Comparing teams from year to year

Let me just say this. Every year, every team is a new team. This is not the NFL or even college, whereas you can base a team on the previous year's team with a couple additions or subtractions. Every year, each team is a new team. There are changes within the coaching staff, management and more significantly the players. Stop comparing leagues via how teams perform the following year in a new league! They are a different team no matter how little things changed. Women's football cannot be compared that way. I have been around way too long to accept this notion being accepted by so many out there.

Here are some myth's about this year that seem to be the fact known by people on the message board(s):

Myth #1,2,3,4 - Dallas, H-town, Los Angeles, Las Vegas are the same teams that were in the 2007 WPFL. (The same thing happened when Detroit and Pittsburgh joined the IWFL.)

Reality #1 - Each of these teams were much better than the previous year. I have seen film, watched in person or had the chance to coach against each of these teams. The rookies came in with a year of experince under their belt, the new rookies added depth (some cases had an immediate impact) and people came out of retirement (Dallas) because they had something to prove.

Reality #2 - H-town is not the Energy. You can look at the rosters of these teams, and yes; they do have 14 players from the Energy. Calling H-town the Energy is an insult to what the H-town coaches, management and players accomplished this year. With a core group of players from the Energy they started a new team and made it a championship team with an infusion a leadership and desire.

Reality #3 - Dallas did not want it last year and not only had players playing out of position, but had members of the coaching staff and players being complacent. They had one goal this year, prove that they are the best! They never wavered from that sight and proved it against the Force.

Reality #4 - Los Angeles had a difficult year in that they were never really challenged and had the unfortunate circumstance of being in a league that had limited west coast teams. They are a very good team that needed to have the consistent challenge of playing every week. The H-town/LA would have been an even better battle had LA played more recently than three weeks prior.

Reality #5 - The biggest difference to me was to watch Vegas '07 and Vegas '08. Vegas in '08 was no joke! The only surprise to me was that they lost to Sacramento. But then again, that did happen after they had lost a hard fought battle to California for the division crown. That loss cost them a playoff spot. Just thought I would throw that out there.

Myth #5 - One league is better than other.

Reality #6 - Both leagues have their positives and negatives and I believe unless you are very familiar with the inner workings of both leagues, you should just keep your mouth shut because you don't know what you are talking about. I had the distinct advantage to see how things are run over at the IWFL Championship games and those ladies busted their asses the whole time I was there. Does that make this a better league? I can only simply answer that the only way I would coach in another women's league was if the IWFL was folding or being taken over by new management that had yet proved to me their willingness to sacrifice what they had for the betterment of women's football.

Reality #6 - With that being said, there are still others out there trying to create more leagues. Just because that is the easiest answer, doesn't mean it is the best way to go about things. I bet both leagues are very approachable with ideas, especially when it involves taken a share of the talent away from possible teams and possibly improving their position in the sport. Will they give up control, probably not? Instead become an innovator by building on what is there, insteading of starting from scratch. Why dilute the pool even further with the creation of a new league? Oh yeah, selfishness.

In my opinion, two leagues is good number to have. You may ask why because I have previously stated that we need one league in order to further this sport. The reason behind htis statement is that neither league is ready to be that league quite yet. With the competition between the two leagues, things can only continue to improve. Unless C.M. is willing to see her championship team leave year after year for the IWFL, she is going to have to up her game for sake that she may have no league within a couple years. Can she just keep creating teams to keep her league afloat, yes, but with all of the top notch teams leaving to join the IWFL, she will continue to lose credibility. I see the trend continuing and the IWFL growing into a three-tier league within three years, if not earlier.

I have been part of four different leagues and know all about league pride. Women's football will continue to grow and each year, every team will be put to the test in the league they play in and what needs to be recognized is the present. It isn't about what was done last year, it is about what you are doing right now. Just ask all the champions that no longer exist.

2008 Season Officially Over!

Can you believe it? The season is finally over for everyone involved. Hopefully everyone learned something they didn't know about football and more importantly themselves. In order to grow, each player coach and owner must grow first. And for that to happen, one must realize that there is always something to learn and improve. I learned a ton about myself this year. Being my first as a Head Coach, I was challenged everyday and second guessed every decision I made. With a year under my belt, I know that I can be better. I offer this to those that will have me as their coach.

It was a very long season indeed and mine was extended through my new radio show on Wednesday nights, 3rd & Long. This show will continue throughout the year with football talk. Each week I will have different subjects to cover. Hopefully, everyone will enjoy what I have to put out there. I have been around women's football for a long time and have lots of information to share. Because of my involvement in the sport and the new radio show, I decided to travel to the championship games in the IWFL this past weekend. That was a great decision and I want to thank my better half, Kara and Cat (owner of the Quake) for talking me into going. I was treated great by all of the members of the IWFL executive council. I informed the league that I would be attending and we came to an agreement that I would help out where needed. I did help out but not nearly as much as I thought I would have to. Because I wasn't really needed during the games, I was able to help out in the booth with teaching the clock operator how to run the clock, spotting for the PA announcer and getting detailed info to the web announcers on the teams playing. The web announcers, Pete and John with Scott spotting for them, and I talked at halftime of the first game and decided to put me on the sidelines for a sideline reporter. I may have been a bit aggressive in requesting this but seeing as they didn't know much about the teams playing (albiet Chicago) and didn't see everything, I pushed the envelope. I think it worked out great as I was able to throw what I saw out there for people to hear. I didn't get to hear most of the broadcast but heard through various people listening that technical difficulties were there; unaware to anyone in the booth.

