2-Minute Drill podcast - March 31, 2014

Football Americano - Game 2

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by Chris Salvi

Torino Giaguari, Free Safety

Follow @CSalvi24

Outside of football I was able to enjoy some of what Torino has to offer this week. I visited Reggia della Venaria Reale with head coach Rico Merola and his family.  It is a very large estate right outside the city limits that was the former property of the Savoy family.

The Savoy family ruled over this region of Italy for a greater part of a century.  It was a beautiful home that has hundreds of rooms full of painting and antiques. Lucky for me everything was in Italian and English, so I was able to learn a little bit about 14-19^th century Northern Italy.  It may sound boring, if it was for a class or from a book, but when you experience it, it makes it more exciting - my advice, don’t take the class go live it!

The week was up and down for the team; we didn’t have our best preparation. However, we came out on top with a 45-14 victory over Naples.

The first half was completely controlled by us. We ran the ball well and kept their offense shut down. We jumped out to a fast 14-0 lead and continued to keep the game at our tempo. We finished the first half with a two-minute drill touchdown to send the other team to the locker room with their heads down.

We came out the second half swinging, Niles went for a 50-yard reception to the end zone – it was 28-0 early in the third quarter. Although we gave up a pair of touchdowns on defense, it was good opportunity for most of the team to get game experience.

The defense played a solid throughout most of the game, with some let up in the fourth.  On offense it usually increases your chances to win when your running back goes for over 300 yards of total offense with a pair of touchdowns – it’s safe to say Niles was the MVP of this game.

This week we face off with the Bologna Warriors, probably not the strongest team we will face all season.  Bologna has a history of winning, so we know they wont lay down for us. It’s first road game, and I always preferred road games. I enjoyed getting yelled at by the opposing fans and experiencing a new atmosphere. Should be another fun challenge for our team.

Football Americano - Game 1 with a Pick 6

by Chris Salvi
Free Safety, Torino Giaguari
Follow @CSalvi24

We kicked off and our kick coverage team did a great job!  Then our defense stepped up - run play…stuffed.  Another run play, another stuff, followed by a stuff on 3^rd down! Three-and-out that forced them to punt and I got my first crack at being a punt returner.

I was able to return the punt for a 12-yard that gave our offense good field position. 

Our offense marched straight down the field and score for a 7-0 lead.

Our second defensive series was much like the first. A pair of run plays that got mauled and then Milan tried to throw a deep pass in my direction. 

The result? My first interception in the IFL!

2-Minute Drill Podcast - March 14, 2014

 
by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

Here's the lastest 2-Minute Drill podcast that announces the launch of #FistBumpFriday.  

Every Friday, High School Football America on Twitter will salute players, coaches and teams that are doing great things off the field.  You can tweet us @HSFBamerica and we'll re-tweet your tweet.

On the podcast, we honor Middleburg High School (Florida) head football coach Karl Smeltzer who save a pilot and his passenger after their small plane crashed in Florida on Sunday.

Also on today's podcast, we look at a story from MaxPreps.com's Steve Spiewak who breaks-down the top scoring states in the country during the 2013 season.

2-Minute Drill Podcast for March 13, 2014

 
by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

Today's High School Football America 2-Minute Drill podcast looks at the latest from Allen, Texas and a report that says they made need to do a "partial teardown" of the Eagles' 2-year old, $60 million stadium.  I also talk about the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's decision to delay a vote on splitting public and private schools in athletics.

Football Americano - Week 5

by Chris Salvi

Free Safety, Torino Giaguari

Follow @CSalvi24

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Chris Salvi's photo from Muzeo Egizio

Started my week off with a visit to the Egyptian museum in Torino called Muzeo Egizio.  It's actually considered one of the best in the world. 

Lots of interesting things to look at and read about throughout the museum.  Not only was it a good time, but it only cost 12 Euros ($12.64)...what a deal! Going to one of the museums or attractions in Chicago usually costs upward of 30 dollars. In case any of you find your way to Torino, I suggest the Egyptian museum.

On to football...one aspect of football that I want to be involved with here in Italy is that of a returner on special teams.  Maybe I wasn’t qualified for that position at Notre Dame, but I am excited to step up to that role here.

Keep up with our daily podcast - High School Football America's 2-Minute Drill

 
by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

Hope you enjoyed the first week of our new daily podcast.  

We start Week 2 with news from Sunday's Nike Football Training Camp in Southern California that saw four more players earn invitations to July's The Opening 2014 at Nike World Headquarters in Oregon.  Above you can hear who punched their ticket to Oregon for this year's event that will be held July 5th through the 10th.

Also, on today's podcast, news about a new venue for the 2014 New Hampshire high school football championships.

Don't forget, you can take the 2MD on the go, by subscribing to it on iTunes.  Click here to subscribe for free.

Number of high school football injuries in Texas drops

by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

KTBC-TV Fox 7 in Austin is reporting that high school football injuries declined for the third straight year in Texas.

