Newspaper Page Text
JUNE 29, 2016
The Commerce News
The Banks County News
Phone: 706-621-7204
Fax: 706-367-8056
cameron@mainstreetnews.com
Section B
Smart talks coaching philosophy at Commerce Kiwanis
Members of the Commerce Kiwanis Club
who heard UGA head football coach Kirby
Smart talk last week learned more about his
coaching philosophy than about the 2016
Georgia Bulldogs.
Speaking in a program last Thursday for
member Ray Lamb, Smart placed most
of his emphasis on the task of building a
program through getting quality players and
motivating them toward excellence on the
football field and elsewhere.
Smart, who played defensive back in
Athens 1995-98, became the Top Dog this
winter, coming off a stint as defensive coor
dinator for the University of Alabama, which
won national titles in 2009, 2011, 2012 and
2015. His comments to the Kiwanis Club
suggest that Job One is to build the same
kind of program at UGA.
He spoke of questions he asked his play
ers in his first team meeting.
“I asked them three questions,” he said.
“Where are you now in your life? Where do
you want to be? And how are you going to
get there? ...The first thing you got to do is
be honest and say where are we now?
“An SEC (Southeastern Conference)
championship? If that’s where you want
to go, you’ve got to be willing to sacrifice.
How are you going to get there? I promise
you I know how to get there. I’ve been a
part of a lot of programs that got there.
The part about getting there is the hardest
part. You’ve got to endeavor, you’ve got to
go through the hard times, you got to push
through the pain, you’ve got to push harder
than you’ve ever pushed, and when you
can’t push any more, you’ve got to push
harder. And we’re going to push you harder
than you’ve ever been pushed, because
that’s where you want to go. Those three
questions permeate our building. We ask
them every day.”
Smart told the Kiwanis Club that a major
reason he coaches is for the chance to
impact kids. Sometimes, he said, it’s not
pleasant.
“I had to dismiss a kid this week,” he said.
“I’ve never had one so distraught, so upset,
but I honestly believe his life won’t change
until he experiences a dramatic event. A
lot of kids won’t change until they have
some kind of large event change the course
of their life... We can’t allow people to not
adhere to the principles and values of the
organization, whatever it is.... I would rather
clean it out early. If it costs you a game or
costs you a season, in the long term you’ll
be better off.”
Nick Chubb Update
Smart did offer an update running back
Nick Chubb, who is working to rehabilitate
his knee after a season-ending injury and
surgery. He reported that in addition to his
rehab, Chubb is taking karate lessons.
“I was amazed at what he was doing for
an extra hour and a half each night,” he
said. “It’s made him faster. He’s getting his
flexibility back faster.”
But Smart would not predict when Chubb
would be back in the starting lineup.
“I don’t know if he’s going to play the first
game,” he said. “The kid wants to be back,
but we’re not going to sacrifice his career
Smart talk
University of Georgia head foot
ball coach Kirby Smart spoke to
the Commerce Kiwanis Club on
Thursday night.
over one game.”
Smart said Chubb “raises the competi
tiveness” of the team’s other running backs
during summer workouts because of his
work ethic, and he praised Chubb for being
the first UGA player to volunteer to work at
Camp Sunshine at Rutledge, a camp for kids
with cancer.
“It’s important to him that he gives back.
He’s just that kind of guy,” Smart said.
As for the quarterback situation, Smart
noted that everyone wants to know who
will start.
“I don’t know,” he confessed, “so I’m
sure not going to speculate.” He pointed
out that the Bulldogs will have 27 practices
before the season opens with North Caro
lina, by which time he will find the starter.
“I can promise you this,” he said. “I’m
going to play the one who gives us the best
chance to win, the one who gives the play
ers around him confidence”
Part of determining that, he said, will be
to talk to other offensive players.
“What do they say? I will talk to them to
see what they say, not that they’re going to
make the decision, but they’re going to have
some input,” Smart said. “I want somebody
out there that they have faith, confidence
and trust in. That’s important to me.”
Smart said UGA has a second place-
kicker coming to compete with Rodrigo
Blankenship, and has a punting recruit from
North Carolina joining the program in July.
He also told the Kiwanis Club that the Bull
dogs will spend a third of their practice time
on the kicking game.
On the subject of recruiting, Smart said
he wants “big, physical guys.”
“At the end of the day, size wins,” he said.
“Our goal is to be the best in the country,
because we should be,” Smart continued.
“Georgia high school football is by far
and away the most well-coached, the best
state for football there is. ...We should get
those players. We won’t get them all, but we
should be the best on defense. We should
be the best on offense. We should be good
on special teams. We’ve got the capability in
this state to do that.”
L _/ i
Moving
up the ranks
Banks County grad
uate Taylor Boisclair
recently signed an
athletic scholarship
with Gordon State
University.
Boisclaire
signs with
Gordon State
Banks County graduate
Taylor Boisclair recently
signed a baseball scholar
ship with Gordon State Col
lege in Barnesville.
The right-handed pitcher
led the Leopards with 64
strikeouts in 71 innings in his
senior season. He finished
the 2016 season with a 3.451
ERA.
Boisclaire will suit up for
the Highlanders next season.
