mikedog10
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Good read, by Jeff Jacobs:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QqQIwAGoVChMIza_UkKzJxwIVkwmSCh2aPgYg&url=http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-football/hc-jacobs-column-uconn-football-media-day-0827-20150826-column.html&ei=ZA3fVc3tB5OTyASa_ZiAAg&usg=AFQjCNEcp0fzVaAIr_1YLvJPVzFkLhX38Q&sig2=uZKymrqyyqo26nJjfu2ODA
When Davis got hurt last year, Thomas began to emerge. His best day game came against UCF when he caught four passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns (38 and 22 yards) in the Huskies' 37-29 upset win. At that point, he talked about how he had done a lot of maturing off the field. Student athlete, he said, student first, athlete second.
Noel Sr., community life associate and coach at St. Luke's, has coached his son since Pop Warner. It turns out "No Excuses" is not only a saying, it's what Noel Sr. called his St. Luke's football team's "life philosophy."
"The long version is 'One Line, No Gaps, No Excuses,'" Noel Sr. said. "We try to live by that. It's about not making excuses and creating solutions. The fact that he put it on his arm I'm proud of him.
"In the literal sense, any team must be shoulder-to-shoulder and nothing gets between them. In the figurative sense, you stick together with your football family and your real family so nothing ever gets between you."
The root of that philosophy, Noel Sr. said, was from his mom, Noel's grandmother,
"My dad's definitely a huge reason why I am here now," Thomas said. "He has always been there for me as a dad first and a coach second. He is always pushing me and putting me in the right positions to success."
Thomas recalled his senior year at St. Luke's. The starting quarterback got hurt. Thomas was the backup QB.
"I went to the sideline," Thomas said. "My dad looked at me. I looked at him. I was waiting for a play call. I just took off and called the play myself."
Was it a good one?
"It worked," he said. "He wasn't really mad at me afterward."
"When he was a senior, he was at another whole level," Noel Sr. said. "He got this look in his eye and there were times he made the calls. There were times — and this is a little embarrassing to say — when he basically ran the team. It's a little hard to explain, but I had that much trust in him."
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QqQIwAGoVChMIza_UkKzJxwIVkwmSCh2aPgYg&url=http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-football/hc-jacobs-column-uconn-football-media-day-0827-20150826-column.html&ei=ZA3fVc3tB5OTyASa_ZiAAg&usg=AFQjCNEcp0fzVaAIr_1YLvJPVzFkLhX38Q&sig2=uZKymrqyyqo26nJjfu2ODA
When Davis got hurt last year, Thomas began to emerge. His best day game came against UCF when he caught four passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns (38 and 22 yards) in the Huskies' 37-29 upset win. At that point, he talked about how he had done a lot of maturing off the field. Student athlete, he said, student first, athlete second.
Noel Sr., community life associate and coach at St. Luke's, has coached his son since Pop Warner. It turns out "No Excuses" is not only a saying, it's what Noel Sr. called his St. Luke's football team's "life philosophy."
"The long version is 'One Line, No Gaps, No Excuses,'" Noel Sr. said. "We try to live by that. It's about not making excuses and creating solutions. The fact that he put it on his arm I'm proud of him.
"In the literal sense, any team must be shoulder-to-shoulder and nothing gets between them. In the figurative sense, you stick together with your football family and your real family so nothing ever gets between you."
The root of that philosophy, Noel Sr. said, was from his mom, Noel's grandmother,
"My dad's definitely a huge reason why I am here now," Thomas said. "He has always been there for me as a dad first and a coach second. He is always pushing me and putting me in the right positions to success."
Thomas recalled his senior year at St. Luke's. The starting quarterback got hurt. Thomas was the backup QB.
"I went to the sideline," Thomas said. "My dad looked at me. I looked at him. I was waiting for a play call. I just took off and called the play myself."
Was it a good one?
"It worked," he said. "He wasn't really mad at me afterward."
"When he was a senior, he was at another whole level," Noel Sr. said. "He got this look in his eye and there were times he made the calls. There were times — and this is a little embarrassing to say — when he basically ran the team. It's a little hard to explain, but I had that much trust in him."
