Alumni Game and Seasons End Party

Alumni Game
The alumni flag football game is this Saturday at 10AM. We need players to take on the alumni. Please let me know if your son will be playing in the game. If your son wants to get a jump on his service hours he can show up at 8:30AM and stay after the game as we work on the storage area under the grandstand and put away some equipment.

Player Interviews
I will begin doing player interviews on a regular basis after school once the second semester starts. I have been able to interview about 10 players so far and I think it has been a really good experience for everyone.

Season's End Party
We are going to have our end of season football party on January 24 during the AFC/NFC championship games. We will watch some NFL football and our own highlights while eating some wings. I will send out more details as the time gets closer.

Football Alumni Game

On January 2, CCS will host six different alumni games. This year it will include flag football at 10AM. We will need players to compete against the alumni which will include 3 members of our coaching staff. It should be a fun day to start of the second semester.

All-State and All-District Teams Announced

10 members of the Cypress Christian Football team received All-State accolades for the 2009 season. Daniel Rodriguez was recognized on both sides of the ball as a first team defensive linemen and a second team offensive linemen. Kyle Francis also received first team honors as a linebacker. Brandon Galloway and Jason Groll received second team honors as a wide receiver and running back. Jack Mitchell, Michael Gamble, Kyle Hinn, Jacob Reed, and Austin Barton received honorable mention. 20 player received All-District honors. A complete list of the 2009 Cypress Christian football players that received honors can be found on the Honors & Awards page. You can view complete teams for all levels and districts on the TAPPS website at www.tapps.net/football_11man.html.

Banquet and Lupe's Kids

Banquet
The fall sports banquet is Thursday, December 17 at 7:00 in the MUF. I would like for your son to be dressed up (no shorts, jeans or t-shirts).

Awards Voting
I will be at school tomorrow morning to hand out awards voting ballots. If your son does not see me they should find Coach Neufeld or Cindy Wilhite during the day to vote.

Athletics Period
I would like all football players to be in athletics period. I will personally be running the class next semester. It is the only time during the school year outside of the football season that I can work with your son directly regarding football. It is going to become a vital part of our football program as we work to close the gap and reach the next level.

TAPPS Football Champions
Waco Richer defeated Brook Hill 35 to 28 in a great game Saturday night to win the Division III State Championship. Canyon Creek Richardson who is on our schedule for next year won the Division IV title.

Lupe’s Kids
Lupe is an amazing woman that works with these families year round. CCS partners with her every Christmas to provide gifts. I know that a lot of you are participating with your in-season sport. You do not need to feel obligated to participate with two different sports teams. We will go shopping as a team on Saturday December 12 at 10AM (probably Wal-Mart and Toys R Us). We will leave from the school but will end by having lunch at the Buffalo Wild Wings across 249 from the mall and close to the movie theater.

I will have Rylin and Carson to help us shop and to use for appropriate size comparison. If your son cannot make it on Saturday you can contribute money by giving it to Becky Morgan prior to Saturday or even bring gifts if you want to do shopping ahead of time.

Our family has 3 kids
Boy 4 size 6 – Toys and warm winter clothes
Girl 4 size 6 – doll & dish set and warm winter clothes
Boy 6 size 8 – Bike and warm winter clothes

Season of Life

It has been a tremendous privileged to serve as a head MS and head HS football coach at Cypress Christian over the last 4 years. God has also provided me with almost 9 amazing years as an engineer for the Harris County Flood Control District. Many of you have asked how I can do both. The answer that I should give is that I cannot do both. By God's grace I have had the opportunity to do both and now I have the opportunity to pursue my passion full time. I believe that God has a lot great things in store for Cypress Christian and I am excited to announce that I will be a full time part of those plans. The future school enrollment has now gone up by 4 and Rylin is very excited about riding to school with dad on her first and every other day of school next year. Today I resigned my position at the Harris County Flood Control District and on January 4th I will be on campus full time. My official title will be the Director of Institutional Advancement which you will learn more about but especially during the fall I will be the head football coach as we move (Close the Gap!) to the next level as a school and a football program.

In His Service,

Coach Spenn

Last Practice, Lupe's Kids, & Championship Game

Just a reminder that tomorrow will be our "last practice" where we do the last hit drill, have a brief team meeting and turn in our equipment. Your son needs to have all of his football equipment ready to turn in and his locker should be empty of all things football by the end of the day. It is a big help to me if we get all the equipment turned in tomorrow. As an incentive for coming I get to announce some big things concerning football that even parents might want to come out and hear.

Lupe's Kids
The football team will be sponsoring several children for Christmas this year through the schools partnership with Lupe's Kids. If your son is not already participating with another sport (they can give to both teams family if they like) and would like to participate with football please let me know by Tuesday so I can get a good head count. The number of players that participate will determine the number of kids that we sponsor. We may do the shopping on our way to the championship game next weekend.

Championship Game
We will be going to the TAPPS Division III championship game next Saturday at 7pm in Kileen between Brook Hill and Waco Richer (Waco beat Colleyville 63 - 7). Parents are welcome to come and we will probably need drivers. If we have a large group I may look into taking the bus. If you have not done so already please RSVP by Tuesday. I hope watching this game inspires us to work hard to reach the next level for our football program.

Seasons End

It was a tough night but it does not take away from a great season. As time passes and legends grow you can remember it this way. Two great teams played in a state quarter final game involving numerous future college athletes. When we scored to take the lead we simply left too much time on the clock. The reality is that we simply got beat by a better team. I hope it is a challenge to our young players to work harder and to take our program to the level that we saw yesterday. By any standard it was a successful season, but especially when we look at Building Godly Men and true success. Lives were changed and eternity was impacted. It will be very exciting to get together 10 years from now and hear the stories.

Colleyville
I was very encouraged to watch our players interact with players from Colleyville after the game. From what I heard they were gracious in victory and had a lot of respect for our ability to play the game of football.

The Blind Side
On Tuesday night we will be going to see the movie The Blind Side as a football family. Parents, siblings, and friends are all welcome to attend. We will be at the AMC Willowbrook theater for the 6:20 show.

Player Interviews
In college at the end of the season every player has an end of season interview with his coaches. It is simply an opportunity for each player to here my thoughts and talk one on one about this season and next season. I would like to conduct these for any player that is interested. They would last about 10 minutes. I will be available this Tuesday starting at 3:45 in the field house until it is time to leave for the movie. If your son is interested let me know and I will put them on the schedule. I will have a couple of other dates for this in the future.

Last Practice
We will have our last practice on Monday November 30. We will do the last hit drill (this requires dressing in half shell and taking the field) and turning in all football equipment. I would like everyone to participate and we should be done by 4:15 for those that are playing other sports. If they do not have another sport to attend I would like them to stay and help put away equipment. We will also watch a little game film that helps to provide closure.

State Championship
I will be attending the TAPPS Division III state title game a 7PM on Saturday December 5th. I would love to take as many team members as possible. The game is in Killeen and I will send out more information and travel plans later.

Haircuts
It was the best looking bunch of mohawks that I have seen but they need to be back to meeting regular school policy when the students return to school if we want the privilege of being able to do them again.

Fall Sports Banquet
The Fall Sports banquet will be held at 7PM on Thursday December 17th in the MUF.

Season Ending Party
We will have a season ending party in early January during a college football bowl game.

Work Day
We will have another work day to put away equipment, clean and organize. Just like painting the Warrior Head with enough help it will not take long.

I want to encourage your son to play other sports and to take full advantage of the other opportunities that CCS offers. If your house hold goes into a mild depression when the football season ends, take heart because spring football is just around the corner. Football season never ends at our house and I am very excited about some of the things we are going to be able to do in the off-season. Thanks for all your support and for making it a great season.