According to a report obtain by the station from the University Interscholastic League, the state's governing body for high school sports, there were 3,200 injuries last year - down from 4,000 in 2012. The UIL says there were 12,000 high school football injuries from 2010 through the 2013 season. 

The most common injury was a sprain with concussions being the second most common, but the number of concussion cases also dropped last year.  The report does not cover every school in the state.

The report goes on to say that most injuries occurred during games and not in practice and that most injuries didn't require a trip to the hospital.

Fort Thomas Highlands closes-in on Valdosta on all-time wins list

 
by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

If you listened to today's High School Football America 2-Minute Drill podcast, you know that Parkersburg High School in West Virginia is ready to join the exclusive 800 Win Club.  Parkersburg enters 2014 with 799 wins.

Currently there are seven schools in America with 800+ victories, or eight if you go with Easton (Pennsylvania) High School's record-keeping.  According to the school, the Red Rovers won #800 last November, however , the NationalFederation of State High School Association’s official record book has Easton at 786 wins entering next season. 

Valdosta (Georgia) is still at the top of the list with 882 wins, but second-place Fort Thomas Highlands (Kentucky) closed the margin a bit with a 13 win season in 2013 that leaves the Bluebirds' 27 wins behind Valdosta.

All-Time Victories - through 2013 season

Valdosta (Georgia) 882

Fort Thomas Highlands (Kentucky) 855

Louisville Male (Kentucky) 833

Massillon Washington (Ohio) 830

Mount Carmel (Pennsylvania) 820

Mayfield (Kentucky) 819

Canton McKinley (Ohio) 802

Parkersburg (West Virginia) 799

Easton (Pennsylvania) 786

Muskegon (Michigan) 785

High School Football America begins daily podcasts

 
by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

With all of the success we've had with the Thursday High School Football America radio show, it seems only natural to expand the brand with a daily podcast.

Below you can listen to our first-ever High School Football America 2-Minute Drill.  Props to our good friend and now intern Greg Gerber in Wisconsin for suggesting the name.

The idea behind High School Football America’s 2-Minute Drill podcast is to give you up-to-the-minute high school football news daily that you can listen to on your computer or on your mobile device since we're free on iTunes and also on SoundCloud.com. 

The High School Football America 2-Minute Drill is brought to you by The Debris Inhibitor Razur. Stop those pesky rubber pellets from Field Turf from getting into your shoes with the TDI Razur that also gives you the great look of spatting without the high cost of tape.
 

Football Americano - Week 4

by Chris Salvi

Free Safety, Torino Giaguari

Follow @CSalvi24

The fourth week is in the books and the team is only two short weeks from the home opener against the Rhinos of Milan. This week brought some adventure and a chance to learn something new.

First off, I must thank my roommate Niles Mittasch for giving me his Italian book to learn some more words and phrases. I also have to thank him for being very patient with me while I learned how to use our manual car (stick shift).

Some of you may be thinking to yourselves “it’s not that hard.” - yes, yes it is very hard. I have never done it in my life and on top of that it I’m in a crowded European city.

Have you ever been around the roads of a city in Europe? If you haven’t then you cannot understand the difficulty! That said it has been fun and I am glad that now I am starting to get the hang of it.

Niles is a seasoned vet when it comes to using a manual car; he has only stalled the car out one time in a month. That is impressive, given we just got back from Sunday lunch at a friends house and I stalled the car three times.

And the Oscar goes to....Undefeated

by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

The February 23, 2012 High School Football America radio show was fun for me. I was joined by Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, the directors of the then Oscar-nominated Undefeated in the category of Best Documentary.

Both guys were extremely excited about walking the red carpet and I was equally as excited to hear them tell the story of how they went from an idea of following the Manassas (Memphis, Tennessee) High School football team during the 2009 high school football season to Hollywood celebs in 2012.  It was even more fun to see their energy on stage holding their golden statues.

In honor of tonight's Oscars, I'm re-posting that fun interview with Dan and TJ that took place three days before becoming the toast of Tinseltown.


To round-out the Cinderella story, I brought the star of the show, Manassas head coach Bill Courtney on the show in January to discuss how his life had changed since Undefeated won the Oscar.  Coach Bill, who retired after the 2009, was just as enjoyable to talk with and you can listen to that interview below.


I'm also looking forward to talking with Coach Courtney later this spring when his first book called Against the Grain is released in May.  

This is how the book is described on Amazon: In Against the Grain, Bill Courtney shares his convictions on the fundamental tenets of character, commitment, service, leadership, civility, and others that, in his decades of success as an entrepreneur and educator, have proven to be the keys to a winning and meaningful life and career. Each chapter tells the story of one of these tenets through compelling anecdotes of the colorful characters in Bill’s life, leading to a deeper understand of the meaning of each and how to employee these fundamentals in all aspects of one’s life. Against the Grain intertwines inspiring and thought-provoking anecdotes, lessons, and amazing real life examples. Bill’s passion for us all to reconsider our own approach to life and constantly improve upon it comes across on every page.

How far has the humble Coach Bill come from 2009?  Phil Jackson, the Zen master himself, wrote the forward.