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Well-known member
I'd like to offer a special welcome to a new Northern California member and FJR Owner as of today. I hope you all will enjoy this story:
In the summer of 1982, I was a promising high school quarterback and team captain at Encinal High in Alameda. Our program had a championship a few of years earlier, and we had very high expectations for my senior season. I was 6'4", 210 and could legitimately throw a ball more than 75 yards - more than the vast majority of college and even pro quarterbacks. And despite the fact that I was a mediocre player, I was getting recruiting letters from all over the country; Arizona, Oregon, Princeton, Penn State, and more, and even from BYU - at the time "Quarterback U" you might remember. My dad, my hero, had been a coach for many years and we loved football, but he had retired to avoid the perceived father/son favoritism that sometimes happens. I loved and knew the game well, though, and my only dream was to play Division I football, perhaps for Cal, Stanford, Penn State or BYU.
My quarterback coach and mentor at this time was a young guy who'd joined the school only a year or two earlier; Coach Young. He was a tall, former quarterback, too, and he gave me a lot of support and encouragement. I was glad he was there and I learned a lot from him. He was patient, knowledgeable, funny and always supportive. Unfortunately, I was a John Elway-wannabe playing in an offense run by a smashmouth, defensive-minded head coach who would've liked a more Larry Csonka-like scheme.
The season was a tough one, and we missed a lot of expectations; I missed a lot of expectations, throwing some game-losing interceptions and feeling pressured all the time. Our line was porous, specializing in the "Lookout" block ("Barry, look out!!" ). So I rarely had any time, and we were typically only throwing from a deficit anyhow, and this made matters worse. My hopes of any scholarship whatsoever were fading; it certainly wouldn't happen from a Division I school. Coach Young remained supportive and encouraging, and I valued his counsel.
To top all this off, though, for our Homecoming game against our cross-town rivals, where thousands would attend the last game of our season, the head coach decided that I was going to be benched, replaced by a kid who was probably a better athlete, but not much of a quarterback. My mother had died a few years earlier - by far the worst day of my life. But comparatively, for a young man, this was emotionally devastating. My dream had, for me, died.
As some kind of a ruse, and almost adding salt in the wound, the head coach put me in for the first offensive play of the game. And then sat me. It was, I regret now, the very last play of my football career. I probably had the physical tools to play Division I football, but I never wanted to go through that kind of embarrassment again - especially in front of 50,000 fans or something at a big program - and I quit football forever that day, despite a couple of offers from minor schools and junior colleges. The experience caused me to leave baseball after my senior season as well - probably a bigger sin. I was a much better baseball player than I was quarterback and even had contact from the San Diego Padres at one point.
A couple of years ago, I connected with Coach Young on the Classmates website. We traded some messages and he said that he'd never forgotten my benching and the wholly undeserved treatment I'd received. This meant a lot to me. It's surprising to me how the events of decades ago can be so formative and impactful still. I've been successful to some degree because of those failures. But Coach Young was always a great supporter back then, and it was good to hear from him after all this time.
Take this forward a couple more years; 30 or so since I first met him to be exact: Coach Young and I became Facebook friends last year, and he'd noticed a picture of the FJR on my profile. He told me that he was riding a V-Star, but was intrigued by my bike. I told him how much I loved it and pointed him to this site.
Coach Young picks up his '05 FJR today near Sacramento, despite fair cajoling from Mrs. Young, and he got an awesome deal on it. As I'm moving back to NorCal this summer, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with him and riding together. If I've been able to offer him any coaching on this at all, I am grateful to get the chance to return a small part of the favor. He was a great teacher, terrific coach, mentor and now friend, and I'm really pleased he's now riding the best bike around. I hope the rest of you here on the forum and especially in California will join me in welcoming him. He's a terrific guy and a great father to two daughters; one a highly successful collegiate athlete herself! You will enjoy riding with him, I know. Especially now that he has an Encinal Jet Blue FJR.
