"SC" = his initials, as well as sports center which is where his hits will show up and also Strength and Conditioning where he'll make Will Hicks look brilliant.
Shyheim "The Dream" Cullen
"The Rock" because he's the peoples champ and his physical stature.
and and outside shout for "Walter Sobchak" because I feel like his reaction to opposing players getting past the line of scrimmage will be the same as Walter's when you step over the line.
Ok where to start in this whole thing. I will go back to a couple weeks ago and really give you the whole back story. It was the weekend we went to Miami and we were going down to the camp. They really did love Shy and i still expect him to get an offer from there. But during that week end some stuff happened in Syracuse that had me worried. I noticed a lot of kids going on visits would be told go home and think about your commit and let us know. Except the big star kids. they would get their commit that day. i was worried for shy. You never really know where you are in this whole process..every coach has a great sale spitch and even ones not interested in you talk like you are the greatest thing. I was worried we would get to syracuse and find that Shy was a plan B. So I sent an email to a coach feeling out where we were. Even though he said they want Shy they had the grade concern. I was afraid they wouldnt let Shy commit...now keep in mind up until that week I had been running my mouth on here saying shy was coming. I was like omg this kid is going to be embarrassed if they tell him go home and wait. I was like omg Im going to look like an idiot on the message board...what do I say? He didnt like the place? So I told you he was slowing down keeping options open...which was all true I just didnt know if it was us having to slow down or not. I told Shy i was worried and he was crushed. He was truly set on going here. He looked at me and said now what do I do? I told him we go on as planned if any media ask we are slowing down and holding off. It is such a game and so much happens through social media one wrong perception can ruin a future. I told Shy we go to camp we meet the coaches you show them who you are and you leave it all on the field.
Needless to say when Barry went with Wisconsin I sighed a little. I am sure you guys are disappointed by losing him as a player but I will assure you in four years you wont know that kids name but Shy you will know. I belong to so many forums and recruiting sites I read all day long about this stuff. I knew if a couple big names fell off it would make Shys shot better if he was a plan B.
So we drive up this weekend and the coach texted a bunch asking when where and saying he was looking forward to it. We told him we would be at the camp at 8 and he said he would meet us. We went in and immediately a bunch of coaches came over said hi talked to me and my wife and checked out JJ. Coach Bullough introduced us to Coach Lea. We went in and sat down to talk and he told us of his philosophies and some stories of who he is and where he comes from. Then we went into the defense tape room and did some x's and o's. Shy was a nervous and the coach was testing him. he was asking him to remember terms and Shy was struggling. His coach doesnt use the terms they were and it was all knew to him. needless to say I was sweating. He then took us out to sit down and talk football with coach Bullough who again told us his philosophies and started showing shy terms they use for defense. I started sweating again but this time the coach was up doing the moves physically to show the terms and Shy caught on quick. Coach Shafer came in to talk to us for a brief moment and met my wife and JJ. He was very nice and seemed excited when he met Shy in person. Shy maybe impressive in pictures but standing next to him is a whole different experience.
The coaches all had to go to a meeting for camp to go over the days plans so they brought us to Eric White for a tour of the building. First what a great guy he is... very excited about football and knew everything about the history of it. We toured the trophies and the dome experience we got to see the new uniforms in person...which are much more impressive when you get to see all the details put into them...like the stripes that you cant see in pictures being set to a 44 degree angle. He spoke of the history of the team and the great players which Shy was all over he knew the ups and downs and the whos whos...he must have been studying. We then went and saw the place the kids eat and were told of the rules for the kids. We met some more of the staff and they told us how the lady who works there will make what ever the kids want and if the kids dont have time to eat there will have a sacked lunch made for them to take made with all their personal favorites. I can tell you I have seen a lot of schools none of them do anything remotely close to this. We then made our way to the room where you see all the pictures of the kids in front of the back drop. They had Shys number all set out for himt o try on and get the picture taken. then they showed us all the stuff they get from Nike for free...omg nike is pretty generous but im guessing they dont want shy having anymore photos in my under armour gear. Next we went to see the locker rooms some of the current players where there so we made that quick. We went to the training room where Eric told us of the policies on hurt players and the staff and equipment they have to handle injuries.
