I know we have some old school peeps on here that played sports in a little different time, with regard to how coaches treated players and ran their programs. I only played football through 10th grade, mainly because my high school team, Jeff Davis, now JAG or some shit, was absolutely loaded with talent, and I was a 150 pound tackling dummy. Looking back, I can name at least 7 guys that went D1 football, including Auburn QB, Charlie Trotman, Arkansas RB, Thomas Brown, Alabama OT, Mike Brock and Fuck Georgia OG, James Brown. I love me some football, but it didn’t take me long to realize that baseball was more to my liking.
Back then, coaches in all sports had far more leeway to handle players the way they saw fit. Had one baseball coach, at a rival school, get so pissed at one of his players for intentionally knocking his helmet off when he ran the bases, that he stopped a scrimmage game, and walked out to second base and wrapped tape around his helmet and chin just to prove a point. My own high school baseball coach was legendary for his rants, and you’d better stand clear when he walked towards the batting helmets, because he’d use them for field goal practice when he got pissed, and you just might be the goal post. It was common place for a football coach to grab your face mask and either “steer you” to where you were supposed to be, or merely to make sure they had your undivided attention while offering constructive, positive reinforcement.
I know that coaches are no less intense today than they were back in my era, but the environment is different in what you can and can’t do. Plus, everything is on teh videos these days, including things that happen at practice in Hoover, Alabama. If you haven’t seen those videos, actually taken by staff while filming practice, you should. They show why Head Coach, Drew Gilmer, and an assistant are on administrative leave. Not sure if it was Gilmer, or the assistant, or both who 1. Ripped a player’s helmet off, 2. Knocked a player to the ground, and 3. Dry humped a player’s face while he was on all fours.
I’m gonna’ guess Coach Gilmer will soon be just, Drew Gilmer. Anybody have, or anyone see some crazy corching “techniques” while you played whatever sport?