The Blind Side

The Blind Side will be released tomorrow in theaters. This movie is the true story of one families compassion for a young man that takes them well outside of their comfort zone. The family takes in Michael Oher (currently an offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens) is committed to seeing him succeed. It looks like a great movie to take the team to and without school next week is a good time to do it. As I am planning on having practice next week, we may go to the movie after practice on Monday or Tuesday. We will practice Monday through Wednesday and on Friday. The semi final round game would be on Saturday probably in College Station.

Regional Playoffs

We lost the toss and the game will be Saturday at 7:30 in Groesbeck. This is disappointing but I believe that our conduct in everything concerning the scheduling of this game has been honoring to God. The theme for the week was obedience and it really is about Building Men so I am excited about the opportunity that God has for us. God always honors obedience in the long run, just like he took care of Noah by shutting him in the ark.

I am excited about the challenge and seeing just how far we have come in closing the gap. I am looking forward to leading a courageous football team on to the field, one that has not and will not quit.

Weekly Theme: Courage
Psalm 23

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads) (Film from 5:30 to 6:00)
Tuesday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads) (Film from 5:15 to 5:45)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 3:45-5:00 (Half Shell)
Saturday 7:30 PM against Colleyville Covenant Christian at Groesbeck

Travel
I hope everyone makes the trip. It is a very nice facility and we will get a second opportunity to play on turf. The Gate will be $7 for adults and $5 for students.

Attendance
We will be working on some new things this week and need everyone! at ever practice.

Grades
We certainly need everyone. Please check your son’s grades.

Weekly Themes

It is always interesting how the weekly themes play themselves out. I set most of them months in advance. Overcoming Adversity lasted a couple weeks with the swine flu as we fell to Westbury but recovered just enough to beat Faith West. We certainly overcame adversity then so it should not be a big deal to face a little now. The theme was Humility when we went to Bay Area and we certainly learned something there. It was Perseverance during the bye week when the team focused in and really improved. The others were also meaningful in various ways. Many of you have commented on this. It has been requested that we should not have Overcoming Adversity as a theme next year and I even thought about using Healing as the theme this week with Victory for the final three weeks.

However, that is not how life always works, there will be adversity, everyone loses at some point and the road will be hard at times. Instead, I felt God’s prompting to go with Obedience and Noah. An Ark has no sail, no rudder, no compass just God. Noah was faithful to God, not in some things but in everything as Genesis 6:22 points out. As a result God sealed him in the Ark and basically said I will take care of you from here.

Winning is a byproduct of true success and God cares about our hearts and not the score of a game unless the score of that game will have an eternal impact on our hearts. In my first two years of coaching I never won a game and I always wondered what God was trying to teach me. Now with our success I just wonder if he was seeing if I would be faithful both in winning and losing. I hope that I have and I am looking forward to being sealed in the Ark.

In many ways CCS has already been sealed in the Ark and this is very evident if you read the newspapers and also attended the School Banquet Saturday night. I believe that we have been Obedient to God as a team this season. We have certainly made mistakes both individually and collectively but I have seen God at work in so many ways. There are a lot of exciting things in the works for our football program and as I talked with the team on Saturday after we ate 15 dozen donuts I reminded them that those blessing have come and continue to come because of our Obedience to God and not because of the score of a football game.

Thank you for your continued support of CCS and a different kind of football program, you are making an eternal investment that will never fade away.

Week 11 Schedule

Warrior Parents,

It was a great win for our football program and for our school Friday night as we captured the first Football District Championship in school history. It was not without its down side with the injury to Jonathan. He will be going to the doctor tomorrow and we will know more at that time. We may look a little different next we as we rely more heavily on our defense and Jason running the ball.

I hope you invite everyone you know to the game Friday. It would be great to pack out the grandstand as we win our first ever football playoff game.

Weekly Theme: Obedience
Genesis 7:22 “Noah did everything just as God commanded it.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads) (Film from 5:30 to 6:00)
Tuesday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM against All Saints Episcopal

Game Film
I have uploaded game film for All Saint’s Episcopal to the website. They are in blue against Dallas Shelton. Shelton is a pretty good team and won the game 40 to 14. I will upload another game that All Saint’s won later today or on Monday. Your son should spend some time watching the film throughout the week. http://www.cypresschristianfootball.org/login.php

All Saints Offense
They will mostly be in the same basic formations as us but their offense is much simpler. They run a lot of dive plays in between the tackles with an occasional pitch sweep. The QB will run a lot of draw plays and designed runs. Their passing game is mostly WR and RB screens and other short passes. They do through the ball deep on a regular basis but with limited success.

All Saints Defense
Dallas Shelton was a running team and ASE was in a 5-3 cover 3. They had 8 guys in the box to stop the run. Coram Deo spreads out and throws the ball and ASE ran more of a 3-4 look with cover 2 and cover 3. We will probably be more of a run dominated team this week but they will not know that based on the film that they have.

Playoffs Second Round
We are expecting to win on Friday and the second round of the playoffs will be on a neutral site against a team out of Dallas on Friday November 20th.

Grades
Grades will be checked for the first time this quarter on Thursday, please check with your son and make sure they are getting their work done.

The JH Ranch
While I will certainly promote football camps over the summer, the JH Ranch is a very unique place that will impact your relationship with Christ, your son’s relationship with Christ and your relationship with your son in very powerful ways. You can learn more about the ranch at http://www.jhranch.com/ or attend one of the informational meetings this week. I have been to the ranch and several other CCS families have as well. I know everyone is busy but I want to encourage you to at least checkout the ranch on the internet.

November 9, 2009
Home of Allen and Lori Jurecka
707 Chestnut Hills Court
Katy, TX 77450
Time: 7:00 pm

November 10, 2009
Home of Jeff and Cindy Reeter
7 Williamsburg Lane
Houston, TX 77024
Time: 7:00pm

Week 10 HS Football Schedule

It was easier than I thought it would be Friday night. I was very pleased with how we set the tone of the game early and with our conduct on the field. It is always hard to beat a team twice and I am expecting a tough game this week at Pope John Paul. They lost to Bay Area last week for the second time in overtime. A win will give us our first ever District Championship.

Weekly Theme: Finish
Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM at Pope John Paul 23 Bus leaves at 4:45

Playoffs
We will have a home playoff game on November 13. It will probably be against the winner of this week’s game between All Saint’s Episcopal in Tyler and Garland Christian.

Week 9 HS Football Schedule

I thought we could score 35 points but I did not think we could get it done in the first 5 possessions. It may have been the best half of football ever played at CCS. We are really starting to play consistently on both sides of the ball. It was all exciting to see several of the things that we had been working on for the past few weeks look so good in the game. We are starting to see a lot of Gaps closed but I know that we have still not played our best football.

Weekly Theme: Faith
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”


HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-5:50 (Full Pads) Powder Puff game at 6:30
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Film and Conditioning) Non JV players
Tuesday JV Game against SATCH at 6PM at home
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM at home against Snook

JV Roster for Tuesday-We added a few players due to injury
Troy Mason, Austin Barton, Jonathan Rangel, Thomas Glazier, Cody Mangum, Shawn Bell, Ben Bennett, Cameron Kostak, De'Franklin Taylor, Bobby Miller, Jase Clark, Ryan Morgan, Connor Sparks, Travis McGrath, Mason McCollum, Benton Barrow, Phillip McCurry, Daniel Crozier, Andrew Galloway, Paul Odeyomi, Matthew Bancroft, Travis Wilhite, Mohammed Usman, David Ajiebo, Jack Mitchell, Michael Gamble (We may need to add another player or two at specific positions because of injury.)

