He was very upbeat about the season and his excitement related to being able to call plays again was palpable. He was very pleased with the progress made in the Spring and is looking forward to Fall camp and the installation of the new turf, which he said is state of the art and going to be a great thing for the players.
In the past, I had always seen him as being distant and aloof. My opinion changed quite a bit over the course of dinner. He was engaging and down to earth, at least to me. He even joked that, when considering our road travel schedule, he would appreciate our attendance at the Air Force game because he needed as many friends as he could get.
When he offered remarks to the entire group, he noted that Wyoming was in the top 10% in the country (ahead of the likes of Stanford, Vandy and others) in terms of APR (or whatever that academic acronym is). He was very proud of the hundreds of hours of community service logged by the team and the pending mission trip to Haiti, which follows an earlier trip members of the team took to the country to help rebuild. He also noted his recent discussion with Brett Smith and Brett's experience at a recent CJC golf event in Worland. Apparently, Brett was taken aback by the level of support and intensity of that support for the Pokes across the state.
In terms of the other programs, Coach Branch spoke and talked about his program, recent success, the great recruits they have coming in and the level of talent already in the program that were redshirted last season. Coach Shyatt was pretty candid about last season and the impact of the mid-season issues on the team. He described the experience as trying to turn a ship around, but never quite getting it done. He talked about not only the issue with Martinez (generally), but also The Boss' and Nance's health issues really taking their toll. Coach Legerski was typical Legerski. He made specific reference to Sewell and the fact that she never practiced on any Monday during the season, so she could go to class. As a result, they couldn't fully install their gameplan until Tuesday...but it was part of the deal, as Sewell and her education were paramount. He also noted that Kayla Woodward was shooting somewhere near 30,000 shots over the summer...and as a result, she could shoot whenever she wanted.
Burman talked about the modifications to the AA and the excellent progress made in the academic realm by nearly every team. All in all, a good night. All the coaches acknowledged that they are (and understand that they have to be) judged on wins and losses...but that their players should be judged on much more, notably their academic prowess, dedication to the state and community service and awareness. I was certainly proud to be a Wyoming Cowboy...even moreso than I was going in. If we can add the W's, well, you can't ask for much more in life, especially if they involve beating those SOB's from Fart Colons.
In the past, I had always seen him as being distant and aloof. My opinion changed quite a bit over the course of dinner. He was engaging and down to earth, at least to me. He even joked that, when considering our road travel schedule, he would appreciate our attendance at the Air Force game because he needed as many friends as he could get.
When he offered remarks to the entire group, he noted that Wyoming was in the top 10% in the country (ahead of the likes of Stanford, Vandy and others) in terms of APR (or whatever that academic acronym is). He was very proud of the hundreds of hours of community service logged by the team and the pending mission trip to Haiti, which follows an earlier trip members of the team took to the country to help rebuild. He also noted his recent discussion with Brett Smith and Brett's experience at a recent CJC golf event in Worland. Apparently, Brett was taken aback by the level of support and intensity of that support for the Pokes across the state.
In terms of the other programs, Coach Branch spoke and talked about his program, recent success, the great recruits they have coming in and the level of talent already in the program that were redshirted last season. Coach Shyatt was pretty candid about last season and the impact of the mid-season issues on the team. He described the experience as trying to turn a ship around, but never quite getting it done. He talked about not only the issue with Martinez (generally), but also The Boss' and Nance's health issues really taking their toll. Coach Legerski was typical Legerski. He made specific reference to Sewell and the fact that she never practiced on any Monday during the season, so she could go to class. As a result, they couldn't fully install their gameplan until Tuesday...but it was part of the deal, as Sewell and her education were paramount. He also noted that Kayla Woodward was shooting somewhere near 30,000 shots over the summer...and as a result, she could shoot whenever she wanted.
Burman talked about the modifications to the AA and the excellent progress made in the academic realm by nearly every team. All in all, a good night. All the coaches acknowledged that they are (and understand that they have to be) judged on wins and losses...but that their players should be judged on much more, notably their academic prowess, dedication to the state and community service and awareness. I was certainly proud to be a Wyoming Cowboy...even moreso than I was going in. If we can add the W's, well, you can't ask for much more in life, especially if they involve beating those SOB's from Fart Colons.
