By Paul Doherty Sports Editor Morgan Hill – Despite having
skilled players and quality coaching, all winning teams have one
vital component driving their success: chemistry.
By Paul Doherty Sports Editor
Morgan Hill – Despite having skilled players and quality coaching, all winning teams have one vital component driving their success: chemistry.
To help promote chemistry and team bonding, Live Oak High School head football coach John Michael Porras took 36 players from the team to participate in a four-day training camp at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., June 24-28.
A priviledge normally designated for college teams, Porras brought the Acorns to Willamette to learn a specific offense from the man who invented it.
“If Bill Walsh is the godfather of the West Coast Offense, Mark Speckman is the godfather of the ‘Fly’ Offense,” Porras said.
The “Fly” offense centers its sophisticated attack on the esoteric offense, primarily a running game based on deception in the backfield, that is designed to give undersized players a level playing field.
Speckman has coached the Division III Willamette Bearcats since 1998 with an impressive 62-31-1 record.
Despite being born without hands, Speckman has overcome many obstacles and has a long list of acmplishments.
Speckman played high school and college football, was a California high school head football coach for 14 seasons leading Merced High School to national prominence, and he is frequently the keynote speaker at leadership conferences held by various businesses across the country.
“One of the best lessons I think we all took from his camp is having the humility to know that you can’t do everything on your own,” Porras said
Travelling by bus 12 hours each way, Porras took 34 varsity players and two frosh/soph players to scrimmage and practice against some of the best high school teams in the nation including Granite Bay High School and the 2006 Alaska state champions South Anchorage High School.
“I wish I could’ve taken more players, but I couldn’t take about 15 kids because of summer school,” Porras said. “When we came back to Morgan Hill, the players who went were able to teach the guys who couldn’t go.”
Practicing three times a day with full pads, the players got a heavy dose of football.
“At the beginning of the camp they didn’t look too hot, but the guys really dialed in and listened,” Porras said. “There’s still a lot of room for improvement but I was pleased with our growth.”
The coaches and players who attended the camp slept in dorm rooms and ate cafeteria food, getting a small taste of the college life.
“The dorm food was fine, but the guys were so hungry anything they ate was like filet mignon,” Porras said.
In past seasons the Live Oak offense was comprised of bits and pieces including parts of the option and parts of a power running game, Porras said.
“Our speed is our strength this year, and the beauty of (the ‘Fly’) offense is that you can incorporate all parts,” he said. “This offense is deceptive and hard to stop, and once they got it down, they were really excited.”
The Acorns had a good showing at this year’s camp, and Porras hopes to make the trip to Salem a summer priority for the Live Oak football team.
Four players made All-Camp this year including free safety Kyle Hennings, running back Steven Rodriguez, left guard Matt Acosta, and sweeper Matthew Cummins.
“It was fun but the guys took it seriously too,” Porras said. “Matthew (Cummins) was a big motivator, and he was really hard working,” Porras said.
As a part of ushering in a new era of Live Oak football, Porras is hoping the camp can be an annual event for the Acorns.
“I really want to say thanks to the people and community at large for the fundraising and support, otherwise we wouldn’t have had this opportunity,” Porras said. “You can’t take away this experience … It’s a once-in-lifetime thing, and hopefullly it will become a once a year thing.”
