OCR Text |
Show Brandon Flint Makes Final Trip To Holiday Bowl Dart Coach Questioned About Illmtrous BYU Days To End Wrestling Strength Note: After some successful sears under the Frank of Thompson, the Das is High wrestling progreigns ram took a few years to adjust to a new coach, a ninth grade 4-being taken away from the school and repositioning in But after a few short seasons, Jimmy Dickson has the Darts in the thick of the talented heap. The following is a question-answe- r iew with the Darts head man.) By KEITH DUNCAN Journal Sports KAYSVILI E - Jimmy Dickson and Bruce Bitner have the Dart wrestling program on the move and he's fueling the fire with some good ole fashioned hard work and discipline. -- CLIPPER: Describe a few of the characteristics of the club, things maybe the onlooking public dont always notice? DICKSON: Maybe a characteristic that isn't just ours, is something that goes with our heavier weight people. We've had some dual meets in the past couple of years as well as tournaments where some of our lighter people have taken a beating a time or two. When our bigger kids, say 145 pounds and up, sit around and watch that for 30 minutes or so, 1 guess you could say they get a little hostile. If you've got any kind of team spirit or concept, you can get a little tired of watching your buddies get beat up. It was evident in our dual match against Layton the other day. Maybe I do a little better job with the bigger people since I spend a lot of time with them through the fall during football." CLIPPER: The Darts are battling with the best of 'em this year. How much better as a team can they get? DICKSON: If we can get the pride thing going that says weve got a chance, we'll climb a little bit each week. But everyone has got to contribute. It's just like in football, we didnt get to the finals with just 11 or 22 players. It was everyone contributing in practice whether they played on Friday or not. It's the same thing in wrestling. Even if some guys dont represent us varsity wise in a tournament or a dual, if theyll get down on the mat and make someone else work hard, it accomplishes making them better and the guy their pusing better. I believe were getting better each week now. One thing that really helped us in the Layton Tourament was getting as many matches as we did. How some of the kids did it, having never wrestled competitive before and win a tournament title, I dont know. But they do it. ZZ I 1 i I I By KEITH DUNCAN school. Ehin began attracting a holder. and lot of recruiters, including BRANDONS grandfather has been able to wfchihis grandson star as one of BYUs leading sackers as welli as observe the other techniques (Editors inters i : some from Alabama where the famed bogus telegram got mustered up. RALPH ZOBELL PROV 0 - For the final time illustrous and action-packe- d -- in his HAYING CHUCK on our high school team helped me get career with the Brigham Young University Cougar football team, Bran- recognized by recruiters, don Flint will be playing in his last Holiday Bowl game. shadow anymore and have earned my own respect." said Flint, But I am not in his Ehin, who as mentioned is a member of the Chargers foot- THE FORMER Layton High star left with the rest of ball team, had dinner with the Cougars Sunday afternoon as BYU was off to San Diego to prepare for their sixth Holiday Bowl appearance. They will meet the University of Missouri this Friday night. In the Dec. 23rd game, BYU will be trying to even their Holiday record to Brandon the evening prior to 2 this seasons victory over San Diego State. Aside from Flints redshirt year in 79, Brandon had played alongside Ehin in defensive fronts for six seasons, but now 47-1- finds himself getting used to new Cougar company this season in the likes of Jim Herrmann and Brad Smith. THE 4 Layton, Utah kid has come a long way since the days in high school when he 6-- I WAS getting double and triple-teame- d a lot at the begin- was dubbed If oppos- ning of the season, said Flint, quarterbacks knew Flints history of overcoming obstacles, they would begin to understand why Brandon finds ing because Herrmann and Smiths inexperience. But I dont see much of the doubleteaming now because Jim and few stumbling blocks on the gridiron. Here is a guy who suffered asthma because of an allergic reaction to sagebrush while hunting atop a mountain near Layton and had to be packed down the slopes on a horse; a guy who was so fragile that he once sprained his weak ankles while walking across a putting green at a golf course, thus earning the name crisco-ankleand a kid who didnt think he was good enough to play football at BYU. Brad have come along quickly. Brandon, who was named after the character in the movie Shane, has made a believer out of his Weber grandfather. When Brandon started as a sophomore, his grandfather attended BYU games when there was no conflict with Weber games. Then when Brandon was a junior, his grandfather amended that policy by calling his grandson on key weekends for additional tickets. And this year Brandons grandfather is a BYU season ticket s; j Flint applies so well Tin Jthe field. I just wish I knew he things I know now and had been able to apply them jn High school said Brandon. Now I know that you dont have) to abuse the guy in front of yo$ to get to the quarterback. I jjust aim to hit the blocker underjthe chin with my helmet. 