Needless to say, but I witnessed to great games against two evenly matched opponents. The funny thing part is that in each game one team used passing to move the ball while their opponent focused mainly on running the ball. I will have a detailed synopsis of each game this week and hope to have some guests comment on their experience at this game.

As for the NWFA championship game, it looked to have been no contest with H-town up 26-10 at halftime and eventually winning 39-10. Disappointing that the game wasn't close but I am sure that the heat and weather had an effect on the way the game was played.

Now that the 2008 Season is over, we can officially start the silly season. And actually silly season didn’t even wait until after both leagues had finished their respective seasons. The Philadelphia Phoenix will now be known as the Firebirds and have relocated to the IWFL. I am sure there is a bunch more yet to happen, including the starting new leagues, which I find completely asinine. I will get more into that as it will be one of my many hot topics to cover during the off-season.

One week left

With only one week left and three championship games to be left, I find myself reflecting on the past season. Congrats to all the teams who survived the season and to all those that were injured, may your injuries heal quickly. The time each of us have to play football lessens with each passing year. Enjoy these rare moments as you will miss them when they are gone. A special congratulations goes out to all the teams that played well enough to make the playoffs. Playing football is hard but playing good football is even more difficult.

I will be in Chicago next week to see the IWFL championship games. Good luck to each team. I am glad to have another season passing but will miss the remarkable year I was a part of with the Quake. We worked hard and won some games. I look forward to what the future holds but will enjoy my offseason for as long as possible. For those that don't know, #5 Monique "Wheels" Zaky was the leading rusher in the IWFL. She had a phenomenal year and gets better every year. While she gets all of the credit, stats and accolades, I want to send a very big thank you to the rotation of offensive line we had this year. Each of you contributed to her leading the league and that is something you should be proud of. So thank you and congrats! Here is a little highlight video of performance this year.



For those that listen to the show on Wednesday's, this weeks show is a big one as I will preview each of the championship games in detail. I have seen film on four of the six teams and have first hand knowledge of two of these teams. I hope everyone is listening this Wednesday and feel free to call in and make predictions. I can always be reached via email at headcoach@californiaquakefootball.com. The number to call in for 3rd & Long is 347.826.7278.

Until the next post then.

3rd & Long

Alright, so I have been talked into doing an internet radio show, could be a weekly thing. My first show is tomorrow night and I am sure people can't wait to hear me talk about women's football. I decided to call the show "3rd & Long" for a very specific reason and I will discuss that during the first 20 minute segment.

I have coaching women's football since 2002 coaching and watched my sister, A-train, win the 2001 championship with the Quake. I have some knowledge about this sport and look forward to sharing my perspective as well as hear how other's feel or view the sport.

I put a link on this page but in case it doesn't work, try this direct link and feel free to listen and call in.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/WFB-Talk-Continues

First year as HC

My first year as a Head Coach is complete and it was a success. We lost in the playoffs to the Dallas Diamonds but the determining factor in the game was the weather. That comes down to me and the resulting loss is my fault for not having my team ready for all that the game entailed. In my defense, the game was originally scheduled for 7 PM and changed to 3 PM, due to a "scheduling conflict." I came up with a grueling conditioning program for the three weeks leading up to the game but it wasn't enough as we couldn't replicate the heat. My team played with their hearts' out and though the score doesn't represent it, they did a great job. An example of how well they played exists in the drives in which we were actually fresh on defense. The first two drives of each half. Dallas was only able to score one TD on those four possessions and that scoring one took 10 plays. Our offense did fine but our inability to throw cost us. We could have switched to our Spread offense sooner but I didn't want to kill Wheels too quickly. That didn't work too well either because as soon as we went to Spread, we moved the ball but she was taken out by Springer at the 5-yard line. It wasn't intentional, Springer jumped onto the pile from behind as Wheels was hitting the ground, but by landing on her head Springer put her out of the game.

More importantly, this team had a great season. We went 8-0 during the regular season, learned to win close games and had fun. This team learned how to play football and learned a ton about football. Not everyone who comes out knows football and even those who know football, do not know as much as they think. Everyone learned something new about football this year. We worked as a team and won as a team. We did not lose a game until the playoffs and because of this, the loss hurt that much more. It is a feeling I don't want any of them to forget. Something like this loss should drive you to become better, work harder and give you the mental toughness to overcome any obstacle in life, not just football.

The coaching staff busted our butts all year with the hope of making the playoffs. We did it. We had a championship caliber team! Because of the ups and downs of leagues and teams, this may have been their only chance. This saddens me and is the main reason why I contemplate not coming back every year. I love coaching but the politics of women's football is overwhelming.

I hear people say that the only way women's football is ever going to further itself is to have all of the leagues combine. This is true, but guess what; not all of the leagues (reference to a specific league) are in this to further women's football. They are in it to make money, which is the wrong motive. Now if these people in charge said, I am in this to make money, that would be something, but they don't. They say it is about giving women the opportunity to play football. It is all lies! If it was about the women playing, they money paid by each owner would be seen in the form of marketing, advertising and playoff funds. The fact that teams are unable to bring their entire squad or have to forfeit, in the playoffs no less, is a joke and makes a mockery of every player in all leagues.

In time, I believe women's football will do great things but now I will settle with the 2008 California Quake having had a great season.