Playoffs
We will have a home playoff game on November 13. After the first week all playoff games will be at neutral sites and probably played on Saturdays. It is highly possible that we will be playing football the week of Thanksgiving.

Westbury Christian
Our official record improved to 7-1. Westbury played with an ineligible player and had to forfeit our game with them. It was an honest mistake regarding the age of a player which was voluntarily turned in to TAPPS by Westbury.

Doritos Commercial
Chris, who built our football website, filmed a commercial on our field after the game. It is for the Doritos Crash the Supper Bowl contest. It is a little abstract but funny. http://vimeo.com/7241290

Week 8 HS Football Schedule

Friday night was a great homecoming win. It was probably our most complete game of the season. I love the fact that we were 6 for 6 in the red zone 8 of 12 on 3rd down and 2 of 4 on 4th down while holding our opponent to just 3 of 12 on third down. We will need the same effort this Friday as we have a rematch against Bay Area. We will need to win this game by more than 15 points to win the district.

Weekly Theme: Consistency
Malachi 3:6 “’I the Lord do not change,’…declares the Lord”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads) Non JV players see JV list below
Tuesday JV Game at Fort Bend Baptist at 6PM – Bus leaves at 4:15PM
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell) Pictures-full game uniform blue
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM at home against Bay Area

JV Roster for Tuesday
Troy Mason, Austin Barton, Jonathan Rangel, Thomas Glazier, Cody Mangum, Shawn Bell, Ben Bennett, Cameron Kostak, De'Franklin Taylor, Bobby Miller, Jase Clark, Ryan Morgan, Connor Sparks, Travis McGrath, Mason McCollum, Benton Barrow, Phillip McCurry, Daniel Crozier, Andrew Galloway, Paul Odeyomi, Matthew Bancroft, Travis Wilhite, Mohammed Usman, David Ajiebo

Bay Area JV Game
Bay Area has canceled our reschedule JV game for next Saturday. This is probably for the better based on the number of football games we would have played in a week. I am going to try and find one more JV game for the last week of the regular season.

Volunteering
If I listed out the number of things that have to be done each week to bring you Warrior Football you would not believe it. It takes a tremendous number of volunteers and if you have not yet had the opportunity to serve please do so. It can be as simple as helping empty trash cans after a game while your son changes after a game.

Pictures
Pictures will be on Wednesday starting right after school. Your son will need his full game uniform and we will be wearing blue.

Website Stats and Video
On the individual stat pages for each game and the season totals you can now download our complete stats for that game. It is far more detailed than what appears on the Chronicle or Max Preps and even includes the complete play by play for every game. You will also start to see individual highlight videos appearing on the player profiles pages this week. These are complete for the first 6 games and it is just a matter of computer time as they upload to the website.

The Warrior Link and Warriors Live!
While I did send out an email last week it did not appear to go to anyone. It is always posted on the Warrior Link (http://www.coachspenn.blogspot.com/) prior to being sent out via email. I also post additional information that I do not email out so it is worth checking or following the feed.

Each week Scott Ordeneaux and I record a weekly interview that goes live on the web on the game day page http://www.cypresschristianfootball.org/gameday.php. The video does not always appear (Internet Explorer issue) but you can follow the link at the bottom to watch all the past shows.

MS Football Schedule – Final Week

It has been a great season of MS football. I am very excited about the progress they have made on the field and am looking forward to a great group of incoming freshmen next year.

Weekly Theme: Consistency
Malachi 3:6 “’I the Lord do not change,’…declares the Lord”

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-5:45
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) MS A only players
Tuesday 4:30 PM MS B game at home against St. C
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 Pictures (Full game uniform-blue)
Thursday 6:00 PM at Lutheran South – Bus leaves at 4PM
(I have gotten an email from the officials that the game time was moved back to 7PM but have not been able to confirm that with Lutheran South.)

Pictures
Pictures will be on Wednesday starting right after school. Your son will need his full game uniform and we will be wearing blue.

Equipment Turn In
I still need to check with Coach Warren but MS equipment turn in will probably be after school on Monday, October 26.

8th Graders
Any 8th grade football players are welcome to practice with the HS October 26-28. We had a few do this last year and it gives them a good feel for HS and I think was a very positive experience last year.

Homecoming - What Really Matters

To be honest I am not a big fan of homecoming. Don't get me wrong I love seeing alumni and big crowds at football games. I enjoy pep rallies and imitation is the highest form of flattery so being the focus of a dress up day costume was fine with me. Bethany and I attend the dance because we feel it is an extension of our ministry but we do have a lot of fun. Most of the team is taking a date to the dance but no one was willing to say they even thought they would marry their date some day. I happen to think this is a good thing as I hope they will grow and change a lot from this point. I have been reminding them all week that they are most likely going out with someone else's wife which means another guy is going out with their wife. I have challenged them to treat their dates with the same respect they would hope their wife is getting at her homecoming.

What are we imitating this week? Is it Christ both on and off the field? Are we distracted by the homecoming activities of life and forgetting about the big game? Here are some links to a very interesting website that focuses on what really matters. These are for two first rate athletes that are living there lives in second place and focused on the big game from an eternal perspective. There are also interviews with many others from all walks of life.

http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Colt_Sam/
http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Colt_McCoy/
http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Sam_Bradford/

Week 7 HS/MS Football Schedule

Warrior Parents,

The MS picked up another good win this past week and continues to improve. The HS had several good days of practice. Bay Area defeated Pope John Paul 13-7 in overtime last night. This puts Bay Area firmly in charge of the district race and a much easier playoff opponent. It also leaves us with a tough test this Friday night.

Weekly Theme: Grace
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourself, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM at home against Pope John Paul 23

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday No Practice
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) MS A only players
Tuesday 5:00 PM MS B game at Northland-Bus leaves at 3:45
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 6:00 PM at home for Woodlands Christian

Attendance
It looks like the sickness has passed and we will be enforcing our rules regarding attendance. If a player misses a practice this week they will sit out a quarter of the game.

Homecoming
There are a lot of activities associated with Homecoming. They are fun but they are distractions from both school work and football. Please encourage your son to enjoy the week but to also stay focused on the work they need to do both on and off the field.

Pictures
I am told that they will be on Wednesday 21, rain or shine.

Football for Mom’s
We had a good number of Mom’s attend our little class today. We may hold another more advanced one before the season is complete.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

Football for Mom's

I will be teaching a Football for Mom's class this Saturday from 1-2 in the art room. The idea is to give mom's (and anyone else that wants to attend) a little information on the basics of football and what the warriors do on the field. I will go over each of the various football position along with our basic offense and defense. I will show you a little game film and give you the opportunity to ask questions.

Coach Spenn

Opportunity Lost?

With every loss there should be some disappointment at the loss of an opportunity to see how good you are becoming. Are we closing the Gap? It is really impossible to know without competition and in every competition there is a winner and a loser. Across the country many teams did not live up to expectations this weekend, which gives me some comfort as a coach that we were not alone but it is what we do now that matters. Will we apply principle number 9 and grow from our loss or will we let it define us. We need to be a team that lives for the competition, perseveres to the end and plays for the love of the game.