1 do alot of talking to my opponents on the field. And I try to guess the snap count to help me. bef are the other guy gets in gckJd bi dy position. WHILE Flints fury has remained in control on the gridir- on, he has had occasional flare-up- s. This past summef he served as the director for Laytons softball league $md was ejected as a participant in the semifnal and final games of the tournament. But once) an athletic contest is over Flint usually tells his opponent he hasnt meant anything by his razzing during a game. And this year Flint another las ritqal. post-gam- e Number 99 lets his five ocl ck shadow grow an extrqjJay on game weekends and.doemt shave the stubble until after the game. Another post-gm- e victory celebration 'is he homemade ice cream party at Coach Tom has spooned the Ram ige ice cream over 50 times in his BYU career because ,of wins and missed it less than (p tirfies because of losses. Ramages-honte--Flin- t Brandon can boast offive straight trips to the Holiday Bowl CLIPPER: The work epic is a critical part of your philosophy as a coach, isn't it? DICKSON: We hope its evident in all of our programs here at Davis, that in order to get better, youve got to do work. Bruce and I have tried to install a basic, simple philosophy that it takes so much work to go from point A to point B. Then whatever were doing, we try to work harder, whether it be technique or conditioning. Along with our belief in hard work, we believe something ought to go with that that makes everything tie in. And that's knowing that what work we put forth, has to be intense and to get the most out of what we do. Ive had other coaches approach me and ask why we practice for only an hour and a half. Theyve told me they cant get all they need to get done in that amount of time. But I don't agree with them. See, we try to go at it with high intensity fora short period of time. It's not that way every single day because the kids and I are human, but that's our primary objective. I've known coaches that go at it for 3 or 4 hours, but once the fatique sets in, its like anything else, the degree of learning fades because you're tired. As you get tired, the intensity will wear off. We really strive for that, to get the maximum out of the kids in a short period. Were not in that wrestling room for longer than an hour and a half or an hour and minutes. The kids know that and practices forty-fiv- e gradually get better. If the kids screw around, they know practice will go longer. "The seniors have been around this kind of philosophy for a few years now, and they prod the others to move it along and push harder. THE KID has turned out to be a menacing defensive tackle, an player (finally), team captain and the object of many double teams from offensive lines. Flint and Doug Kellermeyerare the only Cougars thus far who could boast of five straight trips to the Holiday Bowl. BYU had just started its annual Holiday Bowl pilgrimage a few months before Flint signed a letter of intent with the Cougars. Coming off an undefeated season in football under Gary Hansen, a remarkable year with Doug Moons Lancers and a solid track and - BYUs Brandon Flint will be called upon once more on Friday night to haunt Missouris quarterback and clip their runningbacks for losses. The game will end a very successful season. field year in Flint nearly attended Weber State College where his father, Reed, was a team captain years ago, where his grandfather was a staunch Wildcat booster. 78-7- BRANDON broke family tradition by coming to BYU in stead of going to Weber. Not only did the Cougars and Wildcats want Flint, but Nebraska and Oklahoma State showed a lot of interest in him, too. Flint and his long time bud, Chuck Ehin (now with the San Diego Chargers), took a recruiting visit together to Nebraska. They lost their suitcase on the plane and had to wear the same set of clothes for two days. While teammates at Layton High, Ehin and Flint were among a defensive line that averaged 225 pounds. In 1978 they helped to bring a state football champion to the Mexicos Bubby Funck c BYUs No. 99, a 1983 New All-Wa- is about to get nailed by performer. f CLIPPER: What's your wrestling background coach? DICKSON: One of the greatest statements I've ever read came from Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers when he said, I'd like to be remembered as a teacher.' I think if you can teach, and I hope I can, I feel like I can teach anything, especially if I get myself some background. Now I know I don't do as good ajob with technique as (Scott) Tennis, or (Mike) Hansen or as good as Steve Sanderson did when he was with Viewmont, any of those guys with tremendous college backgrounds. But I think Ive got one thing that I hope I can bring out in kids and that is, The will to prepare to win. In other words, I feel like 1 can get my kids to a point where if theyll work hard enough, that they really dislike losing. I hope I can teach them how to become a competitor. Ive got some technique I've picked up in my limited wrestling background, in camps, learned from past wrestlers we've had, from watching Coach Thompson and Ive made it a strong point of mine to learn in the tournaments we attend and asking all the questions I can. People have been very helpful. Im no genius and I claim to be no genius. I hope Ill always keep learning because the day I stop learning is the day I need to get out. heard or No one covets Many a quarterback have bit the turf because of Brandons aggressive play. Here he and Herrmann celebrate again. K r r |