Thursday, April 30, 2009

Donor plates on our lockers

We are looking for some friends of the program to sponsor 37 of the
lockers in our locker room that so not have donor name plates.
Donation is $100 for each locker to sponsor. Call the football office
for open locker numbers. Alumni, this is a great way for you make
sure the guy who wears your number lives up to your standards!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Purple / White game

We finished our 2009 spring practices this weekend with our 2nd annual
Purple / White spring game. I was very pleased with the progress we
made as a team. Our guys played hard and gave great effort. We had a
great turnout to the game with our fans, signees & recruits!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Scrimmage #2

We just finished scrimmage #2. Our guys are flying around with great
intensity and effort. Still a few mistakes but we will clean it up.
Hope to see you the 25th for the purple/white spring game.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Practice #10

We just finished practice #10 last night and we have our second scrimmage this Saturday morning at 11:00 AM. Our offense is lookinh great and our defense is getting better everyday. I hope you'll come out and support your bearcats!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Scrimmage #1

We just got off the field for our first scrimmage. We had an MIAA crew officiate the game so our guys could work more game like situations. The field was in sloppy conditions due to the thunderstorms we had overnight, but our guys came out today and got better.

OFFENSE: Our offense picked up right where we left off in 2008. We struggled a little on the goal line offensively (mainly because we didn't put our GL Offense on the field). I am really seeing (Steve) Gachette improve as a leader of this team. Our OL and RB's really stepped up and began to display of a more aggresive running attack. Our WR's did a great job of finding the football and making plays. Our offense overall is getting better and better everyday!

DEFENSE: Our linebacker play and secondary play was getting much better and they did a great job of finishing and tackling. Our DL gave great effort, but the depth of our DL for the spring made the rotations very hard and for an 80 play scrimmage the wore down at the end. The defense overall gave great effort and swarmed to the football.

SPECIAL TEAMS: We only went live for punt and FG today. Our punt team did a great job of protecting and covering. We didn't get a bpunt blocked in 2008 and if we keep working on it, we won't get one blocked in 2009. Our FG team did a great job with operation and execution (especially with the sloppy conditions)

We hope to see you at our next scrimmage Saturday the 18th at 11:00am

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Practice #6

We just finished practice #6. Our offense had a great practice and moved the ball very well. Our defense looked good as well and is continually improving. We will continue to stress fundamentals and great effort. Next practice is Thursday at 4:00pm!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Practice #5

With the close of practice #5 tonight, the Bearcats are 33% done with
spring practices. Coach Allen says "We are improving with each
practice but it's hard to know exactly where we are until our first
scrimmage this Friday morning. Then we will see our guys fly around
and be physical."

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Q & A with Coach Allen about Spring Practices:

The SBU Bearcats football team started the 15 NCAA allowed spring practices on Monday March 30th. Keith Allen, entering his 3rd year as the Bearcats Head Coach, talks about the upcoming spring sessions.

How much fun is it for you, as a coach, to get on the field again in the spring?

"It's the best part of what we do in the Spring! I enjoy recruiting and the off-season conditioning, but I really love being around our players and have a chance to see them improve on the field and gel as a cohesive team. It's nice to focus on the game of football without the pressure of anyone worrying about a Saturday and how their performance will be. We can just work on the game of football and not be rushed trying to put in certain plays. I just love teaching and coaching."

What to you hope to accomplish with the 2009 spring practices?

"Our first goal is to become fundamentally sound in every aspect, offense, defense, and special teams. We will focus on footwork, alignment and assignments, which will be beneficial. Our second goal is to find out who our playmakers are and make sure we have them in the right spot. The third goal is to establish a first class defense to go along with our offense. With promotion of Zach Wilkerson as defensive coordinator and the hiring of Darnell Walker as our secondary coach I expect to see a new swagger and attitude on defense, especially with the addition of our 2009 signing class. On Offense, I know coach (J.C.) Dawkins and staff will keep our offense as one of the best in the nation. The fourth goal as a program is we need to keep changing the mindset of what the Bearcat football program is all about- our guys need to expect and believe that they can execute every play and win every game in 2009.

You lost a big senior class last year. Are you excited to see who steps up in the leadership roles?

"We had 21 seniors last year, which is a great compliment to the program that we're able to keep seniors around each and every year. This year is another big class of seniors, so this off-season, we've been meeting twice a week to discuss leadership and what it really means to be a Christian leader on and off the field. I am also very excited about the progress our guys have made in the weight room this off-season under Coach (Ben) Blake and really expect it to spill over into these spring practices. One of the most important positions in football is the quarterback position, and Steve Gachette is really coming around as a leader of this team. Other guys will have to prove and earn their leadership role on our team during these 15 practices, I am excited about the great leadership these kids will display. "

Can you complete this sentence: Come the end of the spring practices, the Bearcats will be better at ...?

"Being a better team. We want our players to believe in themselves, believe in each other and believe in the coaches, and the coaches need to believe in them. At the end of spring ball, we need to have that confidence that we are a strong team, knowing we will face adversity, but knowing that if we face it together as a team we can overcome any bumps in the road."

Any comments for the Bearcat fans and alumni out there in cyberspace?

"We hope to see you at some of our practices and our 2nd annual Golf Outing and Spring game. We need your support to take this team to a higher level. I know our fans, alumni, student body and community will be pround of this first class group of young men that wear the purple of the SBU Bearcats."

Related Links
http://www.coachallen.com/offseasonSchedule.html

Friday, April 3, 2009

Spring practice #3

We just finished practice #3. Our guys are flying around and playing
with great enthsuiam. Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am we go full pads and
will get after it. Hope to see you there. It's a great time to be a
bearcat!