Train” specifically got into the mix writing that quarterback Aaron Cantu and Schurr won’t beat anybody and that his Knights would “take them out quick.” That’s fine. Smack talk is always good in football. He’s just honking for his team.
But his later comment was questionable. He said numbers don’t mean anything if they can’t play. In basketball or baseball that may be true. But in a sport where your starting lineman and running back can be hurt in the first game you need depth. You need players. Football is brutal, one of the most violent sports there is. It’s certainly the most violent sport on the high school level.
When a player goes down, you need someone to replace him. And when he goes down you need another player. And so on and so on… In football you need numbers, you need bodies. In football don’t ever estimate the power of depth.
A coach doesn’t worry about whether a kid can play or not. When you have 150 of them chances are some of them can. Numbers are huge. And on a Friday in early June the Schurr Spartans had plenty of them.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tspeterson@yahoo.com.
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