Coach Young, welcome!
In the summer of 1982, I was a promising high school quarterback and team captain at Encinal High in Alameda. Our program had a championship a few of years earlier, and we had very high expectations for my senior season. I was 6'4", 210 and could legitimately throw a ball more than 75 yards - more than the vast majority of college and even pro quarterbacks. And despite the fact that I was a mediocre player, I was getting recruiting letters from all over the country; Arizona, Oregon, Princeton, Penn State, and more, and even from BYU - at the time "Quarterback U" you might remember. My dad, my hero, had been a coach for many years and we loved football, but he had retired to avoid the perceived father/son favoritism that sometimes happens. I loved and knew the game well, though, and my only dream was to play Division I football, perhaps for Cal, Stanford, Penn State or BYU.
My quarterback coach and mentor at this time was a young guy who'd joined the school only a year or two earlier; Coach Young. He was a tall, former quarterback, too, and he gave me a lot of support and encouragement. I was glad he was there and I learned a lot from him. He was patient, knowledgeable, funny and always supportive. Unfortunately, I was a John Elway-wannabe playing in an offense run by a smashmouth, defensive-minded head coach who would've liked a more Larry Csonka-like scheme.
The season was a tough one, and we missed a lot of expectations; I missed a lot of expectations, throwing some game-losing interceptions and feeling pressured all the time. Our line was porous, specializing in the "Lookout" block ("Barry, look out!!" ). So I rarely had any time, and we were typically only throwing from a deficit anyhow, and this made matters worse. My hopes of any scholarship whatsoever were fading; it certainly wouldn't happen from a Division I school. Coach Young remained supportive and encouraging, and I valued his counsel.
To top all this off, though, for our Homecoming game against our cross-town rivals, where thousands would attend the last game of our season, the head coach decided that I was going to be benched, replaced by a kid who was probably a better athlete, but not much of a quarterback. My mother had died a few years earlier - by far the worst day of my life. But comparatively, for a young man, this was emotionally devastating. My dream had, for me, died.
As some kind of a ruse, and almost adding salt in the wound, the head coach put me in for the first offensive play of the game. And then sat me. It was, I regret now, the very last play of my football career. I probably had the physical tools to play Division I football, but I never wanted to go through that kind of embarrassment again - especially in front of 50,000 fans or something at a big program - and I quit football forever that day, despite a couple of offers from minor schools and junior colleges. The experience caused me to leave baseball after my senior season as well - probably a bigger sin. I was a much better baseball player than I was quarterback and even had contact from the San Diego Padres at one point.
A couple of years ago, I connected with Coach Young on the Classmates website. We traded some messages and he said that he'd never forgotten my benching and the wholly undeserved treatment I'd received. This meant a lot to me. It's surprising to me how the events of decades ago can be so formative and impactful still. I've been successful to some degree because of those failures. But Coach Young was always a great supporter back then, and it was good to hear from him after all this time.
Take this forward a couple more years; 30 or so since I first met him to be exact: Coach Young and I became Facebook friends last year, and he'd noticed a picture of the FJR on my profile. He told me that he was riding a V-Star, but was intrigued by my bike. I told him how much I loved it and pointed him to this site.
Coach Young picks up his '05 FJR today near Sacramento, despite fair cajoling from Mrs. Young, and he got an awesome deal on it. As I'm moving back to NorCal this summer, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with him and riding together. If I've been able to offer him any coaching on this at all, I am grateful to get the chance to return a small part of the favor. He was a great teacher, terrific coach, mentor and now friend, and I'm really pleased he's now riding the best bike around. I hope the rest of you here on the forum and especially in California will join me in welcoming him. He's a terrific guy and a great father to two daughters; one a highly successful collegiate athlete herself! You will enjoy riding with him, I know. Especially now that he has an Encinal Jet Blue FJR.
Coach Young, welcome!