Then it was time to get shy measured weighed and signed in to camp. It was almost 11 and we had to get him in. He measured 6 11.5 and weighed in at 208. I told Coach Bullough he was a little light and we just did a change in his medicine to get him back to 215. He indicated he was very happy with shys size and not to worry about him. My wife need to go feed the baby so we headed out to the car. When that stuff was done we headed back to find them. I made the mistake of thinking it was an out door camp and we took a long walk around the complex...needless to say it was hot and a long walk= wife not happy. But eventually we made it in and the kids were warming up. Coach Shafer was standing near shy talking to him during warm ups. They finished up and went to the first of 5 stations. Shy was up at the vertical leap station. I could see him do it but was to far away to know what the height was. as he came around he used hand signals to indicate 36 inches. he had a second chance coming. Coach Bullough came over to the side and yelled up he jumped 36 on bot attempts I yelled back thats it? He said that awesome. I yelled back he jumps 38 make him go again...but it was time to run the three cone drill. I moved over to a spot I could film shy run the drill... that why I can rewind and time him exactly off the film. I saw him go did the calculations and he ran a 4.35...thats pretty good for his size not his best be we will take it. Again coach Bullough yelled up his time they had him at 4.40...didnt make me happy but coach seemed excited about it. Then he slid over to run the 40. Coach Shafer had started moving over during the cone drill and was watching shy talking to him to see what he did. Shys turn came up and he ran a 4.70...again not his best but coach said kids that run on that turf usualyy say they are about .10 or so off from out door numbers so Shy felt better... at any case he and coach Bullough were happy with the 4.70. Finished there and went to the shuttle. Shy had never ran this drill...ever and I was sweating. I didn't even know what a good time was. He ran it while Coach Lea was timing he ran a 7.07 i believe which I later found was a good time. The coaches were happy and coach Lea seemed excited more about the fact of how he ran it He liked that shy was able to move fast at a low stance. then came the broad jump. It was right in front of us and the coach running it had been pumping the kids up big time. Shy jumped 9.8 his first attempt and 9.11 his second. after all the kids were done the coach brought Shy back up and had all the kids gather around and cheer and shout as he took an attempt to jump over 10. He jumped and this time he went really far... I could tell from the marks it was about 10.5 but he fell forward and it didnt count. He had the kids start yelling again and Shy took another shot and jumped 10.1
See Shy looks impressive and is really big but the scarier part of Shy is he stretches every night and works out on speed and flexibilty so he can move and still be the size he is. Thats something alot of gym rats miss out on. they spend all their time lifting and get tight and cant move.
Coach Bullough said he wanted us to come down and shy was running a couple line backer drills with coach Lea. He told us they would be taking Shy out of camp and we would be going with coach Shafer to talk. he said he wanted to make sure we got plenty of time with him and didnt know if after camp he would have time because he had a lot of kids visiting. So they pulled Shy out which actually disappointed shy he wanted to stay and run the drills..he kept saying they didnt get to see me. So we walked bakc thru to coach Shafers office and met some more staff and a bunch of current players who were heading out to the camp to work with the campers.
So we get to Coach Shafers office and we sit down around a table and start talking he begins by telling us some stories of his history and philosophies. He begins telling us the story of a kid who was like Shy that he took a shot on...I said I know I have read a lot of stories about you. I had done a lot of research into this school and him and his staff. He looked either impressed that I knew or worried I was a stalker im not sure which it was. I told him some of the things I had learned that had impressed me and told him I thought he was a great leader. Then he turned to Shys grades he said he thought shy could do it but need to know if Shy wanted it. Shy told him he would work as hard as he could. and coach said he believed he could. He said he knew from talking with Shy that Shy had that look and that it factor that he was looking for.
So then he says to Shy so our offer is on the table and we would love to have you come play here...Now in my head Im still thinking he is going to say but we need to see the grades first ( by the way they actually had Shys grades before we got them...he jumped 2 tenths of a point on his gpa in the fourth quater alone. thatw as huge for us) So I kinda look at my wife like does he mean know? and I look at Shy who is still looking at coach like he is waiting for the but... So coach starts telling us about his reasons he thinks Shy can do it and tellimg us some more stories. I tell him about Shys past testing and his iep and the mess that has been his school time. He brings up a name of a kid he used to Coach at URI from Lowell and Shy says oh yeah Mr Slattery he is my head master at school. Coach Shafer couldnt believe it was the same guy. Its funny how small the world really is.