"We play with enthusiasm and recklessness. We aren't afraid to lose. If we win, great. But win or lose, it is the competition that gives us pleasure."
-Joe Paterno - Head Football Coach Penn State University for the last 44 seasons

"Losing is only temporary and not all encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it."
-John Wooden - Legendary basketball coach for UCLA

I certainly don't have the same level of experience that these two coaches have and my weekend of watching the film can be summed up more closely by a quote from Bum Phillips (former NFL head coach) "The film looks suspiciously like the game itself." We have been steadly Closing the Gap over the past two seasons and I am sure that is how we will respond this week and it will not be an opportunity that was lost.

Week 6 HS/MS Football Schedule

The MS is coming off a great week and should be able to pick up two more wins this week. The varsity had a tough night at Bay Area. We get another chance against Bay Area in a few weeks. Hopefully we can apply principle number 9 and be ready for them when they come to Cypress.

It is hard to believe that we are over half way done with the HS season and MS season has just 3 weeks left. It has been a great year so far but this is often the time of the season when we need a little perseverance.

Weekly Theme: Perseverance
2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:30-5:30 (Full Uniform Blue) Pictures and Game Film
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:00 PM Powder Puff Game at CCS

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) Non JV players only
Tuesday 6:00 PM MS 6/7 grade game at home against St. Cecilia
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Uniform Blue for Pictures)
Thursday 4:30 PM at Faith West-Bus leaves at 3PM

Pictures
We will take team pictures on Wednesday right after school. Both teams will still practice once pictures are complete. Practice will end at 5:30. Your son should have his full blue uniform for the pictures.

Football for Mom’s
I am planning on having a football for mom’s class next Saturday. The time is still up in the air but it will probably be early afternoon in a class room at school. I will send out an email with more information later this week.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

The NFL at CCS

We got done a little later than usually tonight but we usually do not have so many questions for our Wednesday speaker. Tonight the team got to hear from current NFL player Kenny Pettway as he shared about life, football, the NFL and some of the things that God has done in his life. You do not have to have an athletic career like Kenny's to come out and share. You may not believe it but the team wants to hear your story.

Coach Spenn

The Midway Point

If you had asked my last year at this time to make a prediction about where we would be today I would not have come close. I am a pessimist that has turned more and more an optimist as I get older and realize more each day how big God is but I still would not have guessed that we would be where we are. The grandstand, website, and all the other bells and whistles are exciting but don't look as good if you cannot perform on the football field. I never would have guessed that we would have 44 football players most of which only go one way, that our practices would be running almost like I experienced in college, that everyone would buy into the philosophy and we would even have a player lead a Bible study/praise and worship time on Thursday with 10 to 20 players attending. As a friend said to me in the early weeks of the season, "You have everything in place, now all you have to do is win some football games." Winning is a just a byproduct of true success but it is sure nice to see that we are on the right track in so many ways including the win/loss record.

After 5 games we have 844 yards on the ground and 869 through the air. I never thought we would be that balanced making us hard to stop. At this point last year we were 1-4 with a lot less yards. We are playing at a fast tempo but making fewer and fewer mistakes each week. We have a confidence and familiarity with winning but still understand that it is a game that can teach us way more about life. We are learning to compete, to love playing the game as true competitors who would just keep playing regardless the score or outcome. God is up to some big things at CCS and it is exciting to be part of them as a football program.

In the second half of the season I think you are going to see the offense really start to roll which will give the defense the opportunity to take more chances and make more big plays. We will add new wrinkles for district play and the playoffs. I hope you are keeping your Friday nights open all the way through December. Bring a friend or two (especially non school families) to Homecoming on October 16th so that more and more people can experience Warrior Football.

If you have not watched "Warriors Live" (formly known as the Coach Spenn Show) hosted by Scott Ordeneaux it does provide an interested look into the program. We rarely get it filmed at the right time on the right day but all the past episodes minus the first one are avalaible to view on the game day page of the website.

Coach Spenn

Media Coverage

A few video highlights from our game Friday night were posted on the Big Hit on the Lone Star Christian Sports Network. You can view the highlights at the following link. Based on what you see they did not get to the game until the second quarter. It does show an amazing move by Jonathan to get out of a tackle and pick up some yards.

http://www.lscsn.com/includes/big_hit_5.htm

Week 5 HS/MS Football Schedule

It was a great trip to Dallas. We needed a game like that as we head into district play. Maybe it was the field turf but we were fast putting up two scores in just minutes. Our tempo of play will be the difference on Friday as we travel to Bay Area. The regular season is now at the half way point and later this week I will post some comments on the blog about where we are.

The MS has another tough week against another big school in Fort Bend Baptist. I have been seeing steady improvement and I think it will really show in the last 3 games of the season.

Weekly Theme: Humility
James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Romans 12:3 “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM @ Bay Area-Bus leaves at 3:45PM
*JV game against Bay Area has been moved to Saturday 10/24

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) Non JV players only
Tuesday 5:00PM MS 6/7 grade game at Salem-Trinity (Concordia Lutheran High School)-Bus leaves at 3:30PM
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 6:00PM home game against Fort Bend Baptist

Wednesday Speaker
If you would like to speak to the team please let me know.

Website
We should be adding a lot more video to the website this week. So be looking for team and individual highlight films. There is a lot of information on the website that you might have missed. I know many are starting to take advantage of the live stats. You can get them on your phone during the game and it does not cost the football program anything. The website has had over 65,000 hits in September.

College Football
One page on the website that you might not have gone to yet is some information about college recruiting that I have put together. It can be found at http://www.cypresschristianfootball.org/college.php. Please read through the information if your son has an interest in playing college football. If your son is a Junior or Senior they really need to be putting together a list of colleges that they are interested in. I will start contacting coaches at those schools.

Football for Mom’s
I have been thinking about putting together a little class for anyone who just wants to know the basics of football and what we are doing on Friday nights. It would probably be on a Saturday afternoon for an hour or so. If there is enough interest I will work on putting it together. Please send me an email if you are interested. Dad’s are welcome to come as well.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

Week 4 HS/MS Football Schedule

It was certainly an exciting game on Friday night and from what I hear there was another good one on Saturday night as the HS program picked up a couple of wins. Sickness and injury provided opportunities and the story of Gideon played out. Our offensive line was tremendous and our defensive forced turnovers when we needed them most including what has to be a school record 3 interceptions by Taylor Brown. You can read more about the game, find out who the Blue Jersey Warriors are, and view all the stats on the website.

The MS had two tough games last week. I have had several questions about the Lutheran North MS team. They draw players from several schools and certainly had some big boys. I have already asked the district president about looking into this issue for next season. However, I do feel that we need to be ready to face any opponent and the next two weeks will be bigger schools as well. The last 3 weeks of the season should be great games against schools that are the same size as us.

Weekly Theme: Passion
Revelations 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell) Pictures at 3:45 on the Football Field (see below)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 PM @ Prince of Peace Carrolton-Bus leaves at 10AM
Saturday 3:00PM Bus returns to school

The address for the Stadium is 700 N. Murphy Rd. Murphy, TX 75094
A map is located on the schedule page of the football website. They do not play at their campus so this game is at a large public school stadium, similar to the Barry Center for Cy-Fair ISD.

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) 8th graders and select 6th/7th grade players
Tuesday 6:00PM MS 6/7 grade game at home against Grace School
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell) Pictures at 3:45 on the Football Field (see below)
Thursday against Salem-Trinity (Concordia Lutheran High School) at 4:30PM-Bus leaves at 2:45PM

A map is located on the MS Schedule page of the football website.

MS/HS JV Game Schedules
A game against Northland has been added for the MS on 10/13 at Northland at 5PM. I would like to move the HS JV game on the 10/1 to 10/2 so that game may change. Please check the football website for the latest schedules.

