Entry #74 - 1/7/09

Happy New Year! It is amazing how quick the holidays came and went. I hope everyone enjoyed this special time of year. Our holiday season was very nice. It was a whirlwind of activity in our household. As you can imagine there is never a dull moment with three boys running around the house. We made our usual trek to Atlanta and Knoxville to see our families. It was great to see everyone. My boys are definitely spoiled by their grandparents and all their aunts and uncles. Whenever the opportunity arises where they know we are going to visit family, they get extremely excited.

Our fall semester ended on a high note. In the classroom our players did very well once again. Our team GPA was a 3.1 as 67% of our players had over a 3.0 grade point average. Our top five students this semester were Paul Hoilman, Skyler Barnett, Ben Allen, Troy Mendez and Darren Caldwell. I am very proud of our players that took care of business academically. I am confident that this trend will continue in the spring semester.

Our winter workouts also ended on a high note as our test-out numbers were threw the roof. This team is considerably stronger and faster than when they arrived on campus in August. We decided this winter to go with a different approach in our workout program. We are very fortunate to have one of the top exercise science labs in the country here at ETSU. This lab is under the direction of Dr. Mike Stone and his wife Meg. They are two of the top minds concerning exercise science in the world. Dr. Stone, his staff and our strength coach Lee Morrow put together the program for our guys this winter.

The program was very “cutting edge” as we tried to incorporate a more scientific and intelligent approach to our lifting and conditioning. It was very difficult for me to change at first because our players have always excelled in the weight room. But after sitting down with Dr. Stone and his staff and listening to them explain their process and techniques, it was a very clear that this was the direction we needed to go. In the past we have been very good in the weight room, but this year our players seem to have taken it to another level under this new program. Hopefully all this hard work will lead to positive results on the field this spring.

One of the best parts of my days is when I hear from our former players. So those of you, who I haven’t heard from in a while, please keep in touch. Even if you played at ETSU many, many years ago please check in and let us know how things are going. Here is some alumni news…

Alumni Notes:

Congratulations to Jimmy Tidwell and Brandon Langston for graduating in December. John Weddle has passed all the initial requirements and is preparing to go to Navy Seal School. John was a tremendous student and had the opportunity to go to medical school but he has chosen the road less traveled. John looks great and is very squared away. We all wish him luck as he goes through this vigorous training. Richie Billings is entering his second season as head baseball coach at Lake Sumter Community College. CJ Lee is in Johnson City preparing for spring training with the Atlanta Braves. CJ also recently had a son and named him Landon. Ryan Howe is an assistant coach at Spartanburg Methodist Community College and is getting married this June. Matt Traylor is living in Knoxville and has become one of the top Mixed Martial Art Fighters in our area. Many of his old teammates have seen him fight and the comment that has been used by most when describing him to me is, “Traylor is bad ass.” Up to this point I believe he is still undefeated. I hope it stays that way. Shane Byrne is living in Louisville and just received a nice promotion with Synthes, a leading global medical device company. Stephen Calicutt is preparing for his upcoming wedding on January 17th in Spartanburg, SC. Nick Crowe and his wife Micah welcomed the birth of their daughter, Brooklyn this past month. Jason Brotherton has completed medical school and is in the process of interviewing for his medical residence.

Recently ETSU lost one of its all time greats with the passing of Coach John Robert Bell. Coach Bell served as the head football coach and athletic director here at ETSU from 1966-1973. I never had the privilege to meet Coach Bell, but for the last nine years I have driven to work on the street named after him running down the middle of our campus. I knew that he must have done some tremendous things in order for a street on campus to bear his name, but I wasn’t quite sure what made him so special.

So over the years, from time to time, I would hear some tremendous stories about Coach Bell and his time here at ETSU. It soon became apparent why this gentleman was held in such high esteem by those whose lives he touched. I have also been fortunate over the last few years to become close friends with Ted and Nan Larsen. Nan happens to be Coach Bell’s daughter, so during rounds of golf, Ted would share many stories and experiences of Coach Bell. This past Saturday as I left the church after Coach Bell’s funeral I was moved in many ways. Listening to the accounts of this man’s life, of all that he had accomplished and all the lives he had impacted was simply amazing. Now every day when I come to work and I turn that corner and head down John Robert Bell Drive it has a new meaning for me. There is no doubt that in the coaching profession, John Robert Bell was everything we should try to be. I, like all the others whose lives he impacted, will continue to be inspired by this legendary man. Until Next Time…

Coach Skole