FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[amh63]

NESCACGrad.....welcome BACK to the board!  I guess you changed your "handle".  Your post wrt former non CAC football opponents brought back some memories.  In particular the Coast Guard Academy in New London.  Amherst also played the CGA in football....not WPI.  However, I recall when the Amherst HFC DARP canceled future games with the CGA over actions by the HC of the CGA....at the time, a former NFL star QB with the first name OTTO, I believe.  Yes, Amherst HCs can be sensitive...if there is cause
What school did your future Amherst student attend?  In any case, hope to meet you and your son in the future.

[frank uible]

As I recall, at an annual American Football Coaches convention in front of a number of coaches Otto Graham said to Darp something to the effect that so long as Darp continued to use the pass defense which he was employing CGA would continue to beat Amherst.

[PolarCat]

Sounds like Graham was right, Darp was intransigent, and it was easier to change the schedule than take the L's.

[jknezek]

PolarCat, funny you should ask. . . .I have not posted in two years because my oldest son did NOT end up going to a NESCAC.  He is currently a sophomore olineman at Davidson.  While the football team has had its challenges, he loves his school and his teammates, and while it's not a NESCAC, the weather is usually better (although not this week  ).

It's my second son who will be attending Amherst in the fall.  While he got some Div I and Div II looks like his older brother, at the end of the day, he did not want the grind of the Div I football experience.  If not Amherst, he likely would have ended up at Washington and Lee.  We are from Northern VA, and while the allure of the cheaper in-state alternatives was attractive (UVA and W&M), there was no way either of my two older sons could have played football at that high a level. 

I find the talk here about the 8 game schedule and the lack of playoff opportunities for NESCAC football to be quite interesting - especially given that several of the high academic Div III schools that compete with the NESCACs for recruits all tout those reasons for why recruits should go to their schools instead!  Johns Hopkins and W&L, in particular, distinguish themselves from the NESCACs in this fashion.  I guess for a certain recruit, a longer schedule may be a selling point; for my son, it was never an issue.

Bummer for my alma mater W&L! What position? If he plays on offense W&L's spread option appeals to a few particular types of players. It's a lot of fun for the Oline and backs, but receivers are a bit less attracted to the school. Good luck! It's always nice when players find their "spot" at a good school.

[NESCACGrad]

NESCACGrad.....welcome BACK to the board!  I guess you changed your "handle".  Your post wrt former non CAC football opponents brought back some memories.  In particular the Coast Guard Academy in New London.  Amherst also played the CGA in football....not WPI.  However, I recall when the Amherst HFC DARP canceled future games with the CGA over actions by the HC of the CGA....at the time, a former NFL star QB with the first name OTTO, I believe.  Yes, Amherst HCs can be sensitive...if there is cause
What school did your future Amherst student attend?  In any case, hope to meet you and your son in the future.

amh63, both my sons attended a large public high school in Fairfax County: Oakton.  Thanks for the kind words.  My future Lord Jeff is an olineman - probably a tackle at the Div III level as he's 6 3.  Looking forward to meeting you in the fall!

[NESCACGrad]

Bummer for my alma mater W&L! What position? If he plays on offense W&L's spread option appeals to a few particular types of players. It's a lot of fun for the Oline and backs, but receivers are a bit less attracted to the school. Good luck! It's always nice when players find their "spot" at a good school.
[/quote]

jknezek, my son plays offensive tackle.  W&L is a great school and a great football program.  I definitely could have seen my son happy there. . . .

[jknezek]

Bummer for my alma mater W&L! What position? If he plays on offense W&L's spread option appeals to a few particular types of players. It's a lot of fun for the Oline and backs, but receivers are a bit less attracted to the school. Good luck! It's always nice when players find their "spot" at a good school.

jknezek, my son plays offensive tackle.  W&L is a great school and a great football program.  I definitely could have seen my son happy there. . . .
[/quote]

Yeah. But everyone needs to find their spot. Good luck to him and you. Enjoy those games. The four years worth of games passes quickly. My kids are still little, but we get to one or two W&L games a year. The parents at the tailgates always lament how quickly their sons college career seems to end.

[amh63]

jknezek.....some small world comments wrt to Washington & Lee on the Nescac boards.  My oldest son, an Amherst alum, was recruited by W&L via some neighbors.  In his senior year he finally made it to Lexington when he gave a talk on campus during a technical society mtg.  A frequent poster on these boards...Bucket...is an alum, as his wife, of W&L. Bucket's father lives in Lexington and is an alum?  Who knows, he maybe a classmate, for he does have a young son.  The MBB coach at W&L is an Amherst alum and the HC of MBB at Amherst just hired an W&L grad as an assistant coach.