Wednesday Speaker
If you would like to speak to the team please let me know.

Website
The media page has links to a lot of HS pictures from the last several games. We will have pictures from Faith West soon. If any MS parents have been taking pictures and want to provide them to me or set up a site like SmugMug we can get them added to the website.

Dallas Trip (HS Parents Only)
Remember that you have to book your own room. If you can leave when the bus leaves (10AM) please let us know. We would like to have a few players travel in cars to free up seats on the bus. If you have questions please contact Helen Mitchell.

Football Pictures
Football pictures will begin at 3:45 on Wednesday, 9/23 on the football field. Both middle school and high school players will be wearing their BLUE jerseys. They need to wear a complete and clean uniform including cleats. Both teams will practice once pictures are done. Practices will still end at 5:30. There are no make ups for team pictures.

The Flu
Illness continues to be an issue. Please keep your head coach informed as much as possible if your son has to miss practice.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

Winning and Losing

I was asked this weekend by a friend how practice would be different since we lost. They wanted to know if we would do different drills or run more. I got a strange look when I said we would only run more if we had a good practice. Practice should be the same regardless of any previous outcome. Success is not measured in wins or loses but in how we Close the Gap between our potential and our performance. Our identity is not found in how we compare to Westbury Christian but in Christ. Every practice and every game is an opportunities to Close the Gap, an opportunity to see just how good we can be and to glorify Christ with our abilities. This week will be another tough test and we continue to face the adversity of sickness and injuries. We did have a better focus yesterday and got back to some basics. Principle #9 is Love to Lose because it is often in our losses that God teaches us the most. How our football team responds this week will speak volumes as to how we are Closing the Gap and what kind of men we are becoming regardless of what the outcome is on Friday night.

Week 3 HS/MS Football Schedule

It was a rough week for the HS who certainly had the majority of the adversity to overcome. Both MS teams looked great as they piled up the yards in two wins. Once again we have a lot of football to play this week with 4 games. The MS will get two tough tests with Lutheran North for the 8th graders and Salem Trinity for the 6th/7th graders. The varsity will travel to Faith West for possibly the biggest rivalry game of the season. The JV will host Bryan Brazos Christian on a Saturday night game.

Every season has some adversity and it is always followed by a week where you need to refocus and rebuild. Hopefully we are finished with injuries and sickness for the rest of the year as we get set to rebuild and regain the momentum that we had after the first two games.

Weekly Theme: Rebuilding
Nehemiah 2:20 “I answered them by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding…’”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 9:30-11:00 AM (Film and walk through at school)
Friday 7:30 PM @ Faith West-Bus leaves at 4:30PM
Saturday 6:00 PM JV Game at home against Bryan Brazos Christian

Faith West Game
Since Friday is a student holiday please make sure that your son in bed no later than 10PM on Thursday. I want them up by 9AM and we will have a walk through and film session at school at 9:30AM. Your son needs to be back at school at 4:00 as the bus will depart at 4:30PM for Faith West. We will not be feeding the players prior to this game.

JV-Brazos Christian Game
Players should arrive at school by 4:30. They will dress and then take the field a little after 5PM for a 6PM kickoff. We will not be feeding the players prior to this game. The JV roster will be the same as the last game.

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads) 8th graders and select 6th/7th grade players
Tuesday 6:00PM MS 6/7 grade game at home against Salem Trinity
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday Lutheran North at home at 6:00PM

MS/HS JV Game Schedules
These games are constantly changing and the most up to date schedule is always on the football website.

Wednesday Speaker
We had our first mom last week and she did a great job. If you are interested please let me know.

Website
We have added a lot more HS player profiles to the web. We are still working on some of the football cards. Your son can still provide me with information for one and it will be added. We should be ready to have individual highlight films on the website next week. Faith West Scout film should be on the web later today and the Westbury film (Does anyone really want to see it again?) in the next couple days.

Dallas Trip (HS Parents Only)
It you have not already responded to Helen Mitchell’s email about the Dallas trip please do. It is a lot of work to take the football team for an overnight trip so your response is very important.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

Springboard Ministires Fall Fest

Tomorrow is a great city wide event hosted by Springboard Ministries. It starts at 10AM and runs all day at the Greenspoint Mall. The event features Hollywood stuntmen, superheros, cars and things that blow up. It sounds like the perfect afternoon for Carson and I am sure HS/MS football players as well. Springboard Ministries is lead by Pastor David Jones (CCS Parent) and if you son needs service hours those are available. Just show up at the event and give Pastor Dave a call at 832-683-3022. Follow the link for more information:

http://www.springboardonline.org/pages.asp?pageid=70690

MS Defeats Bay Area

Coach Warren got his first win for the MS 8th grade team last night. It was a dominate 33-6 victory over Bay Area. Our MS team has to play a lot of schools that are bigger than us so it is exciting to see us dominate the schools that are our size. The scoring was capped by a perfectly executed option play with Heller making a great last second pitch to Novotny who took the ball about 70 yards for the games final TD.

JV Games and Week 1 Statistics

There were two great JV games at CCS last night. The MS was able to come up with a win and the HS came up inches short. It was great to see both teams come back and fight hard to the end. Our expanded JV schedule will really help us to develop our athletes and continue to build the program.

Jack Mitchell is currently 6th in the state of Texas according to MaxPreps. Daniel Rodriguez will also be in the top 20 as he was credited with a tackle for loss that should have been a sack. I have turned in our final stats with some edits so those changes will appear next week. I did find another 10 yards for Jason Groll giving him 152 for the game.

ABC 13 has a great little leader board that comes from MaxPreps. We will be adding one to our website soon. CCS players are listed in almost every category. Private school are not as good as public school when it comes to getting stats turned in.

ABC 13 Houston Area Leaders

Week 2 HS/MS Football Schedule

I hope everyone has had a great weekend. We have a lot of football to play this week with 4 games at home. It would be great to be 6-1 as a program this time next week. The MS will face Bay Area on Thursday which is our size and always a good game. The HS will take on Westbury Christian who is undefeated so it should be an exciting week of football.

Weekly Theme: Overcoming Adversity
Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads) (Film at 3PM)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads) JV Game at 6:30PM against FBBA
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 Westbury Christian at Home

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-5:00 (Full Pads) MS 6/7 grade game at 5:00PM against FBA
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday Bay Area at home at 6:00PM**Bay Area had asked about moving this start time up so it could change!

JV and 6/7 grade games
MS and HS players that are playing the games on Tuesday will still report to practice unless instructed not to by a coach.

Wednesday Speaker
We actually have two people on the list for this week but we always need more.

Game Film
Westbury Christian scout film is on the web. Brazos Christian game film is uploading right now and at least some TSD film will be uploaded later tonight. HS players are welcome to come watch film tomorrow at 3PM. Brazos highlights have been added to the regular website and can be seen on almost any page. We are starting to get our technology figured out.

Grades
The grade check is fast approaching. If your son is failing they will be out for three weeks. I know we have several players that are at risk so please talk with them about what they can do to bring those grades up. We do not want to lose a single player for grades this season.

Media Guide
I hope everyone likes the media guide. You will be able to download a pdf from the website but I hope you purchase one at a home game as a memento for the season. They are just $5.

Dallas Trip (HS Parents Only)
It you have not already responded to Helen Mitchell’s email about the Dallas trip please do. It is a lot of work to take the football team for an overnight trip so your response is very important.

A Great Home Opener

It is always good to get a win. We got to play everyone and I think we learned some valuable lessons that will be with us for a long time. It was great to turn around and see a grandstand full of people. It certainly makes for a different experience both for the players and the fans. There are still a lot of things that we are working out both on and off the field. We did have our stats and video on the web with at least 20 people watching. Hopefully we can get the video up on the web in a reasonable time frame this week.

