FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[PolarCat]

PC is glad to see Pep has awakened from his hibernation, and is back in mid-season form.  How do your Saxons look this year?  That was a quality win over Husson, and a great story with your honorary captain, Julio Fuentes.  For anyone looking for an inspirational story while we wait for the CAC to begin play, check this out: http://gosaxons.com/news/2016/8/19/saxon-football-team-to-honor-julio-fuentes.aspx?path=football

[amh63]

Nice bold prediction from AUPepBand and well said.  Had to correct my earlier post to make it clearer and readable .  Readable English is not my " first language", I guess.  Too much fresh air in upstate NY for a city boy...return to the DC area on Thursday where the air is "Hot" and full of (Blank).
Am worried...a bit...wrt the Contentials.  Much respect for HFC and what he did at Alfred U.  Amherst opens with Hamilton this season.  Hope for a good win on Pratt Field.
Do like the thought of using a rotation of QBs like the Texas Longhorns.  A friend gave me an official Texas ball cap...I returned the favor with an Amherst ball cap. 
Have no info on the senior Big RB from Ct and his health at this time. 

[IslandTime]

JJ Dunn was my son's player chaperone on our visit to Williams. GREAT KID. Showed us all around campus with Coach Ware. Don't believe he has much actual game experience.

If he gets the job, I hope nothing but the best for him. Outside of when playing Amherst

[quicksilver]

. . . Was the injured QB at Williams from Easton, Md.  There was a recruit from Easton that played QB in HS but ended up at another position.
Also, there was a FY QB player, named J.Dunn on Williams' 2015 roster...good size and el.  What happened to him...from your friends/ rumor mill?
If the injured QB is the Easton Md, I have a story on the player to share.

I found an article in the Berkshire Eagle a few days ago that said that Soph Amyhr Barber was a contender for the QB spot for Williams and that he was being converted from the defensive side. He was a cornerback for the Ephs as a FY. When I looked him up, he played CB and WR in high school (Gilman) so a little bit of a mystery as to why he would be becoming a QB at this point in his career . . .

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

I can't confirm who the injured Eph QB is... I assumed it was Barbour as I was told it was an athletic soph DB.... 

And, yes... JJ Dunn was a QB at The Canterbury School prior to Williams.  He played QB in last year's pre-season..... Was listed all year at QB, but I'd heard he wasn't in the running and was considered "an athlete".......... 

Given things in Billsville, now..... I'm sure they'll look at all options........

[PBPOP20]

Anyone know if the pre-season scrimmages are open for spectators?  Or, do the coaches discourage attendance?   

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

PBPOP20......  Intrasquads and Scrimmages typically are attended by parents.  Coaches are indifferent to attendance by parents who sit and watch (preferably silently)............

[lumbercat]

Colby Football
Glad you are encouraged in new Mule OC but dont be worried about re arranging deck chairs---you are new to Colby football, back off a bit----take some time to evaluate things without impulsive comment- your Colby FY will compete and he will do well. Its not high school anymore- the Colby coaching staff will take it from here- and your son will get a great education- he's in a good place.

[PolarCat]

Just to set some reasonable expectations for some of the FY parents: It is exceedingly rare for a FY to see significant playing time anywhere in the NESCAC, and even rarer still for them to be a starter.  The exceptions tend to be specialists like kickers, punters and holders.  If your son doesn't see the field outside of practice, the one scrimmage, and the JV game (if they have one), it's not a big deal.  In my experience (which I think others here will confirm), the kids are usually fine with this.  It's the parents who are used to seeing their little Johnny be the star who have the hardest time with watching him ride the pine.

Every team has at least one FY parent who has an inflated opinion of his kid's abilities, and complains to everyone in earshot about how the coach is crazy for not starting little Johnny.  By the third game of the season, every other parent avoids him like the plague.  Don't be that guy.

