Coach Flip Naumburg's Journal

Sunday, November 28, 2004

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

We (family) were lucky enough to get home before the blizzard hit Colorado. It was balmy in Central Florida. It is zero here. The wife and brother-in-law heroically went out for daily sustenance items at the market this morning. As darkness settles, it brings with it large helpings of blowing snow a la Stephen King, and I am thinking that no one will be leaving Naumburg’s Ridge for some time.

OH DANNY BOY

Danny Stevens (A-#32) was behind us in line in the Orlando Airport yesterday. Neither of us had a clue beforehand. This is a very good sign as far as I am concerned. I like always having my team close to me. He was fortunate enough to not be sitting near us on the actual flight, which was two hours late for its Denver arrival. I have no complaints. We have been flying fairly smoothly lately, and the little ones were really pretty good for this trip.

APPLE CORE, BALTIMORE

I am so pleased with the whole feeling of the core group concept so far with this CSU team. It’s all about roles. I know that is cliche’, but that’s what is happening. Practice has been intense and it has been fun to coach and watch kids who want to be coached. The bus is now loading….. It’s filling up quickly. Get thee on the sacred bus or get thee gone.

I want to live and or die with the solid core. It takes faith to opt at times for perhaps less talented players in an attempt to make the whole team better. That will be one of my tests this year.

Yes, we need stars and talent, and we have some of that and I hope we always willl, but individual talent no longer concerns me. I am quite certain, however, that the 7, count them, 7 Division I rejects that Florida State has picked up this year have contributed to their meteoric rise. The Seminoles went from somewhere near nowhere all the way to like 7th in the MDIA preseason poll. Even so, it is TEAM talent that I crave, and that does not simply spill over onto the picture because of whatever specific individuals are splashed onto the field.

HOME DEPOT CENTER

We are to play National Champion UCSB at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles on February 12. It should be a lot of fun, a rematch of last May's Championship. It will be part of a larger event with 4 Division I teams playing each other at the HDC. That is how we got the opportunity. I am finalizing our schedule this week hopefully. Many people are waiting for it to come out. Me, too.

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