Max Preps Texas Leaders Week 0

Cypress Christian football placed two players on the statistical leader board for all levels (public and private) in the state of Texas according to MaxPreps.

Receiving Yards
9. Brandon Galloway with 162

Tackles
7. Mason Kelly with 18

Sacks
10. Mason Kelly with 2 for 21 yards lost

MaxPreps is owned by CBS sports and is the leader in Texas and accross the nation for HS Football.

Week 1 HS/MS Football Schedule

I am very excited about where we are at as a program going into week 1. I was excited about our performance at both levels. Football teams make their biggest improvements between their first two games.

The MS will not have a game this week as they prepare for Bay Area and the first 6/7 grade game against First Baptist. The HS will have TSD this week as we have the home opener for the new grandstand.

We are still working on figuring out all our new technology. It is a process but I am sure at some point it will start saving me a lot of time. Our stats are on MaxPreps and have been sent to the Houston Chronicle. The football website has some stat highlights and links. I will also have a little game recap up on the headlines page each week.

Weekly Theme: Sacrifice
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.


HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 TSD at Home

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 4:30-6:30 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 4:30-6:30 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads)
Thursday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads)

JV and 6/7 Grade Games
We are continuing to ad JV games at both levels to make sure everyone gets playing experience this season. We have 6 that are tentatively scheduled for the HS and should have the same number for the MS.

Wednesday Speaker
We need someone to speak to the HS this week. No experience is required. I have learned over the years that the team wants to hear your story and it is not so important if you were an athlete or not. If you are interested or have questions please catch me after practice or send me an email.

Uniforms
We had to pull a lot of uniforms out of lockers after the MS and HS game. We will probably have a little grace this week but uniforms should always go home. We will start charging school accounts if we have to do laundry next week.

Season Tickets
Season tickets are going fast so reserve your seat today. You can purchase them online at any time by going to www.cypresschristianfootball.org/tickets.php. When you purchase a season ticket you are supporting more than just football as 10% goes to benevolence and 10% goes to the general athletic booster account for all sports.

Website Pictures
If you have pictures for the website (especially middle school) please send them to me and we will get them added.

Game Film
I am a little behind this weekend on getting all our film up on the web but we will get there. TSD cutups will also be available. As we learn our new software it is our goal to get everything up on Saturday afternoon. This would include MS and HS game film from the previous week as well as film of the upcoming week's team.

A Little Fun
If you are already having a long week this might lighten your day http://www.timhawkins.net/video.php.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

The MS Season Kicks Off

I was very excited about the way the MS team played tonight. It is always tough to play Northland right out of the gate. The next MS A game will be against Bay Area which is an opponent that will be a lot closer to our size. I saw some great plays and it was exciting to watch us complete passes, make great runs and put points on the board. You are always welcome to join the huddle after the game. Win or loss it is my favorite part of the season.

I know that not everyone got into the game tonight but we have 5 MS JV games on the schedule and I am working on at least one more. The first MS JV game will be at home at 6PM on Tuesday September 8.

If you took pictures and want to put them on the website just send them to me and we will get that done. If you want to set them up on picture sharing site I will link to it. I hope we see everyone in College Station tomorrow as the varsity takes on Brazos Christian.

Coach Spenn

The Coach Spenn Show

We filmed the first ever Coach Spenn Show hosted by Scott Ordeneaux tonight. It aired live on the web and would have aired again at 7:30 but our website is in the process of migrating so it will be unavailable for a few hours. There are several goals associated with the Coach Spenn Show. I want to give everyone a little behind the scenes look at the program, teach our players how to conduct and handle an interview and give them something else to be excited about. We will interview a couple of players each week after practice on Tuesday and preview that weeks game. Our program continues to grow as we added two high school and a middle school player today. We will add another high school player tomorrow bringing the high school to 47 and a total of 81 kids in the program. We are continuing to add JV games to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to Close the Gap.

Go Warriors!

Coach Spenn

Week 0 HS/MS Football Schedule

It is week 0 and everyone plays a game this week. The MS will play Northland at 6PM on Thursday at home and the Varsity will travel to Brazos Christian on Friday for the start of the 2009 football season. I think we are ready to play. I was pleased with how we played in the Fort Bend Scrimmage. Our style of play is not very conducive to a scrimmage setting and once we got in a rhythm in the second quarter I felt like it was easy to see how were Closing the Gap on both sides of the ball.

Weekly Theme: Love
1 John 4:18-19 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us.”

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:15 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:30 @ Bryan Brazos Christian Bus leaves at 4:20 (Pep rally at 3:10)

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 4:30-6:30 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 4:30-6:30 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday Game 6:00PM at Home against Northland (Pep rally at 3:10)

Game Day
On game days for home and away games your son will stay at school and be fed a meal. They need to have everything with them that they will need for the game that night.

Wednesday Speaker
Wednesday will be the first opportunity for you to come out and share with the team. We need someone to speak to both the MS and HS. I have learned over the years that they want to hear your story and it is not so important if you were an athlete or not. If you are interested and have questions please catch me after practice or send me an email.

Athletic Forms
If you have not already turned in all your athletic forms those need to be turned into Cindy Wilhite or Coach Martin for your son to be able to play this week. There are 5 forms that are required: Physical, TAPPS acknowledgement of rules, parent signature page of athletic handbook, student signature page of student handbook and the transportation form. All of these forms can be downloaded from the school website at: http://www.cypresschristian.org/39875.ihtml.

Uniforms
Your son should have received two game jerseys and a pair of game pants. These are your son’s responsibility. They should not be stored at school and should be washed after every game. It is best if they are not dried in the dryer. We will take care of washing practice clothing weekly at school but coaches will not be washing uniforms after games.

Website Pictures
In the past our photos on the web have always been password protected. That is no longer gong to be true. If you are concerned about that please let me know.

Media Coverage
We will be covered in pretty good detail by the 1960 Sun as well as the Houston Chronicle and the Lone Star Christian Sports Network. If you see articles on the web or in print please send them to me so that we can post them on the website or link to them.

Game Film
All the film from the scrimmage is on the website. We will be posting MS film after Thursday’s game. Scouting film for Brazos Christian will be posted later tonight and tomorrow for your son to watch. It will be broken out into offense and defense so they only need to watch what pertains to them. Game film should always be viewed after homework and family time but it should come before TV and Playstation.


In Christ,

Coach Spenn

44 to 25,000+

We picked up another varsity football player today bringing us up to 44 players, we have also added a couple more sponsors that I will be announcing soon and the website has over 25,000 hits in August so far. We have not played a game yet and I am still working on content. Just imagine what the hit count will be when our games are live on the web and we have 2009 season stats to look at.

Week -1 Schedule and Information

We have 77 players and we have been working hard to keep them all busy. I have been very excited about the varsity practice and how we are able to practice both sides of the ball at the same time. This week we will begin to integrate the MS players into the varsity practice schedule. With both teams learning the same fundamentals and going through the same practice schedule we will build one program that insures that MS players are ready to go when they get to high school.

We are continuing to Close the Gap and I am very pleased with the progress that we have made at all levels. There is a lot of information in this email but please read through it and note specific things that apply to you. Answering individual questions from 140 parents throughout the week adds to a very busy schedule. This information will also be posted on the Warrior Link for you to refer back to at a later time if you loose the email.