So then Coach tells him again well the offer is on the table and I am looking at my wife and Shy like say it dam it! But Shy is still looking at him like ...come on give me the but. So the coach goes and starts explaining how his team will work with Shy and the school and how if he needs to prep...they dont want him to but they will be there for him even if we need a plan b. He tells us how if shy gets hurt they cover it and if god forbid he cant play he still has a scholarship and is telling us about the great degrees avaiable.
So he then says to Shy I know if you need some time to think about you can have it if you need a week or so just let me know. and all of a sudden its like shy gets it there is no but coming. Shy gets all watery eyed and says I love syracuse this is where I want to be I thank you so much for believing in me of course I commit. Coach looks over at me and says are you guys on board and I told him about how I thought they might not except his commit but that we had pretty much made up our minds weeks ago he would commit today. I was crying my wife was crying shy was crying every one was hugging... it was awesome. Coach Bullough came in and Coach Shafer told him the news and he was excited. We talked a little more about what was going to happen and he set us up with a couple guys on the staff for a campus tour.
We went and saw the buildings and the guys told us about the area. We went to the dome and they took us inside. I cant wait to see a game there. Whe we went to leave they were explaining how the dome is pressurized and I m not sure if shy thought the door was closed or if he was just excited but lets just say on his first visit to the dome he almost brought the roof down...literally. He opened the door while the inside was opened and wooosh we were almost blown out the door. Dont try that at home kids. they took us to see the dorms next and those were very impressive.
We went back to the building and met the rest of the coaches and staff said all the thank yous and good byes.
The only other thing I want to add is to any kids out there looking at this school...I have seen alot of schools and met a lot of staff. I have never met a staff as down to earth and shoot you straight as this one. I havent been to a single school that made us all feel welcome. The staff here is interested in you as a person and a football player. The are one of the few that will not just use you and leave you to the side when they are done with you. Those big factories like FSU or Ohio and the others may say they care but their past actions are not there to back up their promises...look into the history of those staffs before you make a decision. Dont end up at a school that the second you dont make a play you are forgotten... you may think you are the greatest but there is always some one better...dont chose a school that holds that against you.
The food service here are second to none. No other school I have seen has the system this school does. The weight room here is way beyond what Bc has or even Miami and the dorms? ask about your housing...Miami for one only gives you housing for 2 years then you are paying on your own...check with your schools about that it may make a decision where you end up easier.
Dont be blinded by the glory of past records...if you believe you are the best and want to play in a great system... come to syracuse and be the difference to put this team over the top. You can be on the team that everyone looks at and says that was an amazing team. They expect great records out of those schools that have the bling come be the difference on a team that can be better than those factories. Ask questions and make sure the choice you make is right.
Shyheim the dream is his email lol...he was known as the pink train also. He wore a pair of pink highlight cleats I got him Sophmore year before they went on sale to the public. He does like to be called Shy not Shyheim. no one ever pronounces it right. we go to games and he gets called all kinds of weird versions by other anouncers...its SHY-HEEM not HIIM or SHYHIGHEM. I like the rock but thats been done.
We went to the dome and they took us inside. I cant wait to see a game there. Whe we went to leave they were explaining how the dome is pressurized and I m not sure if shy thought the door was closed or if he was just excited but lets just say on his first visit to the dome he almost brought the roof down...literally. He opened the door while the inside was opened and wooosh we were almost blown out the door. Dont try that at home kids.
Ok where to start in this whole thing. I will go back to a couple weeks ago and really give you the whole back story. It was the weekend we went to Miami and we were going down to the camp. They really did love Shy and i still expect him to get an offer from there. But during that week end some stuff happened in Syracuse that had me worried. I noticed a lot of kids going on visits would be told go home and think about your commit and let us know. Except the big star kids. they would get their commit that day. i was worried for shy. You never really know where you are in this whole process..every coach has a great sale spitch and even ones not interested in you talk like you are the greatest thing. I was worried we would get to syracuse and find that Shy was a plan B. So I sent an email to a coach feeling out where we were. Even though he said they want Shy they had the grade concern. I was afraid they wouldnt let Shy commit...now keep in mind up until that week I had been running my mouth on here saying shy was coming. I was like omg this kid is going to be embarrassed if they tell him go home and wait. I was like omg Im going to look like an idiot on the message board...what do I say? He didnt like the place? So I told you he was slowing down keeping options open...which was all true I just didnt know if it was us having to slow down or not. I told Shy i was worried and he was crushed. He was truly set on going here. He looked at me and said now what do I do? I told him we go on as planned if any media ask we are slowing down and holding off. It is such a game and so much happens through social media one wrong perception can ruin a future. I told Shy we go to camp we meet the coaches you show them who you are and you leave it all on the field.
