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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1973)
Page 10 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1973 WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 21, 1973 Trainers and Managers Play Mom to Aggie Athletes By MARY RUSSO “We’re a lot like the football players’ mothers,” said Mike De- Witt, senior manager for the Aggies. 'fvpfnamba Eddie Dominguez ’66 Joe Arciniega ’74' If you want the real thing, not frozen or canned .. . We call It "Mexican Food Supreme." Two Dallas locations: 3071 Northwest Hwy. 352-8570 2131 Ft. Worth Ave. .946-0645 The managers and trainers are the men behind the scenes who comfort the players and look after their equipment, their in juries and occasionally their morale. Managers basically take care of the equipment, spot balls and “make sure Coach Bellard doesn’t have anything to gripe about.” Trainers care for the players’ bodily needs. “We tape ankles, pass out salt and vitamin tablets, and work under Dr. Henry Mc- Quaide,” senior trainer A1 Cooper said. “These students are usually high school athletes who want to stay close to the sport,” said Billy Pickard, supervisor of all the stu dent trainers and managers. There are 16 positions held by the students which means there are four from each classification and two in each of the different jobs. “There’s kind of a caste sys tem,” DeWitt said. “The fresh men do most of the picking up after the team, who happen to be pretty neat as far as athletes go.” “Here’s where the difference between managers and trainers really counts,” Pickard said. “A senior trainer will do more than a freshman trainer when it comes to actual taping and treatments. A senior manager will be sure the freshmen managers get their work done.” “Freshmen mostly get the first aid things out and put them back. They observe and learn,” Cooper commented. Watching is a major responsi bility of both the managers and the trainers. Trainers watch dif ferent parts of the field. Cooper watches the offensive half, while Rick Evans is responsible for the defensive portion. As seniors, these two have ultimate rsponsi- bility for anything that should happen to a player on the field.” “When we take water out, we always ask how everyone is,” said Cooper. “Sometimes there’s a case like Alvin Bowers who couldn’t tell us our names, the day of the week and really had to think about it before telling us his name. “We try to learn how a player reacts to pain. Some guys have really high threshholds of pain and we’ve got to watch them close because they don’t look like they’re hurting,” Cooper said. “The managers work with one certain coach and watch those players who are coached by him. DeWitt takes care of the defen sive players while Bob Owens watches out for the offensive players. “We make sure that the guys have a ball to play with and if they should throw it somewhere we’ve got to retrieve it,” DeWitt added. “At the beginning of a season we fit the shoulder pads, uni forms and helmets. Throughout the season we check the equip ment, keep it in good repair and watch for wear,” said Owens. The trainers and managers don’t live with the team this year, but they do get to know the play ers pretty well. “We can tell what kind of game they are going to play by the practices before,” Cooper and DeWitt said. The seniors travel with the team and serve on occasion as information sources. “At the Rice game, we (DeWitt and Owens) went out to watch the halftime show. Well, we reported to the team what had happened and it LAKEVIEW CLUB 3 Miles N. On Tabor Road Wednesday Night: Tony Booth & Band From 9 - 1 p. m. HELP MOM—Blue Bomber Robert Dennis gets medical assistance from senior train er Al Cooper. (Photo by Kathy Curtis) // / DM ismw JOHNNY RIVERS TAMU SPECIAL ATTRACTION G. ROLLIE WHITE COLISEUM WEDNESDAY, NOV. 21 — 8:45 P. M. Tickets Reserved A&M Student $3.00 A&M Student Date $3.00 Patron $4.00 Gen. Adm. $2.00 $2.00 $3.00 Tickets On Sale At Rudder Center Box Office Mon. - Wed. — 9 a. m. - 4 p. m. Call 845-2916 for Information Blue Bombers are Power Behind Ags cookin' and caterin' country style By BOB CHANEY It has been said that behind every great man, there is a wom an. That every great accomplish ment is merely the sum of many smaller accomplishments. And that every battle has its unsung heroes. And what about those unsung heroes ? When you go to an Aggie foot ball game you expect to see a well trained machine which will, in short order, devastate the op position. But have you ever con sidered how that machine goes about becoming devastating ? Who are the unsung heroes of the Aggie football effort ? They are known as the “Attack Team,” or more appropriately “The Blue Bombers.” George Bohn is a sophomore pre-vet major. He is also a “second year all-pro member” in good stand ing of the elite group which helps prepare the Aggies for what they will meet come game time. Bohn is a 5-foot-ll, 210 pound center from Victoria who has a lot of pride in what he does. “I’m responsible for how good our team does,” he said. “How well we perform determines how well the Aggies play. “Our job is to run the oppos ing team’s offense and defense against the first and second teams,” he said. “This is not an easy job.” A typical week starts with a pre-practice meeting where “The Blue Bombers” learn the basic defense of the week’s opponents. Emphasis is placed upon how in dividuals on the other team play and react. “We have to present a true picture so that there are no surprises,” Bohn said. “Offensively, we learn the op ponent’s backfield set-up,” he said. He went on to explain that cards are used by the coaches to outline specific offensive plays which may be used against the Aggies. The Bombers then spend the remainder of the week running the various offenses and defenses against the Aggie defense and offense respectively. There are approximately 40 people on The Bombers. They are primarily freshmen and they are all there because “they like to play football,” said Bohn. “The unit has a lot of pride and the guys really put out. There are very few slackards. There is a great deal of talent on The Bombers and you never know when you will get a break, he said. “Last year I was play ing center for ‘The Blue Bomb ers’ one week and the next I was first string offensive center for the freshman team against Texas Tech. Where did they get the name, “The Blue Bombers” ? “From our blue jerseys, where else,” said Bohn. Beef, pork, ribs and sausage — not too smoky, not to fat and not too fancy. And all the fixin’s. Tuesday nights after 5:00 the featured dish is chicken ’n dumplin’s. You get a pot of juicy chicken, plenty of plump, fluffy dumplin’s and generous slabs of homemade cornbread f6r s<pppin\ Elarbecue nearly made the Conlee boys famous in these parts. And they’re caterin’ now, too. 3C BSE-B-QUE Open 11 to 9:30 every day except Monday across the tracks/nearly downtown Bryan Homecoming MUMS Buy your date a 12th man mum from Student Floral Concession. Order yours inside the MSC & in the Floricul ture Greenhouse any day before the game. (Except the week-end) or buy one in front of Sbisa Hall during the evening meal. BEAT THE HELL OUT OF T.U. seemed to be the thing to fire the team up. The players hold tradition important and don’t like people mocking A&M. That was reflected in their second half play,” DeWitt said. “Managers and trainers get just as fired-up and involved in the game as the players. We surely do get excited but it takes self-control,” Pickard said. Pickard was hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer from containing his excitement. He has been a trainer since ’52 and decided to “walk across the hall and become a trainer” after being a manager his freshman year. Originally Pickard wanted to be a coach but realized there was no way to really understand the game un less he played. “Training is a method of liveli hood and we try to prepare the students to take their exam for licensing through the football trainer activities,” Pickard added. “I’m just waiting for Dec. 15,” Cooper said. “It takes three years of experience to even qualify for the quiz.” “Managers mainly like football and can’t play on a college level.” One manager is a 28 year old Vietnam veteran who wanted to stay in contact with athletics, the rest applied for their positions while still in high school. Both managers and trainers apply as high school students. For next year, there are already 75 applicants. “Trainers should have worked under a trainer in high school and have a desire to be come licensed. Usually they’re enrolled as P.E. or pre-med majors. The managers can be just about anyone who isn’t en- He Po Ifor to Bob rolled in architecture or B Winne school,” said Pickard. Ivard of “We usually choose th{|Bember w people for their interestin' Longhorn job and their interest in, An example of a lot of ii is a young man from Pari has been in contact with m f j three years,” Packard sa Being a trainer or a may also means putting up witkj tain things. “The try your patience just to] who’ll get away with anytkin said Cooper. “Most football players onery. A bridge player i' worry about his opponent r ing across the table and I him. In football it’s slap«| slapped,” Pickard said. The trainers are seniors| Cooper and Rick Evans, jin Jim Koteh and Mike Griij sophomores Travis Cox i Heath and freshman DavidPir] Managers include seniors5 Owens and Mike DeWitt, jia Paul Baker and Al AlexaJ sophomores Bruce Miller ani^ Boenig and freshman Thompson and David Rejeibiu| These men are dedicatedtots part of football and take its ously. The managers repon Kyle Field about two hoursk!l any practice and four hoiltsi fore a game. They often finish their job until an after work-out stops and n get to dinner with the teatj time. The trainers and managersb different jobs and performd® ent functions, but they thing in common they “war,I be around football players aril part of the sport.” , you re It wa buntered i Texas’ cn |ell have sever the j lonny Lis 1 urday. In per 6-11, 220- pshed for had his tw scores “He c do,” ma fetor in c of great 1 gown thre If th Smitl I formance The : [.onghoms the I which If ye mpared In £ following The Hose witl WISHBONE PRACTITIONERS Emory Bellard arl T hf Darrell Royal are ready to do battle Thursday on KyleFielF^her Royal, in his 17th year at Texas, needs a victory overtls Sc h 0 °l p; Aggies to tie Jess Neeley’s SWC mark of 144 victories Bellard, in his second year at A&M, was hired awayfroi pf the Ed Edi Texas where he invented the Wishbone offense in pility. 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