It's blazing hot, I can't remember the last time it rained and no UCO team will be playing for at least another month and a half. Which means it must be the middle of July in Oklahoma.
Some random thoughts as we get through the dog days of summer . . .
Work continues at Wantland Stadium, where new turf is being installed to replace the original one that went in before the 2003 season. It didn't take long to strip off the old turf, but repairs have to be made to the drainage system and other areas before the new green stuff can be put down.
Everything will be ready by the time practice starts in early August and the new field will look far better than the old one, though most UCO fans won't see it until Oct. 1 when the Bronchos host East Central in the 2011 home opener. And that will be Homecoming, by the way.
Work is also going on in the Hamilton Field House weight room, but I'm talking about the kind where guys of all sizes are flinging around massive amounts of iron. Dozens of UCO football players are busy preparing for the upcoming season with daily sessions in the weight room and early-morning runs, with seven-on-seven work being conducted several times a week during the evening.
Several of those guys graciously helped last week with the filming of a public service announcement being done by KOKH Fox 25 for the upcoming Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Labor Day Telethon. "Make a muscle, make a difference" was the slogan, with Joshua Birmingham, Herbert Byrd, Tucker Cason, Bryce Davis, Matt Jackson Sam Moses, Keno Meadows and Justin Pruitt participating in the the commercial that was filmed at three different locations on campus. Kudos to those guys for taking time out of their day to help out.
Volleyball camp is going on this week at Hamilton Field House. A boys basketball camp was held last week, which followed a girls basketball camp, which followed a boys/girls soccer camp, which followed a softball camp, which followed a baseball camp. You get the idea. Summer is a time for camps and there have been plenty on them this summer as hundreds of kids of all ages come to campus for the various camps held by our coaches.
Summer will be over soon, so enjoy it while it lasts.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
My Uncle Joe
My Uncle Joe was an avid golfer most of his life, often playing five times a week or more well into his 80s. He often said as he got older that if you don’t have a reason to wake up in the morning then what’s the use?
Getting up to play nine holes or whatever he had the strength to muster at his beloved Twin Hills Golf Club – easily my favorite course in Oklahoma – was one of the main things that kept Uncle Joe going as the years went by. Or sometimes he would just hit balls on the practice range.
That image cracks me up. Here’s a man in his 80s still trying to get better at a game that’s impossible to master and easy to get frustrated at and discouraged by. He still wanted to hit it a little straighter or, hopefully, a little farther.
We can all learn something from that. Never give up. Keep moving forward. Live for today, not tomorrow or yesterday.
Uncle Joe got his first hole in one just a few years back after having played for nearly 60 years. Talk about persistence! I didn’t have an ace of my own at that time, but I made sure to call Uncle Joe soon after I ended my 30-year drought three years ago and he couldn’t have been happier for me.
I know this is space is suppose to be about all things UCO, but my Uncle Joe is worth a brief interruption. A World War II veteran, he always had a suaveness about him that I envied. He was my mom’s older brother and always took care of her. He was all class, all the time.
We lost Uncle Joe late Wednesday night. The spirit and mind were willing, but his body finally just wore out. He was still sharp as a tack when I last visited him on Sunday, even cracking a couple of jokes, but his time was coming and we both knew it when we said our good byes that day.
I’m going to miss my Uncle Joe. But I’m going to think of him every time I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, knowing that life is out there and you have to live it to the fullest just like he did.
Getting up to play nine holes or whatever he had the strength to muster at his beloved Twin Hills Golf Club – easily my favorite course in Oklahoma – was one of the main things that kept Uncle Joe going as the years went by. Or sometimes he would just hit balls on the practice range.
That image cracks me up. Here’s a man in his 80s still trying to get better at a game that’s impossible to master and easy to get frustrated at and discouraged by. He still wanted to hit it a little straighter or, hopefully, a little farther.
We can all learn something from that. Never give up. Keep moving forward. Live for today, not tomorrow or yesterday.
Uncle Joe got his first hole in one just a few years back after having played for nearly 60 years. Talk about persistence! I didn’t have an ace of my own at that time, but I made sure to call Uncle Joe soon after I ended my 30-year drought three years ago and he couldn’t have been happier for me.
I know this is space is suppose to be about all things UCO, but my Uncle Joe is worth a brief interruption. A World War II veteran, he always had a suaveness about him that I envied. He was my mom’s older brother and always took care of her. He was all class, all the time.
We lost Uncle Joe late Wednesday night. The spirit and mind were willing, but his body finally just wore out. He was still sharp as a tack when I last visited him on Sunday, even cracking a couple of jokes, but his time was coming and we both knew it when we said our good byes that day.
I’m going to miss my Uncle Joe. But I’m going to think of him every time I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, knowing that life is out there and you have to live it to the fullest just like he did.
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