Weekly Theme: Building a Foundation
Psalms 18:2a “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.”
Matthew 16:18 “…on this rock I will build my church

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-6:00 (Full Pads)-Football Parent Meeting at 5:45
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Thursday 3:45-5:30 (Half Shell)
Friday 7:00 PM Scrimmage against Fort Bend

MS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads)-Football Parent Meeting at 5:45
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads)
Thursday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads)
Friday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads)-This will be the last Friday practice for MS

Parent Meeting
We will have a football parent meeting in the grandstand at 5:45 on Tuesday evening for both MS and HS football parents. We will be going through our coaching philosophy and other detailed information about the football program. We have a parent handout that is attached to this email and located on the football website. This meeting will last about 30 minutes. You are also required to be at a school wide athletics meeting in the MUF starting at 7PM to go over the athletic handbook. I know it makes for a long evening but you will get good information and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Athletic Forms
If you have not already turned in all your athletic forms we need to get that done this week. There are 5 forms that are required: Physical, TAPPS acknowledgement of rules, parent signature page of athletic handbook, student signature page of student handbook and the transportation form. All of these forms can be downloaded from the school website at: http://www.cypresschristian.org/39875.ihtml.

Season Tickets
Season tickets are going fast so reserve your seat today. You can purchase them online at any time by going to www.cypresschristianfootball.org/tickets.php. When you purchase a season ticket you are supporting more than just football as 10% goes to benevolence and 10% goes to the general athletic booster account for all sports.

Blue and White Night
It was a great night and I really appreciate all the help from football players to clean up chairs and tables. Learning to serve is certainly part of building men.

Practice Clothing
Your son has received a set of practice clothes (or will get them this week). I would like for our HS players to wear these shorts on Thursdays for practice and MS players on Wednesday for practice. In the past we have always had to charge for these clothes on top of the football athletic fee but thanks to the growth of the football booster club this year we will not have to charge your account for this clothing.

Uniforms
Your son should have received two game jerseys and a pair of game pants. These are your son’s responsibility. They should not be stored at school and should be washed after every game. It is best if they are not dried in the dryer. We will take care of washing practice clothing weekly at school but coaches will not be washing uniforms after games.

Other Equipment
If your son has a helmet or shoulder pads that are the wrong size please have them tell a coach. Hair cuts can greatly affect helmet sizes. We are ordering more helmets and should have them this week.

Our new open shoot got damaged last week by someone sitting on it. It is fixable but this is a $1,500 piece of equipment that is vital to our offensive line play. It is not a trampoline. Please keep younger siblings or any one else from playing on the football equipment.


In Christ,

Coach Spenn

The End of Early Camp

The Varsity has now completed 8 practices and our middle schoolers have completed two as our early camp ends and we start school. Our total number of players is still in the mid 70's but we will probably add a few this week. We ended the varsity conditioning with the hand shake today which is one of my favorite drills. The MS team has learned a few plays and Coach Warren really has them looking good in really just a few hours. The varsity will head to Lutheran North for a scrimmage Thursday at 4:30. The Houston Chronicle lists them as the #2 private school in the city but we are listed at #5 so it should be a great scrimmage. It will be a totally controlled scrimmage but it is still exciting to watch. If you cannot make the scrimmage we look forward to seeing you at Blue and White on Friday as we dedicate the new grandstand.

Coach Spenn

Week -2 HS/MS Early Camp

The varsity had a great first week of practice and the MS starts today. Each week I will post the weekly schedule on the blog and email it out as well. You will also get our weekly theme which for the first two weeks will be Purpose. We work to incorporate this theme into everything that we do during the week.

Purpose
Acts 17:26b “He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Equipment
Your son will need to purchase cleats and a five pocket spandex girdle. I would prefer that all the cleats be predominantly black. It would also be good if your son had a dry fit material shirt to wear under their pads. Cotton is a very bad fabric to wear to exercise in because it traps in the heat.

Your son was given a mouthpiece which should be molded to his mouth using boiling water before practice. You can purchase a much higher end mouth piece that is better for protecting against concussions (this is why you wear a mouthpiece it is not to protect your teeth that is what the helmet is for) and is also better if they have braces. These are available at any sporting goods store.

HS-Practice Schedule
Monday 3:30-5:30 and 6:00-7:00 (Full Pads)
Tuesday 3:30-5:30 and 6:00-7:00 (Full Pads)
Wednesday 3:30-5:30 (Full Pads)
Thursday 4:30 Scrimmage at Lutheran North- Bus Leaves at 3PM
Friday 3:45-5:00 (Conditioning and Film)
Saturday 8:00-10:00 (Full Pads) This will be the last Saturday practice.

MS-Practice Schedule
We will be respectful of your time by ending practice on time. Your son should arrive at the field house approximately 30 minutes before the start of practice or as soon as possible after school and be on the field 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

Monday 6:00-8:00 (Helmet Only-they will need shorts and cleats)
Tuesday 6:00-8:00 (Half Shell-they will need shorts and cleats)
Wednesday 3:45-5:30 (Full Pads)
Thursday 3:45-5:45 (Full Pads)
Friday 3:45-5:00 (Full Pads) Blue and White Night

Season Tickets
Many of you picked out a seat at the kickoff party. You can purchase them online at any time by going to www.cypresschristianfootball.org/tickets.php. When you purchase a season ticket you are supporting more than just football as 10% goes to benevolence and 10% goes to the general athletic booster account for all sports.

Blue and White Night
We will have a dedication of the new grandstand at Blue and White Night. Football players are also required to help with the clean up in the gym after the event.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

Finished

The Grandstand is done. We still need to hook up the power, pour some more sidewalk and do a little fencing work but it is ready to go. We had a great football kickoff party with everyone getting the opportunity to try out one of those stadium chairs. Season tickets can be purchased on line at www.cypresschristianfootball.org/tickets.php. A season ticket purchase does more than get you a great reserved seat for all football games at CCS this year. 10% of every ticket sold goes to support the benevolence fund and another 10% goes to support the general athletic booster account which helps all sports at CCS.

Full Pads and Chairs

As the chairs went into the grandstand we hit for the first time. I am very excited with how we are playing football. It was hot today and we were in full pads but it was the best conditioning we have had during my time at Cypress. It is a privileged to run and we let the winners run and those that work hard get to run more. It is a different philosophy but I am guessing you would expect nothing less. In just one week will get to see how good we are against a real opponent as we travel to Lutheran North for the first scrimmage of the season. Do you see the "C"?

Press Box is in

They lifted the Press Box into place on Tuesday and they started to put in chairs tonight. It took a big crane to lift the 20,000 lb 3 room press box into place. It is so nice I am thinking about calling plays from the press box. You can watch the video here (I had a few technical issues that kept it from getting posted sooner) and more pictures are on the website, specially on the stadium page. We had another good day of practice. Tomorrow we go full pads and really get to start playing football.

First Day of the 2009 Season

It was a great first day. We are so much further ahead than we were last year. It was exciting to see every position being practiced at the same time. I can also announce that our schedule is now full. We have added Temple Christian for homecoming on October 9. It is has been several years since CCS played a complete 11 game schedule. They did not quite get to the chairs today but the stairs and ramp are almost done. The press box is set to arrive on Wednesday.

Coach Spenn

Week -3 HS Early Camp

It is hard to believe that is finally here but today is the start of the 2009 football season across the state of Texas. In 25 days we will play our first game on what is called Week 0 on the schedule so this is week -3. Each week I will post the weekly schedule on the blog and email it out as well. You will also get our weekly theme which for the first two weeks will be Purpose. We work to incorporate this theme into everything that we do during the week.

