Dad or other large influence

FGS,

You have always struck me as a very good young man, now I know you are. My greatest influences in regards to athletics were my older brother, my uncle, and a cousin. My father was an alcoholic and that about sums it up. He was a good man as far as providing for our family, etc. but as far as being around him I was not. He and my mother divorced after 28 years of marriage (me and my twin brother were 4 years old) and I never saw him again until I was playing ball in school.

At any rate, my older brother was not very talented in any of the three sports, but was one of those guys who loved them with all of his heart. He started me in football at the age of 4 by having me play with him and his friends. He was 9 years my senior. hey would flex me out and no one on the other side would ever think they were going to throw me the ball. They would throw it to me and those teenagers caught on real quick that I could catch it and as we were playing tackle, they delighted in smashing me around after the catch. hehehe But, it really made me a lot better as the years went by. My cousin who was 15 years my senior was a standout in all 3 sports and his father was a member of the 1932 Olympic Boxing team. So. my "gene pool" came from my mother's side of the family. The real formative influences came from my coaches all along the way, as far as building good mechanics as a QB and playing D as well. I soon learned that I would rather throw the ball than catch it and played QB since the 7th grade. I was blessed at all levels with coaches who really knew their stuff and could communicate it well to guys like me. I played all 3 major sports, being a QB and DB on the football team, a catcher on the Baseball team, and the point guard in basketball. I discerned real early on all I ever wanted to do was to coach and ended up coaching all 3 sports at one time or the other. But, Football was always my first love and it is in that sport that I have spent the vast majority of my life. I am now 66 years of age and even though the hard times hit along the way every now and then, I wouldn't change a thing even if I could. My good coaches are definitely my choice, along with the relatives mentioned above, to be the most influential folks in my athletic world.

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

Coaches,

I think my love of sports was fostered by the guys in the neighborhood. My dad wasn't around much when I was younger, so I learned everything from just watching the older guys. I had uncles that were a few years older that played sports in high school, but they never really pushed me to do the same. I had friends that were in the same age group and we just competed daily. My friends' parents knew my dad from high school. He was a great athlete, played basketball and baseball in college and even played in the A's organization for a few years. I, myself, played football, baseball, and soccer in high school and a couple of years of College football. I think sports was just in our genes because I have a half brother that went on to play 11 years for the Steelers, Eagles, and Giants. I think that we could have been better athletes had we had the influence and concern of close relatives, but everything happens for a reason. Now that I have a son (3 yrs. old), I am working on being a better father figure than the one that I had growing up. My son deserves that. I just want to expose him to all that I didn't receive. I don't fault any one of my family members because they weren't able to assist me...Money was tight and everyone had to do what they had to do.

I love football, every single detail about the game. I work constantly trying to improve my knowledge of the game. This site has been a wonderful tool. The wealth of knowledge that is available with just a single post is amazing.

Coaches, don't stop sharing the info because I won't stop reading it.

Coach Mitch