This is Tradition!

 

Nearly 60 past and present players came together for the annual Shawnee Alumni Scrimmage!

 

The goal for our program is to have both a tradition and a future and to be able to look with pride and confidence in both directions.

Mission ACCOMPLISHED, but not completed.

 

It was a Blessing to see so many old familiar faces at the Shawnee Alumni Scrimmage. I counted at least 39 former players at the contest and I likely missed a couple. What an incredible turnout!

For the match, the 2014 Varsity came out strong and established control of the match early.  Sharp, crisp passing with a purpose. Patience while working to create a seam to attack through and great change of pace when they decided to go forward. Solid shape defensively and beyond that was a much improved recognition for and ability to pick up their marks in the forward passing lanes. The Varsity scored first and looked to be in mid-season form in some regards.

Eventually the huge numbers advantage for the alums began to take its toil on the 2014 Varsity as Coach pro tem Doc LaGrande shuttled players in and out en masse.  The alumni eventually won the match and on reflection this is perhaps how it should have been. So much talent on the field - former all-state, all-district, district POY, all-league and league POY's  - for the alumni team yesterday.

Some of the former players in attendance:  Joe Bianco, Dave Goodin, Jeff Decker, Jared Link, Brandon Morse, Trent Quatman, Colin McDermott, Nick Pratt, Brian Bell, Evan Bell, Joe Vogelgesang, Christian Vogelgesang, Joel Reddick, Joe Keller, Joe Goodman, Austin Howard, Troy Brinkman, Jared Dupes, Nick Guidera, Ryan Quatman, Pete LaGrande, Adam Khalaf, Kirt Moritz, Cody Fullenkamp, Patrick Bonifas, Adam Knott, Cogan Shimizu, Garret Gross, Austin Braychok, Andrew Ritchie, Matt High, Justin Thomas, Josh Thomas, Brennan Gaffer, Tyler Anderson, Cory Wilder, Tim Taviano, Derek Smith, Ryan Bosler and probably a couple of more.

Current players include Lance Brown, Tanner Mayer and Chase Wilder - 2014 Tri-Captains. Logan Spieles, Levi Dahlke, Matthew Dailey, Justin Vorhees, Trenton Ward, Alex Lehman, Landon DeMoss, Jack O'Connor, Yung Seong Lee, John Kesner, Nicholas Hoffman, Max Sweigart, Jon Andrews.

It was wonderful to see the "old guys" interact with this years varsity.  I saw several instances of the old guys schooling the new and then taking time to coach them up afterward. The sportsmanship was heart warming.  Words of encouragement, pats on the back, handshakes and hugs shared by players old and new.

This is what tradition is all about - honoring those who have gone before, supporting those in the moment and building for the future. 

Well done Shawnee!