Watch some 7/8 tackle GA Giants boys during a scrimmage last Saturday. Just a few plays each, video quality is not that great because it was taken from a phone.

In the morning, I wake up before the game.
I can already hear the fans cheering my name.

I feel that intense beating in my heart
And I know it is time for #46 to do his part.

Every single heartbeat pulses like seconds on the clock
Stirring my mind and body to get ready for the block.

The impending battle is about to begin
Time to focus on how to win.

I remind myself that fear is not an option, not today.
I’m here to play, I’m here to stay.

So, with piercing eyes, I look across that line
To let my opponent know that this day is mine.

With a swift swoosh of the football, I make the snap
And it lands perfectly in the hands of my quarterback.

While I block my defender with all my might,
the quarterback hands off the ball and I continue the fight.

Down the field, #9 carries the ball
Into the end zone, it is a 6 point victory for all.

I have won this round, but the game continues.
I have to work hard, I just can’t lose.

Today is not the day I will let down my band of brothers.
I will protect them like no others.

Today is not the day I will not let down my coach.
I will not allow the defense to encroach.

Today is not the day I will let down myself.
If I don’t do this for me, then there is no one else.

Today is the day I will live my passion, my dream.
GA Giants, that’s my team!

by Nico Russolillo

FRISCO, TX – The Frisco Police Department will be hosting its first ever Fingerprint Fair this upcoming Saturday, April 17, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the police department headquarters building, located at 7200 Stonebrook Parkway. Parents are invited to bring their children ages 12 and under to the police department in order to have a complete identification card completed that includes fingerprints, photographs, DNA, and more!

Not only will parents be able to walk away with a completed identification card of their child, but children will have the opportunity to meet Cell Phone Sally and McGruff the Crime Dog. There will also be a storyteller, face painting, and free snacks and drinks. The fair is an excellent opportunity for parents and children to meet police department personnel in a friendly and fun environment.

The Fingerprint Fair is being hosted by the Frisco Police Department’s Communications and Community Services Divisions and is aimed at achieving public service through cooperation, education, and community service.

For more information about this event, call the Community Services Division at 972.292.6145 or email Services@FriscoTexas.gov.

Michael Vick, great player, probably one of the best until he decided that he was untouchable, that conviction did not go far, he was convicted of gambling and dog-fighting charges.

Road to redemption: Most Americans knew little about the nation’s dog-fighting subculture until Vick’s case. The magnitude of the animal cruelty shocked the public. He served 18 months in prison and lost his $130 million contract and millions more in endorsements. He fell into bankruptcy. When the NFL allowed him to resume his career — over the protest of animal rights activists — he started over as a backup for the Eagles. He took all the requisite PR steps, expressing remorse in the media (most notably his “60 Minutes” interview) and participating in charitable causes.

Outcome: Minimal redemption. After one season as a low-profile reserve, he’s eager to assume a starting role. Public outrage over his case has subsided, but he must accomplish much more, and more and more on and off the field to regain full popularity.

Barry Bonds, never really liked baseball, but I liked his style, until rumors surfaced about his steroids abuse, what a looser! Alleged, yea alleged! steroid abuse, perjury!

Road to redemption: The BALCO steroid distribution case implicated Bonds, Jason Giambi, Marion Jones, Bill Romanowski and other athletes as abusers. In the face of substantial evidence, Bonds denied he knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. Federal investigators didn’t buy his story, and Bonds was later indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. That case is still pending.

Outcome: No redemption. He became baseball’s all-time career home run leader, but finished his career with the steroid cloud over his head. He hoped to continue playing, but no team offered him a contract. Some Giants fans seem willing to forgive his alleged PED abuse, but he remains an outcast in the sport, as he should be!

Ray Lewis, great linebacker he was Charged with double murder. Apparently, he just hang around with the wrong croud, most of the times that is enough to get you in big trouble!

Road to redemption: Lewis copped a plea to obstructing a police investigation, agreeing to testify against his cohorts in their trial for stabbing two men in a 2000 nightclub brawl. Lewis plowed on with his career as middle linebacker of the Baltimore Ravens, leading the NFL in tackles the next season. The league honored him as its Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XXXV and was named the game’s MVP. He’s been named to the Pro Bowl 11 times and is regarded as one the best team leaders the league’s ever seen.

Outcome: Full redemption. He’s expressed regret over the death of the two stabbing victims, but also anger over his prosecution. After this ordeal, he became more active in Baltimore charities and churches. In time, he regained his commercial viability, too.

NFL considering a ban on the three-point stance? This is correct found this article on AP and suggests studies are leaning toward greater risk when engaged or engaging in a 3-point stance, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says.

Concerned about concussions, Goodell said the league will keep looking for ways to make the game safer. Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” hours before the Super Bowl, he didn’t rule out the idea of banning the three-point stance for linemen to reduce the ferocity of collisions at the line of scrimmage.

“As you’ll see tonight, you’ll see a lot of players that never get down in a three-point stance,” Goodell said yesterday. “So it’s possible that would happen.”

While science is still trying to determine the long-term effects of concussions, Goodell said, the league has made progress in increasing awareness about the severity of such injuries.

“For many years the culture had been quite different – that concussions weren’t serious injuries,” he said. “I think we have changed that culture and made sure that people understand they are serious, and they can have serious consequences if they’re not treated properly.”

Goodell has met with NFL competition committee co-chair Rich McKay to begin evaluating possible rules changes.

Another priority for Goodell is the league’s stalled labor negotiations. He predicted players’ salaries will still grow under a new agreement, even if their share of revenue is reduced as owners have proposed.

Goodell said the owners need more money to cover rising costs for international ventures and infrastructure projects such as new stadiums.

