Wednesday, September 30, 2009

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

Monday, September 28, 2009

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

Sunday, September 27, 2009

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

Sunday, September 20, 2009

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

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

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.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

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

Friday, September 11, 2009

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.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

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

Sunday, September 6, 2009

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.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

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.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

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.