BRIAN BAILEY: Back to the business of football

From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
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By Brian Bailey

Replay the archive of Monday night's Brian Bailey Show, featuring guest Mike Golden, ECU's new strength coach:

Finally, though, football nears. Coach Skip Holtz and the Pirates wrapped up their final two-a-day opportunity on Monday. They�ll continue to work this week, trying to improve and to get ready for the start of classes and the final scrimmage on Friday.

It may be hot on September 3rd, but the heat shouldn�t affect this East Carolina football team. Coach Holtz says it�s a credit to Mike Golden and his staff that the Pirates have practiced in the heat but haven�t lost guys to cramps or anything else that would be heat related.

�We went this morning in shorts and helmets,� Holtz said after Monday�s first practice. �We did move tonight�s practice to late because we�ve had some guys drop some weight because of the heat. That�s why we�re doing it, though, because of the afternoon start against Duke. If we were playing at 7:00 then we might have gone more at night.�

The kickoff time for the Pirates' season opener with the Blue Devils at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was changed to 1 p.m. to accommodate College Sports Television, which will telecast the contest.

The game plan is just about in for the Duke game. In fact, Holtz is calling Friday�s scrimmage the �Duke scrimmage� as thoughts continue on the Blue Devils.

�We are out of camp at this point,� said Holtz. �We�re looking as if we play a game on Friday night. That�s why this will be our Duke scrimmage.�

Strength coach Mike Golden was my first guest for another season of �The Brian Bailey Show� on Talk 1070AM and Cable 7 last night.

As I have said and written before, Coach Golden has that gleam that I�ve seen before from other successful strength coaches.

�The guys have worked really hard, both during the voluntary workouts and in summer camp,� Golden said. �They have taken in everything we�ve given them. I couldn�t be any more pleased.�

Much has been made over the last couple of years about the Pirates' performance in the fourth quarter. Golden says he has no doubt that this team is both physically and mentally ready to play four quarters.

�I have no doubt,� said Golden. �We will be strong in the fourth quarter. I think it�s more of a mental thing, but we�ll be ready.�

Thanks to all of you who call in, watch, or listen each year to the show. It�s been a lot of fun through the years, especially when the Pirates have success.

Thanks also to Coach Skip Holtz for making his assistants available to come on with me, and to Tom McClellan and the media relations staff at East Carolina for helping with the arrangements. The ECU football secretaries, especially Laurie Holden, also make my job that much easier. Without these folks, we simply wouldn�t have a show.

Eighteen years ago this month the Lord blessed me with a daughter. As we left for the hospital that morning in 1987, I had placed a football, basketball and baseball in the crib. Twelve of thirteen grandchildren in the family were boys, so odds were in my favor for a boy.

Hours later, I would replace those balls with a softball. Kyle became Kaitlyn on a Friday evening that I�ll never forget. WNCT-TV led the eleven o�clock newscast that night with her arrival.

Growing up, Kaitlyn always talked about going away to college, while Dad begged her to stay close to home.

The closer it came to decision day, though, the more our thoughts reversed themselves.

Kaitlyn wanted to stay close to home. I did a complete turnaround. After raising a teenage daughter, Alaska-Anchorage looked like a good choice!

Really, though, I�m writing this to say how proud I am that my daughter Kaitlyn is now an East Carolina Pirate. The same little �tub of goo� that danced with Pee Dee at the old Minges Coliseum begins classes later this week. The school that I�ve had the privilege to cover over the last 20 years is where my daughter now calls home.

There is one side note to this story. As we were moving Kaitlyn into her dorm, I saw ECU athletic director Terry Holland. Coach Holland was standing in front of the check-in area, greeting the new freshmen.

Actions speak louder then words. Holland continues to be East Carolina�s lead ambassador.