Needless to say when Barry went with Wisconsin I sighed a little. I am sure you guys are disappointed by losing him as a player but I will assure you in four years you wont know that kids name but Shy you will know. I belong to so many forums and recruiting sites I read all day long about this stuff. I knew if a couple big names fell off it would make Shys shot better if he was a plan B.
So we drive up this weekend and the coach texted a bunch asking when where and saying he was looking forward to it. We told him we would be at the camp at 8 and he said he would meet us. We went in and immediately a bunch of coaches came over said hi talked to me and my wife and checked out JJ. Coach Bullough introduced us to Coach Lea. We went in and sat down to talk and he told us of his philosophies and some stories of who he is and where he comes from. Then we went into the defense tape room and did some x's and o's. Shy was a nervous and the coach was testing him. he was asking him to remember terms and Shy was struggling. His coach doesnt use the terms they were and it was all knew to him. needless to say I was sweating. He then took us out to sit down and talk football with coach Bullough who again told us his philosophies and started showing shy terms they use for defense. I started sweating again but this time the coach was up doing the moves physically to show the terms and Shy caught on quick. Coach Shafer came in to talk to us for a brief moment and met my wife and JJ. He was very nice and seemed excited when he met Shy in person. Shy maybe impressive in pictures but standing next to him is a whole different experience.
The coaches all had to go to a meeting for camp to go over the days plans so they brought us to Eric White for a tour of the building. First what a great guy he is... very excited about football and knew everything about the history of it. We toured the trophies and the dome experience we got to see the new uniforms in person...which are much more impressive when you get to see all the details put into them...like the stripes that you cant see in pictures being set to a 44 degree angle. He spoke of the history of the team and the great players which Shy was all over he knew the ups and downs and the whos whos...he must have been studying. We then went and saw the place the kids eat and were told of the rules for the kids. We met some more of the staff and they told us how the lady who works there will make what ever the kids want and if the kids dont have time to eat there will have a sacked lunch made for them to take made with all their personal favorites. I can tell you I have seen a lot of schools none of them do anything remotely close to this. We then made our way to the room where you see all the pictures of the kids in front of the back drop. They had Shys number all set out for himt o try on and get the picture taken. then they showed us all the stuff they get from Nike for free...omg nike is pretty generous but im guessing they dont want shy having anymore photos in my under armour gear. Next we went to see the locker rooms some of the current players where there so we made that quick. We went to the training room where Eric told us of the policies on hurt players and the staff and equipment they have to handle injuries.
