OMG, I finally got something…
As you may or not know, I am a High School football stat man for RADIO (since 1997) and TV (since 2009) and that was how Coach Smisek, the head basketball coach at St. Anthony found me last season. I had the time of my life last year with the team and I was definitely planning on coming back for this season.
Even though I didn’t attend as many games as I wanted to due to the fact that my wife and I sold our house and moved in with a family member in Canyon Lake, I still had an absolutely wonderful time hanging out with the Yellow Jackets.
I use the term hanging out very loosely cause that is exactly what I did; I was so glad that I didn’t have to think or work at the games, I basically just showed up, flashed my media pass, chatted with Coach Smisek and Coach Martinez, took a bunch of pictures, watched a basketball game, and the finished product was a BLOG which I often would think about on the drive home.
Maybe next year, I can change that term to covering by interviewing players and using video and audio!!!
The games I showed up for were at The Hive (which is St. Anthony’s home), TMI (Texas Military Insitute; OMG, that is a gorgeous campus and it overlooks La Cantera), Judson (the Judson Rockets were ranked number 1 in city), Antonian, and the Alamo Convocation Center (dude, seeing that gym under renovation and then a basketball game was unbelievable).
On 12/12/2013, St. Anthony hosted St. Mary’s Hall. I never expect to bump into somebody I know at the games, so when I saw my boss from when I worked for a computer company from 1996 to 1999, I was very surprised; holy moly, his son was on the JV team for St. Mary’s Hall. Gosh, I am getting old cause I remember when he was born!! For the 2nd half and both OT’s, I had the best seat in the house as I sat next to the scorers table and Coach Smisek. It was such an awesome feeling to be that close to the action and I was in heaven. It would’ve been even better had the Yellow Jackets defeated St. Mary’s Hall.
St. Anthony played the Judson Rockets on 01/08/2014 in Converse and, dude, I was really looking forward to this game…the Rockets were ranked number 1 in the city by the San Antonio Express News. It also was a great excuse to see David Wacker, who is 6’9 and the son of Mike Wacker, the head coach at Judson. David will be playing ball at Boise St University. I also feel very comfy going to Judson (mainly because the Rockets are my home team for football…I have been working them since 2004). Had the Rockets not held the ball for what seemed like an eternity in the 4th quarter and clinging to a 4 point lead, I know St. Anthony would’ve won that game. When the buzzer sounded, I was so proud of the team and I told Coach Smisek the exact same thing… man, he wanted me to address the team in the locker room!!! I turned that offer down and said Coach, this is your team. WOW!!!
The Yellow Jackets played the Central Catholic Buttons 3 times and those games were decided by a total of 7 points!!! Yep, very evenly matched. I attended the 2nd game (which was also the last game of the regular season and also was being played at the Alamo Convocation Center).
Now, let me tell you that I have been photographing the renovations at both the gymnasium and Alamo stadium since last March and I was in awe when I stepped into the gym for that basketball game…I mean, I was in the gym when it had no power and there was scaffolding everywhere. I got to touch the speakers and a/c vents, how cool is that folks? Actually before the game, I got Alamo stadium renovation pics.
So, at the Central Catholic game, I finally got to meet Carlos Enrico. He is the former football coach and current Athletic Director at Central Catholic. The main reason I wanted to meet him is because his wife was my 3rd and 5th grade elementary school teacher and I adored her. Well, last weekend, I met her for lunch and that was really special for me and it won’t be a one time deal either.
OK, how ’bout I give some BLOG space to the St. Anthony Yellow Jacket head coach, Kevin Smisek?
It was GREAT having you blog about our basketball season again. We finished 21-12 and for having 5 freshman on the Varsity, playing a lot of minutes, it was a really good season. We had an incredible group of Seniors who collectively are the best group of unselfish, hard working, TEAMMATES, I have ever coached. I am very proud of them (Stephen Wallace {captain & 3 year letterman}, Matthew Benavidez {2 year letterman}, & Daniel Ledesma {1 year letterman}). Expectations are very high for next season. We will let the kids rest and stay out of the gym until after Spring Break – then it’s time to go back to work.
Being so young was very challenging, both for us as a coaching staff & for our student-athletes as well. We brought the kids along at a pace so as not to scare them…but by the end of the season, they had become acclimated to our style of coaching. There is a big difference between an 8th grade middle school season & a varsity level. So we had to adjust a little bit as a staff to make sure the freshman didn’t burn out or get hurt or mentally lose it.
I love having my family (Wife-Michele & 2 sons-Andrew & Nico) at the games. When they are there, it’s just a nice reminder of what’s really import in life – family. My oldest son, Andrew, would make a heck of a coach (he was an All-District PG for us up at Caldwell) & he still watches film with me at home and will help me grade the games as well. He’s a business major at UIW.
We talk a lot of football at home. As Nico is going into his Senior year, lots of recruiting things & different camps & combines are topics of discussion. We try to keep “shop talk” to a minimum at home.
The St. Anthony Yellow Jackets basketball program is really going in the right direction. I’m excited about the team members who are returning. As a coaching staff we will evaluate who’s returning and really work in the weight room this off-season to get physically stronger. St. Anthony Catholic HS has an unbelievable faculty right now, I’m excited about the quality of education our kids receive – this Senior class has already earned over 6 million dollars in scholarship money – not bad for a class of 114! Way to go Class of 2014! STING ‘EM JACKETS
