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Commodore Notebook – 9/6 9/6/2005
Notes and Commentary The Lewis and Cleo Conner Practice Facility at the Vanderbilt Legends Club was formally dedicated August 26. Vanderbilt alumnus and former Commodore golfer Lew Conner, Jr., had contributed the funding and named the short-game practice complex in honor of his late parents. The Conners have been one of Vanderbilt’s most supportive families and their depth of University ties was apparent as Lew’s wife, children and grandchildren gathered during the ceremony. During his dedication remarks, Conner compared golf to life itself, observing that both are mixed with ups and downs. I couldn’t help but reflect back upon his metaphor a few days later once the devastation from Hurricane Katrina became obvious. As we awaited our Wake Forest football game the next Thursday in a Winston-Salem hotel, the news from the Gulf was so depressing that most of us shut off our televisions. We couldn’t bear any more bad news. Yet, just hours later, we rejoiced after our upset victory over the Demon Deacons. We all knew it was “just a game” but it felt so good to see this hard-working bunch get their just reward. Life, like golf, has its good moments and bad, sometimes in a matter of moments. Unfortunately, the Gulf Coast recovery efforts will not be able to turn around in seconds like the Jay Cutler to Earl Bennett pass play changed the complexion of our ball game. However, we will all rally to help in any way that we can to bring hope and relief to our neighbors. The good news was that our Wake Forest game would be one of the first televised by ESPN’s brand new ESPN-U network. The bad news was that few cable networks carry ESPNU yet. Thus, the game took on an old-time feeling as hundreds of Commodore fans packed sports bars to capacity to watch our curtain-raiser while thousands more huddled around radios in dens or kitchens. We were told that those public viewing spots, including a large contingent of students at the Sarratt Student Center, went bonkers when Jeff Jennings plowed in with the winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter and the defense made the necessary plays to seal the winning deal. And why not enjoy it? It was one of our best victories in years and could be the start of something special. It was hard for me to decipher who I was most happy for after our come-from-behind win — players, coaches or loyal fans. It was heart-warming to see Commodore players dance and hug in the locker room, smiling from ear-to-ear. It was equally gratifying to feel the emotion emitting from our quality staff of assistant coaches. They are close-knit, having stayed together by and large now for four Nashville years, working hard with little public evidence to show for their good work and tireless efforts. With Chancellor Gee and Vice Chancellor David Williams among the special guests inside the locker room, Head Coach Bobby Johnson told his triumphant troops how proud he was of each of them and that they deserved to win because they made the plays when the game was on the line. The veteran coach wanted his team to savor the victory but to begin preparing for the Arkansas game the next day. I don’t think many fans realize just how far this program has progressed since this staff arrived about New Year’s Day, 2002. Perhaps it is because few realize how empty the cupboard was back in those days. Sure we had some top players back then. Unfortunately they were far too few and far between. In truth, it took this regime several years to get the overall talent level up to where it probably should have been the day they walked onto our campus. You never heard an excuse from the coaches; each setback just brought about a deeper conviction to better develop those student-athletes on the roster and recruit higher quality prospects. That they have done. We still are not where we want to be talent-wise for our brutal Southeastern Conference schedule. But we are a whole lot closer than we have been in years and we should thank Coach Johnson and his savvy staff for that. While it garners little public attention, for the past five years Vanderbilt Athletics has named a “Coach of the Year.” Former winners include women’s tennis coach Geoff Macdonald (twice), lacrosse coach Cathy Swezey, ex-men’s tennis coach Ken Flach and baseball coach Tim Corbin. The honor carries considerable respect inside our family, considering our talented coaches and many excellent teams. This year’s announcement was made at a reception at Chancellor Gee’s home August 30. While there were several strong contenders, women’s basketball coach Melanie Balcomb was selected for winning 24 games and making the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. A new award this year was the department’s “Unsung Hero”, accordingly presented to the support staff member who’s work above and beyond the call of duty made a valuable contribution. The winner was promotions director Brandon Barca, whom fans know as “Frank the Dancing Dog” at baseball games and is often seen keeping Memorial Gym hopping during basketball games. The energetic Barca owns a Masters degree and recently turned down an offer to join the Nashville Predators staff. Academic counseling director Elizabeth Wright was sighted for her staff’s excellent work and our two cross country teams were given an award for having the highest cumulative grade point average during the year — coming in with a virtually identical 3.49 as a squad. You are going to be reading a lot about baseball’s current freshman class, which experts agree is one of the nation’s best. SE Baseball, for instance, just evaluated the Top 15 newcomers in the league and Vanderbilt had four on the list. No other school had more than a pair. The experts will rank the top freshmen classes at the end of this month. Coach Tim Corbin’s new class of 16, already considered a Top 20 class last fall, is going to leap-frog to near the top of the rankings because it didn’t lose a single player to the Major Leagues, despite several having offers in the $1 million range. |
