Thursday, I went to the Greenville Tri-Village scrimmage. My expectations were tempered because Tri-Village is good, and Greenville is learning EVERYTHING new. It was a warm evening, but a pretty good crowd for both teams turned up.
You could sense the excitement on the Greenville side; people were anxious to see what Coach Channell had brought to this franchise, a franchise that in the past was used to losing. But this seemed different. The Boys should have some enthusiasm, the coaches were prepared and ready, and they coached through the whole first half. That’s all I stayed for because I saw some things I liked, some things really need work, and some things are improved.
The scrimmage started really well for Greenville; three plays in, they scored, and the excitement was palpable. Then Tri-Village scored on a long pass play. Greenville got the ball back and drove down the field to the 2 or 3 yard line, and disaster, a fumble. It’s funny, but did you ever see a game where one little thing happens and BOOM, everything changes? That happened here.
To make a long story short, Greenville was down at half. Now that sounds awful, but keep in mind, this is all new to these kids, and they will make mistakes. However, when they don’t… they’re not that bad! The offensive line played pretty well, the quarterback made some excellent throws, and there was plenty of hitting going on. But it is obvious that Greenville needs more bodies. It is disappointing that more boys didn’t go out because I think they would have learned something, and played a good bit, but I digress.
In my opinion, this team can be competitive as long as they don’t turn the ball over, time things up a little better (not unusual for a new offense!), and they need to cut down on penalties. I also hope they don’t get down on themselves. Even babies need to learn how to walk; it just takes time. I believe once they get their timing down, and get a little better on defense (honestly, pass defense and punting left a lot to be desired), and don’t quit when things go bad, as they always do at some point, they will win some games. Honestly, this year, even one is an improvement, but I think they are better than that. I believe by the 4th or 5th game, we will be seeing a different team… at least I hope so.
Anyway, let’s give them a break; this is all new and different for them. They’re not dumb, they’ll get it. It just takes time to build a program, so let’s give them that time. And please, everyone, let’s be helpful and not degrade the coaches or the players. Give them that break… and don’t expect miracles!
That’s the way I see it… from the sidelines!
