CB: Catholic schools throughout the country play “program” football (essentially all built on the old Knute Rockne Notre Dame program). Plus, they recruit like crazy (example being Maurice Jones-Drew playing for De LaSalle up in Concord).
I happen to know Sean Doyle at Cathedral, and he is following the De LaSalle and Mater Dei model/program (Fallbrook’s varsity coach is a Mater Dei alum) to the letter.
I remember Moeller HS when I was a kid and in HS (at that time, Moeller was the only HS to ever be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated). I heard a story about an Anheuser-Busch district manager in St. Louis who wanted his kid to play for Moeller. Augie Busch (big-time Catholic) bought the family house in St. Louis, moved the family to Cincy so the kid could play at Moeller (he went on to Notre Dame after Moeller) and then moved them back to St. Louis after he graduated.
The truly successful programs are just that: Programs. Built to consistently win and they don’t rely solely on talent. We went 52-3-1 over four seasons, including three CCS championships (NorCal’s version of CIF) and we were NOT the most talented group of athletes. We were incredibly disciplined and well coached and we didn’t make mistakes (we went a three game period without a single defensive penalty). We also started every season with three sets of uniforms: Home, Away and Playoff. No shit. Call it arrogance, but we knew from the jump what was expected of us and played accordingly.
I watched Cincinnati – University of South Florida play tonight and the difference between the two teams was striking. One played disciplined, controlled football (Cincy) and the other played strictly on the back of their talent. Which team won? You guessed it: Cincy.
