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2006 Spring Practice/Game Thread

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Not sure where to put this.....so....

Dispatch

6/11/06

OSU FOOTBALL

Health risk factors often high for coaches

Lifestyle filled with long hours, lots of stress

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Tim May and Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Ten years ago, 63-year-old Chuck Stobart was feeling no pain when Dr. John Lombardo, then the Ohio State football team physician, insisted that the receivers coach undergo a treadmill test.
The result?
"Dr. Jim Ryan was my cardiologist and the news he gave me was not good at all," Stobart said. "He told me I had several blockages, the most critical being the one they call ‘the widow-maker.’ He told me I could be walking down a golf course or just sitting at home watching television, that when that one totally blocked up, I would keel over and that would be it."
Stobart opted for immediate bypass surgery.
He was not retained after Jim Tressel replaced John Cooper as head coach in 2001, and he retired to Scottsdale, Ariz. He did so, he said, with an overhauled, reinvigorated heart.
"They told me at the time I’d get at least 10 good years, but I want to tell you, my energy level is through the roof at this point," said Stobart, now 73. "I am totally active, I play golf all the time, I work out three times a week. But I guess I was lucky."
Lucky, yes, and not alone among those in his former profession. Football coaches lead stressful jobs, full of pressure, long hours, lack of sleep and travel.
In May, OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman, 51, began not feeling well while out on the road recruiting. He came back to Columbus and underwent bypass surgery on May 27. He is home and recovering.
Bollman’s condition can’t be directly linked to his job, of course, but it can’t be ignored as a possible factor, either.
"The average fan out there doesn’t appreciate the amount of effort that goes into recruiting," current team doctor Chris Kaeding said. "It’s a major demand on their time, a lot of traveling and late nights. That involves disrupted sleeping, entertaining, and it generates stress to get the job done."
During the season, for instance, Stobart was in the office watching film by 7 a.m. each day. His day would continue with pre-practice meetings, then practice, then a quick dinner before watching more film and doing work until about 10 p.m. or so.
"Some days you’d just forget to eat lunch," he said. "At night when you got home you still might have some recruiting calls to make. So you’d get to bed maybe by midnight or 1 a.m., then be up the next morning ready to do it all over again."
The problem, Stobart said, "was I never looked at that as stress. To me, coaching football wasn’t a job. It was a gift. Working with those young men getting them ready to play a game, I just wanted to make sure I did all I could to make them successful.
"But looking back, you could probably say that, for example, standing on the sidelines during a game and screaming at the top of your lungs, with your heart rate up — that’s probably not real good for you."
OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, 57, said when something happens to a colleague like Bollman, "you think about it a little bit."
But he added that a certain amount of risk factors are unavoidable in coaching.
"Coaches are always trying to find a way to get an edge," Heacock said. "Woody (Hayes) was a great example. He started all this as far as trying to get that edge and work a little longer than the opponent. The traditional philosophy and mind-set is that whatever it takes, you do it."
Kaeding said he worries more about younger coaches, who may push themselves harder in order to prove themselves, than he does about the older veterans.
"It’s a double whammy because the younger ones have a certain sense of ‘I’m 28 or 30 years old,’ I’m indestructible,’ " Kaeding said.
Stobart found out that wasn’t true. And he altered his lifestyle after his surgery.
"Suddenly you have all clean pipes, but you’ve got to remember that the same things that caused the other ones to go bad can also clog the new ones," Stobart said. "So you better do better for yourself. I know I started eating some salmon, which I had never cared for before.
"I just think the big thing is, when you’re coaching and recruiting, especially recruiting, you’d have all those long weekends with all those steaks and ribs."
He had seen it firsthand before it happened to him. He worked for coach Bo Schembechler at Michigan for 10 years. Schembechler had several heart attacks during that time and eventually underwent bypass surgery.
"I remember Bo liked to eat, as we all did," Stobart said. "It’s something you get used to when you first start coaching. I mean, all those steaks, and they’re free (at training table). It’s hard to walk away from that."
That’s where Kaeding said it’s the job of the OSU medical staff to step in.
"When it looks like they’re pushing it to the limit, we try to guide them through those times before they have a major health problem," he said. "The successful coaches have learned a way to handle stress. Otherwise, the job will eat you up."

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SPRING GAME

I just rewatched the Spring Game on demand(channel 1111 Time Warner Col users) and saw a few plays that really stood out. I think my favorite play of the game was on Gray's second posession when Jay Richardson comes off the edge, gets hands in his face and has his helmet knocked off, then throws away the tackle and throws Justin Zwick (who wasn't supposed to get any contact) to the ground. That is a mean streak people around here have been waiting to see for four years. You can tell his teammates were excited about seeing, as evidenced by his helmet being placed back on his head like a crown afterwards.

Chris Wells' second carry also stands out. Takes it off-tackle and has Brandon Mitchell (one of the surer tacklers and harder hitters we have) grab his leg and Beanie puts his hand down and keeps his balance, then immediately makes a cut to the left (that brings Hoobler to his knee) and he takes it outside where he beats a DB to the corner, then lowers his shoulder into Anderson Rusell as he goes out of bounds. Just a flash of the power and burst and vision and grace this kid has.

The third play that stood out to me was the sequence in the second quarter that lead to the safety. Trapasso punts the ball from about the offense's 44 yard line and has his punt downed at the 7. Holding, 10 yards, rekick. Trapasso booms one that lands at about the 4, bounces sideways, and is downed inside the one. Looks like a position that was a bit shaky last year will be back to TresselBall standards this year.

Any other plays that you all thought stood out?
 
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I finally got to see the game last night. I had ordered the sports package from DirecTV so I could get ESPNU which is showing YSU at PSU this season, and when I checked to make sure my extra sports channels were activated, I saw that CSTV was showing the game at 6:00 am the next morning and I recorded it.

I'm going to try and burn it to DVD. If anyone wants a copy, let me know...
 
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