As the 2014 football season comes to an end with only 3 of our 10 squads left playing and cheerleading wrapping up their season this past weekend... the Wolverines received an editorial from our 8th Grade Head Coach Derek Suppes... if you get a few minutes... take the time to read the story... it sums up what we do here at the Missouri Wolverines from a 3rd generation parent who has been part of our program for 10 years now. “To Prepare Kids for the Next Level … High School and Beyond” these are words that if I have heard them once I have heard them a thousand times from Coach Tuso and all his coaches!!” “There are 88 positions on the football field” … “Accelerate your feet on contact” … “Eyes to the ball” … I have attended many coaches clinics and one thing that I took away from going to the Rockhurst High School Clinic with Coach Severino was that in addition to preparing kids for the next level … my job as a youth coach was to make it fun/enjoyable experience … ‘Get the kids to Me’ Coach Severino would say and that is something that I learned early on as I was learning how to be a complete coach. Not just X’s and O’s but what it takes to prepare kids for the next level. In the past couple weeks I have got to witness some amazing football by a host of amazing young men. My kids attend Park High School, so I am a Trojan and while yes the Trojans are continuing to survive and advance, I’m not talking about the Trojans. I’m talking about the boys that come through this program. It the past two weeks the stage could not have been bigger for former Missouri Wolverines players. Whether they are at Staley, Oak Park, Liberty, Liberty North, Winnetonka, or Park Hill they represented themselves, their schools, their families and this organization with great pride!! If you were at any of the playoff games you know what I am talking about … you heard the names announced repeatedly over the PA -- Sal Silvio, Blake Moore, D. Richardson, Marquise Doherty, Tyrique Bennett, Chase Williams, Djimon Colbert, Julious Sebastiano, James McMullen, Jack DeGarmo, Josh Watson, Chester Graves, Devin Haney, DJ Johnson, Zach Suppes, Dorian Clayton, Ciaron Willis, Joe McNally, Jacob Pfender, Zack Valdez, Caine Harrison some names you may never hear because they are doing the work in the trenches like Mike Neisler, Isaiah Harris, Keyen Braughton, Aaron Easley, Zach Birch or Logan Doyle … and I know there are more names that if I had rosters in front of me I could go on and on! My point is a simple one, when people talk about the road to St. Louis they often talk about it going through dominant schools like the Blue Springs or Rockhurst or Fort Osage but in reality it goes through the ideals, belief and hard work that was taught through this program. Speed and Agility in the offseason, the Jim Tuso Football Camp (now the Northland Football Camp), coaching Clinics in the offseason like the Glazier and Rockhurst and Winnetonka Camps / Clinics. Literally thousands of hours of work and preparation from men doing it for free, in fact I believe that in most cases these men have actually paid with more than just their time to build the foundation that we see each and every Friday night this playoff season!! I watch these kids play and I think about the impacts that coaches have had on them … some still here, some have moved on and new coaches have stepped up to take on the challenge. Believe me there are many men that have left their mark on these players and I’m certain that if you asked the players they each have their own story to tell! Friday night I was driving to the game and was listening to pre-game with a local radio station and the gentlemen from KC Preps talking positively about both programs.. While they liked both teams the edge kept going back to Fort Osage over Park Hill because of their experience , their deep runs into the State Playoffs over the youth of Park Hill. As I listened I thought to myself that was an interesting analysis – most of the boys on the Fort Osage team wasn’t a part of the previous State runs … or if they were in the recent years, most were underclassman waiting for their opportunity. Then I thought about our kids, sure they were young but the majority of them already have experience and success in championship games, most have already competed at regional or national levels and frankly against competition every bit as good if not better than what they were about to experience that night. Sure they are young but they were ready because they’ve experienced big moments … I thought to myself my son has already played in 10 Championship Football Games counting league SuperBowls, pre and post season tournaments, regional and even national competition all under the helmet of The Missouri Wolverines. These boys are ready and I don’t think that people looking in from the outside understand what was instilled in these kids. When the game was over and the emotions were overflowing on the field I saw many kids, some of their eyes welling up with joy and others knowing that there was still work to be done. That honestly the goal was yet to be achieved. I looked at the Wolverines celebrating on the field and you could see it … they knew there is still work to be done! It was at that moment I knew the guys on the radio didn’t understand the make-up of this team and what the role that being a part of the Missouri Wolverines program had done for the Park Hill Trojans that are still moving forward. The role that the Missouri Wolverines program had done for the teams that competed the previous weeks and how that had helped the Park Hill Trojans get to this point. I honestly believe that if you combine the Missouri Wolverines teams from the past 4 years and put it out on the football field, you’d have a team that would compete with the best in the state in any of the Classes. My final point to wrap up this note ties to a couple of statements above, “Preparing Kids to Play at the Next Level and there are 88 Positions on the Field”. Here is a story that you will not find in the KC Star or on talk radio or social media coming out of last Friday night’s game, but it exemplifies everything that we promote with the Missouri Wolverines. Friday night 4 minutes into the game the score was tied 7 – 7 and the starting QB of Park Hill (Holmes) was injured and didn’t return to the game. (Everyone knows that) – If you open the paper on Saturday you saw a picture of his back up (Benson), running in what was the eventual game winning TD. (Everyone knows that) What you may not know was that Holmes is also the placeholder for extra points and field goals. With the score 20 – 7 the Park Hill Trojans scored a 3rd quarter TD, making the score 20-13 and like most fans in the stands I expected (Sampson) to go out there and make the extra point without incident, however the snap was slightly behind the place holder who made a great catch and got the ball down just in time for Sampson to kick it through the upright. As a coach I remember thinking that was a pivotal play in this game given the score (now 20-14), and a great job by Holmes to get the ball down. WAIT … Holmes wasn’t in the game it was 16 … 16 is Ciaron Willis, he hadn’t held an extra point or field goal (to my knowledge in a varsity game all season) and now he had to step up. In the 4th Quarter the Park Hill Trojans tied the score at 20 and Ciaron went back out the field to hold for what was the biggest extra point this playoff season in Class 5 playoffs. This time it wasn’t your normal extra point as PH had a 15 yard penalty assessed making this a 34 yard extra point. This time the snap was true, Ciaron got the ball down and Sampson kicked it through the uprights for a 21-20 lead. Again I thought to myself that was a big point in the game. With plenty of time left I wasn’t certain that it was going to be the last point of the game but as we all know now it was. 2 Plays, plays that no one is going to write about, that no one is going to talk about and yet those 2 plays out of the hundreds competed on Friday proved to be the difference. I saw 16 after the game, he had a grin ear to ear and I congratulated him for a job well done. Remember there are 88 positions on the field and in this team sport they all matter. You may not find it in the stat book at the end of this season, as no one truly knows how it will end, but right now I know 1 thing, if 16 hadn’t been prepared to respond in big moments (as he did in Florida 2 years earlier with James McMullen kicking the game tying extra point) we might be reading a different story in the paper today. To the players and families of the Missouri Wolverines that might be reading this today, know this, your son has done a remarkable job this season it whatever role he has played. Know that all the coaches in this organization are truly preparing your son/daughter for the next level. It may not be the starting QB or some other position that gets a lot of visibility, just know that when their number is called they will be ready. Proud to be a part of the fraternity that is Missouri Wolverines Coaches and the dedication that they have put into the display you see now whether it be on Friday, Saturday or even Sunday these days!!! 8th Grade Head Coach 10 Year Missouri Wolverine 3 kids who have played in the program Coach Derek Suppes
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 19:03:45 +0000
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