on days like this where the HI is already 101 here in Shrevesburg.................. 2 a days,...............the wind sprints at the end were killer!
and to top it off we ate a handful of salt tablets before each practice.............. we had a 5 min break halfway thru practice and got a cup of ICE...........no water...........bet our BP was thru the roof!
Was just telling this exact story to a buddy recently - temps in the 90s and 100s, morning practice from 8ish to 11ish, lunch and nap on gym mats in the ROTC room because it was pitch black with no windows, position and team meetings around 3, then practice from 4ish to 7ish. Navy blue helmets and practice uniforms, salt tablets on the way out of the locker room, and one five minute water break per session, which meant the entire varsity, JV and freshman teams were in line to get at 6 or 8 hoses. To this day the best shape I've ever been in, and probably the most dehydrated as well.
Definitely would have preferred the 8PM, but at that point in my life dealing with heat was WAY easier than getting up for 6AM.
Nah, but a small all-boys Catholic high school in San Antonio with a small athletics budget wasn't much better. Funny thing is since then, a couple of alumni donors have injected a pretty amazing amount of funds and the athletic facilities are now almost second to none. Ahh, if only we had that back in the 80s maybe we wouldn't have gone 4-6 my senior year...
It's funny, when I pick up the little replica UT helmet on the bookshelf in my office it feels like it would give more protection than the old school Riddell I wore. At least it wasn't leather! Geez, I feel old all of a sudden.
All of ouir stuff was Riddell to Saber..............our senior year Puma (If I remember right) came out with a spiffy looking all white with blue stipe cleat and we all went and got a pair to wear as our game cleats.............had a pair of old black screw in the cleats to wear for practice.
Vino............ Jesuit High here in Shreveport for me, we had I think 87 grad class. Think there are only 3 left open in Tex/La...........Dallas, Houston and New Orleans...........thats where most of the priests that were in Shreveport ended up by late 70's.
LaHorn, Puma showed up at our HS with 200 pair of free Puma shoes. Coach told us to get a pair and go out onto the stadium surface, not the practice field. Short nubby non-replaceable cleats. An hour late all 200 pair were on their way to the junior highs. Shortly thereafter, an unnamed company delivered about 300 pair of unmarked kangeroo hyde football shoes, with replaceable cleats. Damn those things were comfortable, but every time you dug into the grass to cut, the heelcup seam split open. We never knew who the company was, but they were really soft and comfy, you just couldn't play in them.
Man it's been so long ago, I can't remember who supplied out gear and uniforms. We had good shoes, the pads were pretty good, but helmets left a lot to be desired. I do remember that.
Joe, Our junior highs (3 of them) got the hand-me-downs from HS. Most coveted were the good facemasks rather than the old double bar. We were undefeated and so was Vidor when we crossed the Neches River to play them. Our coach was a great man of few words, but when we walked from the bus to the sideline and cross the field, I remember those words, "Gentlemen, when do you think they ran the cows off". Third play into the game, we had broken two of the coveted facemasks just from hitting the ground.
Dirt? You should have played in El Paso. I remember Lee Trevino came to do an exhibition on time and complained the course looked like it had polio. He should have seen our football and baseball field at Patkland HS. At least the football field had patches of grass at the beginning of the year.
You know the Millennials will say these memories are like the one walking to school uphill Both ways IN THE SNOW.