“You have to invest in these stadiums that we’re in today,” the commissioner said. “You need to find new ways of creating revenue, whether it’s international or otherwise. And that takes investment. And we need to make sure that the owners have the capital to be able to do that. And then the pie grows, and everyone benefits.”

The union has said management wants players to reduce their share to 41 percent of applied revenues from about 59 percent. Goodell counters that of the $3.6 billion in incremental revenues since 2006, players received $2.6 billion.

“We want to structure something that really is going to lead us into the next decade in a way that’s constructive, so the players benefit, the teams benefit, and most of all, the game,” Goodell said.

Watch these young men as they perform some effective blocking, pass blocking and other related drills.

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Pray for Kate

A lot of times life hands you a curve ball! Please help support any cancer organizations in your area. Here is a great story of survival!!

Photos courtesy of Lidia Boicu (Oh So Posh Photography)

The sport of football has the most number of positions of any sport. The skills needed to play each position are extremely different. Consider this.  An individual’s athletic skill and size potential are the most important criteria. These can help decide an individual’s position potential based on skills needed for a specific position. Linemen for instance need to have a large build and strength to be successful. Skill positions (running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs) all need to have lean muscular builds, speed and agility to perform at a high level.

Athletic ability can be measured using a battery of physical tests. A forty-yard dash test is used to measure speed and explosion in an athlete. Explosion is key, particularly when playing in middle school and up.  Tools to help a player can differ.  Bench press and squat max lifts are used to find players upper and lower body power levels. A vertical jump measure is a pure test of one’s natural ability. This test provides the best measure of athletic potential.

Confidence, yes confidence you would think would be a trait any football player would posses, although after coaching my first year of tackle a realized there are way too many scared kids out there. Confidence or the level of aggressiveness plays a significant role in football because of the drastic contrast between offensive and defensive players.  A focused, and cool under pressure temperament is best suited for positions such as quarterback, wide receiver and kicker. While aggressiveness, ferocity and brash are traits tend to favor players on defense such as linebackers and safeties. All things being equal it is always best to have a balance of all of these characteristics. Regardless, if you don’t have the kind of ferocity needed you will not succeed at any positions.

- Quarterback: Intelligence, calmness, leadership ability, arm strength, upper body development and a tall lean build.

- Running back: Toughness, focus, agility, speed, balance, endurance and a compact muscular build.

- Wide receiver: Speed, hand-eye coordination, jumping ability, agility, focus and a tall lean build.

- Kicker: Focus, lower body strength and flexibility a soccer background.

- Lineman: Power, strength, aggressiveness, discipline and a large build.

- Linebacker: Aggressiveness, intensity, power, agility, and a large muscular build.

- Defensive back: Courage, aggressiveness, intensity, agility, quickness and a muscular build.

Each of the characteristics physical and personality wise are just criteria that most typical players at each position may possess. The measure of success in the game of football at any level mostly relies on the one intangible that cannot be quantified. The measure of an athlete’s heart, again, I said heart goes further than any physical or mental skill they may have. Players from the NFL such as Doug Flutie

, Walter Payton, Sam Mills, and Wayne Chrebet are examples of athletes with limited physical skills that have played the game of football at a high level. Walter Payton became the greatest football player ever. Payton overcame average athletic skill but with the heart of a lion was able to triumph. This shows that regardless if you are a star athlete or not having heart, dedication and determination at something goes along way, sometimes further then pure athleticism.

This post is not about sports, football or stats. If anyone ever had relatives or family with a cancer related issue would appreciate this story. Please donate to support this cause.

The Tiny Sparrow Foundation will soon be an established non-profit organization started by cancer survivor and passionate photographer Lidia Boicu. Lidia has endured a grueling battle with breast cancer and knows all too well how families are impacted any and all forms of cancer, especially those families whose children are the target of this unforgiving disease. During her journey, Lidia decided to use her love of photography as an outlet to relieve some of the frustration, anxiety, and pain she would be feeling at different times from chemotherapy and surgical procedures. If you take just a moment to view some of her work at Oh So Posh Photography, you will see that Lidia has been blessed with an incredible talent for capturing beautiful images, precious faces, and distinct personalities.

For Lidia, it wasn’t just enough to establish herself as a talented photographer. She wants to use her time selflessly to personally photograph children with cancer to capture a lifetime of memories for families who may not have a lifetime to spend together. Through her Tiny Sparrow Foundation, Lidia will be able to travel to families who have children with cancer to take pictures, then provide them with a photo album, Christmas cards, and irreplaceable images. She has already photographed precious Kate McRae and little baby Walker who are both suffering from childhood cancer.

Lidia’s fledgling Tiny Sparrow Foundation could use your support in the form of donations or just by spreading the news by word of mouth to your friends and families. Many great projects are in the works, but they all require funding. Lidia would like to network with other photographers so as to minimize traveling expenses. If you know of any photographers that would be interested in donating their time and services, please use this contact form. Lidia is simply asking anybody that is willing to help and that has it in their hearts to be part of creating some memories for families struck by the tragedy of cancer (or any other terminal illness) to donate whatever they can so she can get this started. If not, please take the time to spread the word and visit this site for updates and stories about the development of the Tiny Sparrow Foundation.

We are a family of 6 with 3 boys and 1 girl and another boy on the way.  We love football and our oldest 2 sons have a dream like most boys their age…..to one day play in the NFL.  While this is a very ambitious goal and not easily attainable, we are trying to provide every opportunity to help them develop their football skills to the highest level possible.  Throughout our journey, we have learned a lot about the sport itself, places and camps that genuinely work with kids to teach the fundamentals, and leagues that offer higher levels of competition.  We would like to share our thoughts, ideas, and experiences as we continue this journey from elementary, into middle school, college, and beyond.