Then it was time to get shy measured weighed and signed in to camp. It was almost 11 and we had to get him in. He measured 6 11.5 and weighed in at 208. I told Coach Bullough he was a little light and we just did a change in his medicine to get him back to 215. He indicated he was very happy with shys size and not to worry about him. My wife need to go feed the baby so we headed out to the car. When that stuff was done we headed back to find them. I made the mistake of thinking it was an out door camp and we took a long walk around the complex...needless to say it was hot and a long walk= wife not happy. But eventually we made it in and the kids were warming up. Coach Shafer was standing near shy talking to him during warm ups. They finished up and went to the first of 5 stations. Shy was up at the vertical leap station. I could see him do it but was to far away to know what the height was. as he came around he used hand signals to indicate 36 inches. he had a second chance coming. Coach Bullough came over to the side and yelled up he jumped 36 on bot attempts I yelled back thats it? He said that awesome. I yelled back he jumps 38 make him go again...but it was time to run the three cone drill. I moved over to a spot I could film shy run the drill... that why I can rewind and time him exactly off the film. I saw him go did the calculations and he ran a 4.35...thats pretty good for his size not his best be we will take it. Again coach Bullough yelled up his time they had him at 4.40...didnt make me happy but coach seemed excited about it. Then he slid over to run the 40. Coach Shafer had started moving over during the cone drill and was watching shy talking to him to see what he did. Shys turn came up and he ran a 4.70...again not his best but coach said kids that run on that turf usualyy say they are about .10 or so off from out door numbers so Shy felt better... at any case he and coach Bullough were happy with the 4.70. Finished there and went to the shuttle. Shy had never ran this drill...ever and I was sweating. I didn't even know what a good time was. He ran it while Coach Lea was timing he ran a 7.07 i believe which I later found was a good time. The coaches were happy and coach Lea seemed excited more about the fact of how he ran it He liked that shy was able to move fast at a low stance. then came the broad jump. It was right in front of us and the coach running it had been pumping the kids up big time. Shy jumped 9.8 his first attempt and 9.11 his second. after all the kids were done the coach brought Shy back up and had all the kids gather around and cheer and shout as he took an attempt to jump over 10. He jumped and this time he went really far... I could tell from the marks it was about 10.5 but he fell forward and it didnt count. He had the kids start yelling again and Shy took another shot and jumped 10.1
See Shy looks impressive and is really big but the scarier part of Shy is he stretches every night and works out on speed and flexibilty so he can move and still be the size he is. Thats something alot of gym rats miss out on. they spend all their time lifting and get tight and cant move.
Coach Bullough said he wanted us to come down and shy was running a couple line backer drills with coach Lea. He told us they would be taking Shy out of camp and we would be going with coach Shafer to talk. he said he wanted to make sure we got plenty of time with him and didnt know if after camp he would have time because he had a lot of kids visiting. So they pulled Shy out which actually disappointed shy he wanted to stay and run the drills..he kept saying they didnt get to see me. So we walked bakc thru to coach Shafers office and met some more staff and a bunch of current players who were heading out to the camp to work with the campers.
So we get to Coach Shafers office and we sit down around a table and start talking he begins by telling us some stories of his history and philosophies. He begins telling us the story of a kid who was like Shy that he took a shot on...I said I know I have read a lot of stories about you. I had done a lot of research into this school and him and his staff. He looked either impressed that I knew or worried I was a stalker im not sure which it was. I told him some of the things I had learned that had impressed me and told him I thought he was a great leader. Then he turned to Shys grades he said he thought shy could do it but need to know if Shy wanted it. Shy told him he would work as hard as he could. and coach said he believed he could. He said he knew from talking with Shy that Shy had that look and that it factor that he was looking for.
So then he says to Shy so our offer is on the table and we would love to have you come play here...Now in my head Im still thinking he is going to say but we need to see the grades first ( by the way they actually had Shys grades before we got them...he jumped 2 tenths of a point on his gpa in the fourth quater alone. thatw as huge for us) So I kinda look at my wife like does he mean know? and I look at Shy who is still looking at coach like he is waiting for the but... So coach starts telling us about his reasons he thinks Shy can do it and tellimg us some more stories. I tell him about Shys past testing and his iep and the mess that has been his school time. He brings up a name of a kid he used to Coach at URI from Lowell and Shy says oh yeah Mr Slattery he is my head master at school. Coach Shafer couldnt believe it was the same guy. Its funny how small the world really is.
So then Coach tells him again well the offer is on the table and I am looking at my wife and Shy like say it dam it! But Shy is still looking at him like ...come on give me the but. So the coach goes and starts explaining how his team will work with Shy and the school and how if he needs to prep...they dont want him to but they will be there for him even if we need a plan b. He tells us how if shy gets hurt they cover it and if god forbid he cant play he still has a scholarship and is telling us about the great degrees avaiable.
So he then says to Shy I know if you need some time to think about you can have it if you need a week or so just let me know. and all of a sudden its like shy gets it there is no but coming. Shy gets all watery eyed and says I love syracuse this is where I want to be I thank you so much for believing in me of course I commit. Coach looks over at me and says are you guys on board and I told him about how I thought they might not except his commit but that we had pretty much made up our minds weeks ago he would commit today. I was crying my wife was crying shy was crying every one was hugging... it was awesome. Coach Bullough came in and Coach Shafer told him the news and he was excited. We talked a little more about what was going to happen and he set us up with a couple guys on the staff for a campus tour.