[jknezek]

jknezek.....some small world comments wrt to Washington & Lee on the Nescac boards.  My oldest son, an Amherst alum, was recruited by W&L via some neighbors.  In his senior year he finally made it to Lexington when he gave a talk on campus during a technical society mtg.  A frequent poster on these boards...Bucket...is an alum, as his wife, of W&L. Bucket's father lives in Lexington and is an alum?  Who knows, he maybe a classmate, for he does have a young son.  The MBB coach at W&L is an Amherst alum and the HC of MBB at Amherst just hired an W&L grad as an assistant coach.

I was aware of the basketball ties. I suspect Coach Hutchinson is a very good coach to have W&L hovering close to mid-pack most years in the ODAC. Before him, and even a few years he's been there, we have been simply appalling. He probably doesn't get enough credit for making us mostly respectable.

I'm a '00 grad. Club sports only, but I was the sports editor of a now defunct campus newspaper for two of my four years. Following W&L athletics seems to be an extension of that long ago position.

I suspect J.D. Eye will be a very good coach someday if he can stick with it long enough to progress where it pays to live and eat. He was a stellar player, but more than that, he was an on court coach. He really had a knack for getting an undermanned W&L team to punch above its weight. I think that should translate well, and I was sad to see him leave W&L's program but Amherst is an amazing place for him to learn the tools of the trade.

J.D. Ey... dang autocorrect

[westcoastDad]

I understand some of the Amherst seniors are preparing for professional play overseas.  Anyone one on the board have experience with kids playing abroad?  Good, bad....?

[PolarCat]

You should read Playing For Pizza, one of my all time favorite John Grisham novels.  Not that he's ever published a bad one.

[daoustian]

Good WR recruit for Amherst class of 2020. http://homenewshere.com/wilmington_town_crier/sports/article_21ffa7c0-a9bd-11e5-b969-d7ebc7b68f79.html

[PolarCat]

In most conferences in the country, a story like this would be talking about the Football or Basketball program.  Not here in the 'CAC.  "Voy a sacudir tu mundo esta noche, si me hablas en español, muchacho"  Gind of gives new meaning to Purple Moose:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/12/29/lawsuit-claims-teaching-assistants-at-amherst-were-told-to-sleep-with-students-to-boost-class-enrollment/

[amh63]

PolarCat.....it is a strange story in all aspects and does come from the Post that has become increasingly strange.  Never been aware of TA's in a language class in the modern era of technology.  In my days, in the French dept, Fullbright type scholars were used to help teach the language in small groups...on Saturday mornings....like using tape machines in a booth...that soon were incorporated in later years.  French101 type language classes.  We used to bring wine to classes to chat with the instructor and avoid the rigor of repetitive exchanges...classes were at 8 AM on Sat!  Cannot speak wrt to Spanish classes....do not remember if there was such a dept.....Latin and Greek...yes. 
Times they are a changing.  Story will make even more Alums Mad at the present Prez...just sent an e-mail to us to to let us know that she is NOW aware of keeping us folks abreast of her efforts....school starting to feel the lost of donations from older alums...like me .

[Jonny Utah]

PolarCat.....it is a strange story in all aspects and does come from the Post that has become increasingly strange.  Never been aware of TA's in a language class in the modern era of technology.  In my days, in the French dept, Fullbright type scholars were used to help teach the language in small groups...on Saturday mornings....like using tape machines in a booth...that soon were incorporated in later years.  French101 type language classes.  We used to bring wine to classes to chat with the instructor and avoid the rigor of repetitive exchanges...classes were at 8 AM on Sat!  Cannot speak wrt to Spanish classes....do not remember if there was such a dept.....Latin and Greek...yes. 
Times they are a changing.  Story will make even more Alums Mad at the present Prez...just sent an e-mail to us to to let us know that she is NOW aware of keeping us folks abreast of her efforts....school starting to feel the lost of donations from older alums...like me .

This story sounds fishy.  Why would Amherst College even care about enrollment issues in the Spanish program?  I'm going to guess that Spanish is never going to be eliminated as a "world language" at a school like Amherst.

Language TA's usually meet 2-3 times a week with classes, usually the 101/102 levels.