Purpose
Acts 17:26b “He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Equipment
Your son will need to purchase cleats and a five pocket spandex girdle. I would prefer that all the cleats be predominantly black. It would also be good if your son had a dry fit material shirt to wear under their pads. Cotton is a very bad fabric to wear to exercise in because it traps in the heat.

Your son was given a mouthpiece which should be molded to his mouth using boiling water before practice. You can purchase a much higher end mouth piece that is better for protecting against concussions (this is why you wear a mouthpiece it is not to protect your teeth that is what the helmet is for) and is also better if they have braces. These are available at any sporting goods store.

Practice Schedule
Below is our practice schedule until the start of school. Once school starts we will be on the field from 3:45 to 6:00 and your son should be ready to go home by 6:20 depending on how fast they change clothes. We will be respectful of your time by ending practice on time. Your son should arrive at the field house approximately 30 minutes before the start of practice and on the field 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

Monday 3:30-5:30 and 6:00-7:00 (Helmet Only)
Tuesday 3:30-5:30 and 6:00-7:00 (Helmet Only)
Wednesday 3:30-5:30 and 6:00-7:00 (Helmet Only)
Thursday 3:30-5:30 and 6:00-7:00 (Full Pads)
Friday 3:30-5:30 and 6:00-7:00 (Full Pads)
Saturday 8:00-10:00 (Full Pads)

Your son should always have shorts, a shirt and cleats for practice. Even on full pad days we will go out in shorts for the last hour most of the time.

We will have a 30 minute break during which we will have a team meeting, change into shorts and have an opportunity to rest. It would be good if your son could bring a granola bar, trail mix or something similar to eat at this time.

Kickoff Party
If you have not already RSVP for the Kickoff Party at 6PM this coming Saturday (Aug 8) please email becky.morgan@cypresschristain.org.

There is certainly a lot of excitement as the season starts. To add to that excitement you should be able to watch them install the chairs in the grandstand if you come by at the end of practice. You are always welcome to come out and watch practice as well.

In Christ,

Coach Spenn

Field of Dreams

"If you build they will come." This is an often quoted line from the move Field of Dream but there are a couple of problems with it. First it is not in the movie. The actual quote is "If you build it he will come." The second problem is that it implies that we can do something but Psalms 127:1 has a different angle. "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." I would like to propose the following regarding our football program. "If it is built on Him, they will come" It is not about wins, records, stats, chronicle predictions, a spectacular new grandstand, website, equipment or other facilities; it is about Jesus Christ and building men that will humbly seek after and serve Him. I believe we our following God's Plan and I have seen His Power and Provision over and over in the past few months. I want to ask you to take 9 minutes at 9PM to thank God for the works He has, is and will do in the up coming season. It may be ten years before we fully know how successful this season was but God is at work at Cypress Christan and in this football program. I am humbled every day with the great opportunity to be your Coach. I am looking forward to seeing the varsity tonight at 6 and everyone on August 8.

To God Be the Glory,

Coach Spenn

Cypress Christian at #5

The Houston Chronicle released its private school preview today and Cypress Christian was ranked as the number 5 top team in the area. Brandon Galloway was listed as the number 5 player to watch as a receiver and was in some pretty good company with two kids headed to the University of Texas. The four schools ranked higher than us are all much bigger. Click Here to read the full story. The excitement continues to build.

Turning Blue

The grandstand is turning blue. The press box is coming next week and the chairs will start going in. You can see more pictures at www.cypresschristianfootball.org/stadium. The website is now line you can go to the Support page to join the booster club or click on Tickets to purchase season tickets. Our middle school players will also have a new home in the weight room this season, but I have not forgotten and I am still working on phase two of the stadium project.

2009 Kickoff Party

Are you ready for some football! The 2009 Football Kickoff Party will be held on August 8 at the foot of the new grandstand. They will probably still be working but I am hoping you get the opportunity to pick out your seat and even try it out as we have a little Bar-B-Q from BobbieQues. We will be accepting donation to help offset the cost of dinner which has not yet been determined. This is a whole family event for HS and MS so we are expecting a big turnout. Please RSVP to Becky Morgan becky.morgan@cypresschristian.org or Helen Mitchell h4mitchell@comcast.net by Tuesday, August 4. (Coaches please RSVP as well.) An accurate count of the people attending saves the football program money so please RSVP as soon as possible. If you are interested in helping with the event you can also let Helen or Becky know and they will get you plugged in.

This is a great event to meet coaches and other football families, support a great sponsor and see the new grandstand up close. I look forward to seeing everyone.

Date: August 8
Time: 6-8PM
Location: CCS Football Stadium
Cost: Meal Donation
Meal: Brisket, Hot Dogs, A few side dishes and drinks (we are still working on the details)
What to Bring: Chairs, your family and excitement about the season

Schedule:
6:00 PM Dinner
7:15 PM Season Preview (HS & MS)
7:30 PM Player Introductions (HS & MS)
Season Ticket sales all night long

BobbieQues is a great place with a little different flare just like our football program. They are located just across the Cypress N Houston and Jones Road intersection and I hope you make it a point to support them as they support Warrior Football. When you eat there be sure to thank them for supporting us.

Go Warriors,

Coach Spenn

All in a Days Work

John Warren named Head MS Coach

I am excited to announce John Warren as the new head middle school coach for Cypress Christian Football. I have been talking with John over the past month and am very excited about what he will bring to the MS program. He and I have several things in common. We are both from Illinois (Texas needs a few more Big 10 fans), we both have 3 kids, we actually played college football against each other, and we have a passion for building godly men through football. Along with his high school and college playing experience he has coached a season of varsity football, had some college coaching experience at Kentucky Wesleyan as a student coach and spent 5 seasons as a head youth football coach.

He is currently finishing his masters degree from Sam Houston State University where he plans on graduating in December 2009 with a M. Ed in Curriculum & Instruction and a minor in Kinesiology. He works as a physical education / health teacher at Harmony Science Academy. He has additional coaching experience as a head basketball coach and assistant soccer coach for the Harmony Science Academy. He and his wife Amy along with their three kids, Brooke 9, Alix 4, and Nix 1 all live in Tomball, TX.

I know he is excited to meet all of you at the kickoff part at 6PM on August 8 and is looking forward to a great football season. Please feel free to send him an email at johnrwarren17@yahoo.com and welcome him to Cypress Christian Football.

Coach Spenn

Progress

The steel is going up. We are still working on our play clock install and some fencing projects to finishes everything off.

Work Day

Thank you so much for all the volunteers we had today. We were able to accomplish a lot of things. We filled a lot of holes with dirt to make new practice areas. Dug trenches and pits. Moved equipment and made room for more lockers while relocating a few others. Cleaned helmets and organized our storage are. We still have more work to do as we finalize the connections of our play clocks and scoreboard to the new grandstand (they hung a little steel today while we worked) if you are interested in helping.

Coach Spenn

A lot of Steel

The main frame of the bleachers will go up in a few days. This will give you a good idea of the size. Putting the tread down will take a little longer and go slower but everything is scheduled to be done by August 11.

The Steel Has Arrived

A couple of semi trucks worth of steel and equipment have arrived at CCS today.

TPCSA All Star Game

This Saturday at 7:30 John Brown and Patrick Fox will play in the TPSCA Football All-Star game at High School in Austin Texas. The teams are North and South but the players are all mixed up as John will play for the North while Patrick plays for the South. If you cannot attend in person you can view it live on the internet at www.tappstv.com/site for $10. We are planning to have the same capability for CCS football games in the fall but it will be free. For more info about the all star game go to www.tpsca.org

Coach Spenn