We went and saw the buildings and the guys told us about the area. We went to the dome and they took us inside. I cant wait to see a game there. Whe we went to leave they were explaining how the dome is pressurized and I m not sure if shy thought the door was closed or if he was just excited but lets just say on his first visit to the dome he almost brought the roof down...literally. He opened the door while the inside was opened and wooosh we were almost blown out the door. Dont try that at home kids. they took us to see the dorms next and those were very impressive.
We went back to the building and met the rest of the coaches and staff said all the thank yous and good byes.
The only other thing I want to add is to any kids out there looking at this school...I have seen alot of schools and met a lot of staff. I have never met a staff as down to earth and shoot you straight as this one. I havent been to a single school that made us all feel welcome. The staff here is interested in you as a person and a football player. The are one of the few that will not just use you and leave you to the side when they are done with you. Those big factories like FSU or Ohio and the others may say they care but their past actions are not there to back up their promises...look into the history of those staffs before you make a decision. Dont end up at a school that the second you dont make a play you are forgotten... you may think you are the greatest but there is always some one better...dont chose a school that holds that against you.
The food service here are second to none. No other school I have seen has the system this school does. The weight room here is way beyond what Bc has or even Miami and the dorms? ask about your housing...Miami for one only gives you housing for 2 years then you are paying on your own...check with your schools about that it may make a decision where you end up easier.
Dont be blinded by the glory of past records...if you believe you are the best and want to play in a great system... come to syracuse and be the difference to put this team over the top. You can be on the team that everyone looks at and says that was an amazing team. They expect great records out of those schools that have the bling come be the difference on a team that can be better than those factories. Ask questions and make sure the choice you make is right.
One other funny thing... you may have heard me kind of complain that none of the kids visiting or camping other places have been camping at Syracuse. I mentioned we had game planned that Shy would camp and show the coaches what he was made of. After Shy committed one of the coaches said to Shy thanks for coming to the camp it takes alot of guts to camp where you already have an offer. I guess my belief in shy and his abilities had never made me question him camping where he had an offer but thinking back it really could be risky for some kids. You can practice your speech and how you appear to the coaches and you can pick your highlights...but being in front of a coach and running his drills in person...if you had an offer and the coach didnt like how it went you really could lose your offer easily... but i knew Shy on the field would be impressive. I knew he had to show them in person to over come any fears of taking a shot on him
Thanks, Bam. What an experience. My boys are both destined to be string beans and artist/science nerds like their parents. Reading that really drives home how "real" this is for parents and the kids. Sometimes, I think the "these are real families" gets lost in the craziness of stars and rankings, etc.
Your experience with Shafer confirms a lot of what has been building on these boards. He's the right guy for this city and community. Can't wait to see Shy blow up a Clemson QB.
Ok where to start in this whole thing. I will go back to a couple weeks ago and really give you the whole back story. It was the weekend we went to Miami and we were going down to the camp. They really did love Shy and i still expect him to get an offer from there. But during that week end some stuff happened in Syracuse that had me worried. I noticed a lot of kids going on visits would be told go home and think about your commit and let us know. Except the big star kids. they would get their commit that day. i was worried for shy. You never really know where you are in this whole process..every coach has a great sale spitch and even ones not interested in you talk like you are the greatest thing. I was worried we would get to syracuse and find that Shy was a plan B. So I sent an email to a coach feeling out where we were. Even though he said they want Shy they had the grade concern. I was afraid they wouldnt let Shy commit...now keep in mind up until that week I had been running my mouth on here saying shy was coming. I was like omg this kid is going to be embarrassed if they tell him go home and wait. I was like omg Im going to look like an idiot on the message board...what do I say? He didnt like the place? So I told you he was slowing down keeping options open...which was all true I just didnt know if it was us having to slow down or not. I told Shy i was worried and he was crushed. He was truly set on going here. He looked at me and said now what do I do? I told him we go on as planned if any media ask we are slowing down and holding off. It is such a game and so much happens through social media one wrong perception can ruin a future. I told Shy we go to camp we meet the coaches you show them who you are and you leave it all on the field.
Needless to say when Barry went with Wisconsin I sighed a little. I am sure you guys are disappointed by losing him as a player but I will assure you in four years you wont know that kids name but Shy you will know. I belong to so many forums and recruiting sites I read all day long about this stuff. I knew if a couple big names fell off it would make Shys shot better if he was a plan B.
