Ohio City - Before and after Tuesday's mini camp on Wasmer Field, Chuck Kyle '69, now in his 31st season as Saint Ignatius' head football coach, stressed to his team how vital the commitment away from the eyes of the coaches is.
The work his Wildcats do on their own, when there are probably 100 other things they would rather be doing, has played a huge role in helping Coach Kyle's program's reach state and national prominence.
And the man who has guided his alma mater to a record 11 Division I state championships, including an Ohio-best five consecutive big-school crowns (1991-'95), three national titles (1989, '93 and '95) and a record of 301-69-1, is expecting nothing less from his 2013 'Cats. Oh by the way, those 301 career victories also include 24 OHSAA playoff appearances and a postseason record of 63-13.
"Talk is cheap," Coach Kyle said. "You have to do the work on your own."
JAYVEES CONTINUE TO IMPRESS: Ok, so it was only the second time out. However, this corner, who has seen his share of summer camps and preseason workouts over the past 44 years, was impressed by the work turned in from both of the Wildcats' junior varsity quarterbacks, sophomores Mike Huber and Dennis Grosel.
Huber, whose freshman season was cut short by a knee injury, threw the ball with zip, poise and no hesitation.
BIG PETE AND THE GUNSLINGER: The corner would be remiss not to mention the fact that Saint Ignatius senior quarterbacks Pete Mahoney and John Thomas also had their moments on Tuesday evening.
WELCOME BACK: After competing in football as a freshman and a sophomore, including a sold season with the junior varsity in 2011, Saint Ignatius senior wide receiver Nick Fabian did not play football last fall. Nick, who is coming off an outstanding spring in baseball, flashed his speed and soft hands during Tuesday's 7-on-7 drills. With Nick back in the mix, it only adds to what is a deep and talent-laden receiving corps.
AND SPEAKING OF THAT GOOD HANDS CLUB, Wildcats standout senior wide receiver and captain Jack Hyland had a good excuse for missing camp on Tuesday.
Jack is in the Dominican Republic as part of the Jesuit Preparatory School's Mission Trip.
COACH KYLE ON THE NEW OHSAA DIVISION I PLAYOFF ALIGNMENT: As we reported on the corner last week (see the story below from June 13), the Ohio High School Athletic Association has announced a new football playoff format in which Division I will now consist of two regions - a 35-team Northern Region and a 37-team Southern Region.
Under the new alignment, the top 16 teams in each of the two regions will qualify for the OHSAA Harbin computer playoffs. The playoff format will be 1 versus 16, 2 versus 15, etc. The Northern and Southern champions will be determined during Week 4 of the playoffs and will advance to the big-school state championship game on Dec. 7. The other six divisions (the OHSAA has added a seventh division this coming season) will continue to have a four-region, 8 playoff qualifiers from each region format, as Division I also had prior to this coming season.
"I think it will take a little getting used to," said Coach Kyle, whose Wildcats are part of the new Division I Northern Region. "When it came to the playoffs (in the past), by Week 7 or Week 8 you could look at the teams in there and start figuring it out (as to the qualifiers). With sixteen, I don't know how you're going to figure anything out. That's going to be bizarre.
"But it's okay," Coach Kyle continued. "Because it's 16 teams qualifying, that may prevent you from having to play a St. Eds or a Mentor right away in the playoffs. In other words there could be two teams from the same region, the same locality, playing each other in the semifinals of the state. I think certain areas of the state will like it. It may be a little more confusing at first, because of the wide possibilities, but that's all right. A 16th-place team gets in the playoffs, they shouldn't feel too bad."
With the new 1 versus 16, 2 versus 15, etc. format in Division I, Coach Kyle believes early-round playoff match ups like the ones that took place between the Wildcats and Glenville (2006, '07, '08 and '09) and Saint Ignatius and St. Edward (2008 and 2011) will now be very rare.
Glenville will not be part of the new Division I alignment, as the Tarblooders are dropping to Division II this season.
MINI CAMP 3: Thursday, June 27 at Wasmer Field, with the junior varsity reporting at 3 PM and the varsity between 4:30 PM and 5.
COMING NEXT WEEK!: The annual Camp of Champions returns to Wasmer Field on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24-26.
An elite quarterback/receiver academy, the Camp of Champions will run from 1:30 PM until 4 PM each day. A camp that will teach the athletes how to perform like champions, the Camp of Champions is a skills camp in which quarterbacks and receivers in grades 9 through 12 learn techniques and drills designed to help them self-correct during the regular season.
Each player will receive individual instruction and evaluation from some of the premier coaches Northeast Ohio has ever produced, including Saint Ignatius' Chuck Kyle, Nick Restifo and Elvis Grbac (former St. Joseph High School and Michigan standout, and NFL All-Pro quarterback). Also heading up the staff are high school and college coaching legend Joe Perella; John Carroll University head coach Tom Arth (a former Saint Ignatius and John Carroll great and a former NFL quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts); John Carroll University assistant coach Brandon Stanley; Strongsville High School head football coach Russ Jacques, who previously coached on the college level at West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and Northwestern; Villa Angela-St. Joseph's outstanding head coach John Storey; Lakewood head coach Ron Lewis; Joe Brozak (Brush, Villa Angela-St. Joseph); Shawn Dodd (Gilmour Academy) and last, but certainly not least, former Cathedral Latin School and Georgia Tech football standout Tim Hyland, father of current Wildcat captain Jack Hyland.
The cost of the camp is $80 (includes a camp T-Shirt) and all participants should bring their helmets. The quarterbacks are encouraged to bring their own football. For any questions, call Coach Perella at 440-446-1018 or Coach Restifo at 216-651-0222, ext. 502.