Gordon State is a member of
the Georgia Collegiate Ath
letic Association Conference
and has a history as one of
the top junior collegiate pro
grams in the nation.
BCPRD hosting
cheerleading
camp July 18-21
The Banks County Parks
and Recreation Depart
ment will hold a youth
cheerleading camp July
18-21 at the BCPRD gym.
The camp is for chil
dren ages 9-14, and will
run from 9 a.m. to 11:30
a.m., daily.
Registration costs $30
and includes snacks.
Checks must be made pay
able to the BCPRD.
For more information,
contact the BCPRD at 706-
677-4407 or bwhitmire@
co.banks.ga.us.
CHS Football
Close Ties
Cheer Tigers
holding kids
camp in July
Commerce native Bob Finch
leading Tiger in defense in 2016
Leading the D
Commerce’s Bob Finch was promoted to the position of defen
sive coordinator in his third season with the Tigers. He was the out
side line backer positional coach for the Tigers’ past two seasons.
Photo by Cameron Whitlock
BY CAMERON WHITLOCK
The Tigers have a newly-mint
ed coordinator calling the shots
on defense. But Bob Finch is no
stranger to Commerce football.
Finch served as the outside
linebackers’ coach for the Tigers’
past two seasons, but his histo
ry with the Commerce football
program dates back to the 1980s
when he played under legend
ary Commerce head coach Ray
Lamb. Finch also learned under
his defensive tackle position
coach, Steve Savage.
Finch’s father, Aubrey Finch,
was the principal of Commerce
High School before Donnie Drew
took the position in 1982.
Finch said his long history with
Commerce has helped him build
strong relationships with other
coaches, players and members
of the community.
“It’s where I went to school,”
said Finch. “I grew up in Com
merce and I’ve known Michael
(Brown) and Chas (Hardy), and
their families forever. A lot of the
kids I’m coaching now, I went
to school with their parents and
played with some of them. I have
a lot of Commerce ties.”
Following the exit of last sea
son’s defensive coordinator Bran
non Tidwell, Finch approached
Commerce head coach Michael
Brown and expressed interest in
the position. After deliberation,
Brown and Commerce administra
tors believed Finch to be the best
man for the job.
Brown noted that Finch brings
continuity and a high degree of
football intelligence to the pro
gram.
“Bob’s an extremely intelligent
coach,” said Brown. “He’s been
around some very good programs
and he’s learned a lot. He’s done a
great job for us.”
Last season, the Tigers switched
to a 3-4 base defensive scheme.
Finch said his goal is to keep
that scheme, while making a few
tweaks and adjustments through
out the season.
“It was new for all of us last
year, and it was a group effort,”
said Finch. “We kind of did it on
the fly. The previous scheme that
Will (Peters) installed was kind of
unique to him. We wanted some
thing that we could simplify a bit.
I think our kids play a little faster
when things are simple. We don’t
want them overloaded with things
to think about or recognize. We
just want to have a simple plan
where they can go out there and
play and have fun, get after people
full-speed.”
The Tigers’ defensive coaching
staff hasn’t had to endure much
turnover from last season. Chas
Hardy will lead the inside lineback
er corps, while Lamar Bowles, will
head up the defensive line. Warren
Standridge, who coached at Jack-
son County last season, will take
over as the defensive backs’ coach.
The Commerce defense will
also enjoy continuity on the field
this season, as six starters and
nine rotational players return to the
Tigers’ lineup.
“We are all comfortable with it
and we know the calls,” added
Finch. “The kids were comfortable
with the calls and the alignments
and such, so we didn’t want to
make any big changes. We will
continue to refine what we have
and continue to add little tweaks
here and there.”
Prior to his stint at Commerce,
Finch served as the defensive coor
dinator at Oglethorpe County for
five years. He was a linebackers’
coach at Greene County for six
years and an offensive coach at
Winder-Barrow for four. Finch has
nearly 30 years of accumulative
coaching experience as he enters
his 29th season in 2016.
The Commerce High
School cheerleading
squad will host its second
annual “Kiddie Camp” on
July 18-21.
Children will learn
official Commerce Tiger
cheers from the state
champion Cheer Tigers.
The camp will run from
5-6:30 p.m. daily, at the
CHS gym.
The registration cost
is $25 (T-shirt included).
For more information,
contact Brandy Martin at
brandymartininteriorde-
sign@gmail.com.
CPRD
hosting
camps
The CPRD is offering
multiple summer sports
camps through the
months of June and July.
Camps are:
• Camp Chaney
Tennis Camp: A ten
nis camp for boys and
girls who are in third
through eighth grades.
The camp is set for July
11-15 at the American
Veterans Memorial Park
tennis courts, 9 a.m. to
11 a.m. daily. Registra
tion runs through July 11
and costs $40 for Com
merce residents and $60
for non-residents.
•Volleyball camp: A
girls’ volleyball camp
scheduled for July 25-29,
at the Commerce High
School auxiliary gym.
The camp is for chil
dren in grades 4-12 and
will run from 9:30 to
11:30 a.m., daily.
Toccoa Falls College
head volleyball coach
Selina Slate is the pri
mary instructor for the
camp. Registration costs
$45 for residents and
$65 for non-residents.
For more information,
contact the CPRD at 706-
335-3236.