So we drive up this weekend and the coach texted a bunch asking when where and saying he was looking forward to it. We told him we would be at the camp at 8 and he said he would meet us. We went in and immediately a bunch of coaches came over said hi talked to me and my wife and checked out JJ. Coach Bullough introduced us to Coach Lea. We went in and sat down to talk and he told us of his philosophies and some stories of who he is and where he comes from. Then we went into the defense tape room and did some x's and o's. Shy was a nervous and the coach was testing him. he was asking him to remember terms and Shy was struggling. His coach doesnt use the terms they were and it was all knew to him. needless to say I was sweating. He then took us out to sit down and talk football with coach Bullough who again told us his philosophies and started showing shy terms they use for defense. I started sweating again but this time the coach was up doing the moves physically to show the terms and Shy caught on quick. Coach Shafer came in to talk to us for a brief moment and met my wife and JJ. He was very nice and seemed excited when he met Shy in person. Shy maybe impressive in pictures but standing next to him is a whole different experience.
The coaches all had to go to a meeting for camp to go over the days plans so they brought us to Eric White for a tour of the building. First what a great guy he is... very excited about football and knew everything about the history of it. We toured the trophies and the dome experience we got to see the new uniforms in person...which are much more impressive when you get to see all the details put into them...like the stripes that you cant see in pictures being set to a 44 degree angle. He spoke of the history of the team and the great players which Shy was all over he knew the ups and downs and the whos whos...he must have been studying. We then went and saw the place the kids eat and were told of the rules for the kids. We met some more of the staff and they told us how the lady who works there will make what ever the kids want and if the kids dont have time to eat there will have a sacked lunch made for them to take made with all their personal favorites. I can tell you I have seen a lot of schools none of them do anything remotely close to this. We then made our way to the room where you see all the pictures of the kids in front of the back drop. They had Shys number all set out for himt o try on and get the picture taken. then they showed us all the stuff they get from Nike for free...omg nike is pretty generous but im guessing they dont want shy having anymore photos in my under armour gear. Next we went to see the locker rooms some of the current players where there so we made that quick. We went to the training room where Eric told us of the policies on hurt players and the staff and equipment they have to handle injuries.
Then it was time to get shy measured weighed and signed in to camp. It was almost 11 and we had to get him in. He measured 6 11.5 and weighed in at 208. I told Coach Bullough he was a little light and we just did a change in his medicine to get him back to 215. He indicated he was very happy with shys size and not to worry about him. My wife need to go feed the baby so we headed out to the car. When that stuff was done we headed back to find them. I made the mistake of thinking it was an out door camp and we took a long walk around the complex...needless to say it was hot and a long walk= wife not happy. But eventually we made it in and the kids were warming up. Coach Shafer was standing near shy talking to him during warm ups. They finished up and went to the first of 5 stations. Shy was up at the vertical leap station. I could see him do it but was to far away to know what the height was. as he came around he used hand signals to indicate 36 inches. he had a second chance coming. Coach Bullough came over to the side and yelled up he jumped 36 on bot attempts I yelled back thats it? He said that awesome. I yelled back he jumps 38 make him go again...but it was time to run the three cone drill. I moved over to a spot I could film shy run the drill... that why I can rewind and time him exactly off the film. I saw him go did the calculations and he ran a 4.35...thats pretty good for his size not his best be we will take it. Again coach Bullough yelled up his time they had him at 4.40...didnt make me happy but coach seemed excited about it. Then he slid over to run the 40. Coach Shafer had started moving over during the cone drill and was watching shy talking to him to see what he did. Shys turn came up and he ran a 4.70...again not his best but coach said kids that run on that turf usualyy say they are about .10 or so off from out door numbers so Shy felt better... at any case he and coach Bullough were happy with the 4.70. Finished there and went to the shuttle. Shy had never ran this drill...ever and I was sweating. I didn't even know what a good time was. He ran it while Coach Lea was timing he ran a 7.07 i believe which I later found was a good time. The coaches were happy and coach Lea seemed excited more about the fact of how he ran it He liked that shy was able to move fast at a low stance. then came the broad jump. It was right in front of us and the coach running it had been pumping the kids up big time. Shy jumped 9.8 his first attempt and 9.11 his second. after all the kids were done the coach brought Shy back up and had all the kids gather around and cheer and shout as he took an attempt to jump over 10. He jumped and this time he went really far... I could tell from the marks it was about 10.5 but he fell forward and it didnt count. He had the kids start yelling again and Shy took another shot and jumped 10.1
See Shy looks impressive and is really big but the scarier part of Shy is he stretches every night and works out on speed and flexibilty so he can move and still be the size he is. Thats something alot of gym rats miss out on. they spend all their time lifting and get tight and cant move.