The best advice we can give you is just enjoy the ride freshman year.  Learn about the team and the traditions.  Work on your own tailgating game (it can be pretty competitive at some schools).  Make the acquaintance of the other parents, the long-time fans, even the college presidents and administrators who are unabashed fans (we Bobcats are lucky in that regard). There are some great folks with wonderful stories in the stands.  Above all, don't embarrass your kid.  Adjusting to college (often with "the roommate from hell") is tough enough.

The four years / 32 games is going to fly by, so just sit back and enjoy the experience.

[frank uible]

Dick Farley used to say that he only liked to play freshmen when they became sophomores. If you don't know who Dick Farley is, it would not be an unreasonable early task as a new NESCAC football parent to learn.

[polbear73]

Just to set some reasonable expectations for some of the FY parents: It is exceedingly rare for a FY to see significant playing time anywhere in the NESCAC, and even rarer still for them to be a starter.  The exceptions tend to be specialists like kickers, punters and holders.  If your son doesn't see the field outside of practice, the one scrimmage, and the JV game (if they have one), it's not a big deal.  In my experience (which I think others here will confirm), the kids are usually fine with this.  It's the parents who are used to seeing their little Johnny be the star who have the hardest time with watching him ride the pine.

Every team has at least one FY parent who has an inflated opinion of his kid's abilities, and complains to everyone in earshot about how the coach is crazy for not starting little Johnny.  By the third game of the season, every other parent avoids him like the plague.  Don't be that guy.



The best advice we can give you is just enjoy the ride freshman year.  Learn about the team and the traditions.  Work on your own tailgating game (it can be pretty competitive at some schools).  Make the acquaintance of the other parents, the long-time fans, even the college presidents and administrators who are unabashed fans (we Bobcats are lucky in that regard). There are some great folks with wonderful stories in the stands.  Above all, don't embarrass your kid.  Adjusting to college (often with "the roommate from hell") is tough enough.

The four years / 32 games is going to fly by, so just sit back and enjoy the experience.

Thoughtful and insightful post.  Very true. 

[PBPOP20]

Dick Farley used to say that he only liked to play freshmen when they became sophomores. If you don't know who Dick Farley is, it would not be an unreasonable early task as a new NESCAC football parent to learn.

If you don't know who Dick Farley is, it would not be unreasonable to assume you're only a casual fan of the game. Man is a legend.

[Eagle322]

An interesting change in pre-season for Bates/Colby this year. Sounds like they are going to be participating in a joint practice this Saturday, rather than the traditional scrimmage in which the starters battle it out for 2 quarters and then the 3rd string/freshmen participate in a few 10-play drives.

Personally, I think this is a great idea. It will allow the players to go head-to-head with some new faces and get some quality, controlled, reps against starters from another team. All the while, coaches will be able to critique the players and provide more hands-on instruction than they would be able to in a pre-season scrimmage. This environment should also decrease any injury risk - the Colby/Bates scrimmage was devastating a few years back for Bates (2013?) when they lost an all-NESCAC caliber RB for the year with a broken leg. On top of that, a few guys always walk away from that one banged up - which is never a good thing the week before the opener!

Anyways - looking forward to seeing/hearing how this works out for both teams. For Bates, it will be interesting to see how QB1 Plashkes looks in reps vs. 1st team defenders and also if Bates has developed any type of up-the-middle run game, which was absolutely invisible last year.

[lumbercat]

Thanks Eagle
Is the combined practice with Colby this Saturday or next week 9/17 ?
I believe it will be at Colby this year, correct?

[lumbercat]

PB POP20

To my knowledge most scrimmages are open to the public.
Too difficult to restrict access to most NESCAC venues anyway.

However, last year Tufts traveled to Bowdoin for a combined practice. When I made an anonymous inquiry for the time I was firmly told by the Bowdoin SID that it was not open to the public.

Assume the ex Trinity buddies, Civetti and Wells will get together in Medford this year.

Things have really changed since the days of the annual 3 way scrimmage between Bates, Bowdoin and Colby which was quite an event in the day.