A winning attitude helps the football t eam fin ish a t ough season In 1995, the Bison football team showed that a person cannot necessarily judge a team by its record. Although the Bisons finished the season with a record of four wins and six losses, Coach Randy Tribble said the team consistently displayed the qualities that are characteristic of winning teams. "I'm proud of the players' display of unity and maturity throughout the season," Tribble said. "Instead of blaming each other for unsuccessful plays and lost games, the players pulled for each other, accepting the mistakes and learning from them." The training that the players received each week seemed to be one of the primary sources of their unity and maturity. In addition to physical conditioning which involved weightlifting, running, hard-hitting practices and strategic planning which involved studying films of previous games - theirs and their competition's - and walking through plays to be used in upcoming games, the Bisons engaged in character conditioning. "I, as well as the other coaches, believe that many of the lessons learned from playing football can also be applied to everyday living, and this belief is reflected in how we train our players," Tribble said. "In life, big goals seem much more attainable when we break them down into smaller goals. The same can be said of football - winning a game seems much more attainable Football. First Row: Jake Tribble, S. Hill, P. Maple, J. Cuffie, R. Derrick, E. Sheffield, A. Rush, M. Wilson, Brad Frank. Second Row: W Allen, G. Chism, J. Wright, M. Hurley, C. Beason, A. Patton, R. Stroud, C. May, M. Fager. Third Row: M. Johnson, S. Phillips, J. Cunningham, J. Lanier, C. Mashburn, E. Huntley, C. Griffin, R. Rivera, D. Walker. Fourth Row: S. Alexander, D. Livingston, J. Dixon, C. Gilliam, C. Rudesill, L. Coakley, T. Smith, M. Hopkins, S. McDaniel, C. Howell. Fifth Row: R. Helton, D. DeArman, C. Scudder, B. Edwards, P. Neil, W Canerday, J. Thornton, D. Allison, M. Byrd, T. Hutchinson, T. Lee. Sixth Row: S. Brinson, A. Biggs, B. Burleson, M. McClure, J. Ruf, T. Berreth, S. Blasdel, D. Winkler, J. Patterson, R. Graham, H. Hill. Seventh Row: S. Proctor, D. Gonzalez, J. Newby, L. Edwards, P. Simmons, R. Huckeba, R. Tribble, J Frank, S. Ragsdale, R. Mote, S. Reedy, P. Mann, T. Byrd, J. Banker. Eighth Row: C. Cobbs, J. Jones, M. Blue, C. Hagan, W Hughes, J Hill, R. Johnson, S. Martin, W Rhoten, J. Jones, C. Madar, K. Nelms. Ninth Row: J. McMahon, C. Cook, J. Smith, M. Davis, 0. Joseph, J. Johnson, I. White, K. Nieman. Tenth Row: J. Clanton, R. Harlow, C. Joyce, K. Shireman, C. Rye, T. Predmore, N. Randolph. Photo by JeffMontgomery. when it's broken down into smaller segments. We teach our players that, in a game situation, they need to focus on one play at a time, forgetting the past plays, not concerning themselves with future plays, but simply doing their best with the play at hand. That is a good way for the players to learn not only how to handle the pressures of a game, but also how to handle the pressures of being good husbands, fathers and citizens, " Tribble said. Chad Griffin, a senior strong safety, said he was greatly influenced by Coach Tribble and valued the training he received. "Coach Tribble 1 has helped me to become a better player and a better worker, and through his applications of football to life, I've become a better man and a better Christian. He's a good motivator," Griffin said. Some of the players have reached similar conclusions about why the Bisons did not win as many games this season as they had planned. Griffin said, "We had several chances to win, but just came up short. " Chad Mashburn said, "We just weren't able to capitalize on enough opportunities." Mac Hurley said, "We played some tough teams this year. Alot of the games could have gone eitherway." Hurley seemed to succinctly express the players' and coaches' overall opinion of the 1995 season when he said, "We were a good team and had a good season, though the record doesn't show it." - Michael Carter Football 264 ~-~~S-po-r-ts~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----:
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