I was looking at a few other Miner fan sites and started reading how a few are not happy at all with the result of the Costa Rica trip. For the record, we went 1-2. There is so much more to that record than meets the eye.
Most are not happy about losing to McGill University twice especially since they lost 4 out 5 games before they played the Miners. They lost to Lamar, Townson, SMU, & Alabama while beating Kent St. I think most are correct that this is not a good record. The bone heads are missing the point in the fact that they played 5 games before we played game 1. That is a super unfair advantage and we kept it tight with them on both games.
#2. The Miners did play the starters mostly. The issue on that is CTF played schemes and plays they needed to work on along with building in the new kids. CTF went into these games to test the teams limitations. If he wanted to win, he would have stayed with the bread and butter and blown all 3 games out of the water.
#3. CTF got exactly what he wanted out of this trip and has time to plan how he needs to incorporate his program so that the kids understand and execute in a quicker learning curve than normal.
#4. The new kids understand what CTF is about and how he coaches. They no longer need that extra time to figure things out. It's finding out what a professor looks for to maximize a higher grade. You usually find this out after your 1st few grades. That part is out of the way we are able to advance to phase 2 or 3 instead of starting off from scratch.
Lot's of teams didn't have this advantage and this year we have a higher percentage in starting the season off strong instead of the normal slow.
I've heard the practices have gone very well, disregarding the St.Pierre transfer. We have 4 important Sr's setting the tone and pushing the others to perform in Omega, Willms, Flaggert, & Frazier. I know for a fact these 4 are giving there all, because they are our starters and it's either go big or bust. On top of that, there are some kids that are known for their hard work ethic in Thomas, Jones, & Touchet. How can the newbies not work hard and strive to impress.
We have a special team this year and even though some won't jump on the band wagon until it starts moving at a faster pace (Mojo), this guy is all in this year. With the super talent we have, there is no other way than up. If we don't go up, then I think we all would be on the same page that the coaching position needs to be changed.
