NOTE: This is a look in the rear view mirror at what we used to do for the first week of summer conditioning. It was dubbed “Hell Week” by participants. Friday…the final day of the first week. We’ve started the bodies on the road to becoming the explosive athletes we need to be in order to compete. We’ve started to thread in a team concept and give the kids an idea of what it takes to play Clay Center Tiger Football. And now it’s time to wrap up Week One and slingshot our way toward the season.
Friday of Hell Week was one of my favorite days of coaching football, especially in those years we were able to move the Friday Hell Week workout to our home field, the historic Otto Unruh Stadium. On Friday, we introduced the kids to the historic aspect of the program. We tried to make the kids aware they were part of something bigger and something greater. It is important for us to have a foot rooted in the past while the other moves forward. We also tried to make the kids aware of the role they have in the community and to appreciate the town that supports them like few other places on this earth.
Friday. Finally the end of the week. The attitudes and the energy are riding high. Kids are working through the soreness and starting to feel like human beings again. Friday. This was a special day for me. Tiger Tradition Day. Until the admins told us we couldn’t use our stadium due to grounds-keeping concerns, we did the Hell Week Friday at Otto Unruh Stadium. I think we lost something magical when we quit running this first Friday workout at the stadium. If I had to do it all over again, I would have never asked the admins for permission to use stadium facility. Shoot first and ask questions later.
Friday
Winning is not a sometime thing, it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do the right thing once in a while; you do things right all the time. Winning is a habit.” -Vince Lombardi
6:30 -6:40 Stretch Runs
6:40-7:30 Tiger Tradition
I. FANS – Otto Unruh Stadium seats
A. Expectations and community pride
1. Fans, parents, relatives want to see you do well, everyone wants us to be successful.
2. Strong community sense of pride in this school’s athletic programs.
10 Stair Sprints – sprint up, walk down.
B. Entertainment and Social Importance
1. Friday night in America – CC true to this mantra.
2. Tiger Football is the show on Friday nights in this town.
Families, friends all gather to celebrate Tiger football…Let’s give them the best damn show EVERY Friday night. Let’s let our families and friends to have something to BRAG about and be PROUD of.
5 minutes of stadium stairs
II. Tradition – Otto Unruh Stadium Sign
A. 100 years of Clay Center football
1. 836 games, 453-337-46 record, a .542 winning %
2. 63% of all teams had a winning record
3. 10 undefeated seasons
B. Highlights and Dynasties
1. V.R. Vegades Era 1920-1926; 42-10-2, a .778 winning %, 1920 – 7-1 record
- 1921 – 8-1 undefeated regular season. Lost to Topeka in playoffs.
- 1922 – 7-1 Did not get scored on all season until last game, a 7-6 loss to Manhattan. Beat Concordia 101-0.
- 1923 – 6-1, No TD’s given up the entire season. Lost final game to Manhattan 6-3 but only gave up 2 FG’s.
- 1924 – 6-1, only gave up 3 TD’s all season.
2. C.A. Nelson Era 1930-1941; 69-27-13, a .670 winning %
- 3 undefeated seasons.
3. Otto Unruh Era, 1945-1966; 126-65-8, a .633 winning %
Won 3 Class A State Championships; Domination and consistent competitiveness in the CKL; Nationally published book “How to Coach Winning Football”.
- 3 undefeated 9-0 seasons.
- 1956 and 1957 teams went 18-0 and won 2 state titles.
- 1963 team went 8-1 and won state championship. Only loss of year was to Manhattan, 7-6, on a missed PAT.
4. Larry Wiemers Era, 1977-1994; 114-71, a .616 winning%
- Solid, consistent football over twenty years.1978, 1979, 1980 teams went 26-5.
-2 District championships and 3 NCKL titles - 1980 team went 10-1, losing only to Andover in the regional final.
-1983, 1984, 1985 teams went 25-8
-Substate, district and bi-district titles. - 1993 team went 10-1
-NCKL champs, district, bi-district, regional runner-up
-Andover regional heartbreaker loss at Unruh Stadium.
100 yard flip hip sprint to north end.
100 yard bear crawl back.
III. Hold the Rope
A. This is OUR HOUSE, this is OUR TURF! We will crank it up an extra notch at home.
B. Where do you want to fit into the Tiger Tradition? Who in this group is going to Hold the Rope?
Coach Lane reads Hold the Rope while 5 min. Chain Wall Sit across stadium wall.
IV. Breakdown – 50 yard line
Imagine: Friday night in Clay Center, America. Walk as team to north end zone.
100 yard sprint to touch the “Otto Unruh Stadium” sign.
THE COACH HAYS 