Coach Bullough said he wanted us to come down and shy was running a couple line backer drills with coach Lea. He told us they would be taking Shy out of camp and we would be going with coach Shafer to talk. he said he wanted to make sure we got plenty of time with him and didnt know if after camp he would have time because he had a lot of kids visiting. So they pulled Shy out which actually disappointed shy he wanted to stay and run the drills..he kept saying they didnt get to see me. So we walked bakc thru to coach Shafers office and met some more staff and a bunch of current players who were heading out to the camp to work with the campers.
So we get to Coach Shafers office and we sit down around a table and start talking he begins by telling us some stories of his history and philosophies. He begins telling us the story of a kid who was like Shy that he took a shot on...I said I know I have read a lot of stories about you. I had done a lot of research into this school and him and his staff. He looked either impressed that I knew or worried I was a stalker im not sure which it was. I told him some of the things I had learned that had impressed me and told him I thought he was a great leader. Then he turned to Shys grades he said he thought shy could do it but need to know if Shy wanted it. Shy told him he would work as hard as he could. and coach said he believed he could. He said he knew from talking with Shy that Shy had that look and that it factor that he was looking for.
So then he says to Shy so our offer is on the table and we would love to have you come play here...Now in my head Im still thinking he is going to say but we need to see the grades first ( by the way they actually had Shys grades before we got them...he jumped 2 tenths of a point on his gpa in the fourth quater alone. thatw as huge for us) So I kinda look at my wife like does he mean know? and I look at Shy who is still looking at coach like he is waiting for the but... So coach starts telling us about his reasons he thinks Shy can do it and tellimg us some more stories. I tell him about Shys past testing and his iep and the mess that has been his school time. He brings up a name of a kid he used to Coach at URI from Lowell and Shy says oh yeah Mr Slattery he is my head master at school. Coach Shafer couldnt believe it was the same guy. Its funny how small the world really is.
So then Coach tells him again well the offer is on the table and I am looking at my wife and Shy like say it dam it! But Shy is still looking at him like ...come on give me the but. So the coach goes and starts explaining how his team will work with Shy and the school and how if he needs to prep...they dont want him to but they will be there for him even if we need a plan b. He tells us how if shy gets hurt they cover it and if god forbid he cant play he still has a scholarship and is telling us about the great degrees avaiable.
So he then says to Shy I know if you need some time to think about you can have it if you need a week or so just let me know. and all of a sudden its like shy gets it there is no but coming. Shy gets all watery eyed and says I love syracuse this is where I want to be I thank you so much for believing in me of course I commit. Coach looks over at me and says are you guys on board and I told him about how I thought they might not except his commit but that we had pretty much made up our minds weeks ago he would commit today. I was crying my wife was crying shy was crying every one was hugging... it was awesome. Coach Bullough came in and Coach Shafer told him the news and he was excited. We talked a little more about what was going to happen and he set us up with a couple guys on the staff for a campus tour.
We went and saw the buildings and the guys told us about the area. We went to the dome and they took us inside. I cant wait to see a game there. Whe we went to leave they were explaining how the dome is pressurized and I m not sure if shy thought the door was closed or if he was just excited but lets just say on his first visit to the dome he almost brought the roof down...literally. He opened the door while the inside was opened and wooosh we were almost blown out the door. Dont try that at home kids. they took us to see the dorms next and those were very impressive.
We went back to the building and met the rest of the coaches and staff said all the thank yous and good byes.
The only other thing I want to add is to any kids out there looking at this school...I have seen alot of schools and met a lot of staff. I have never met a staff as down to earth and shoot you straight as this one. I havent been to a single school that made us all feel welcome. The staff here is interested in you as a person and a football player. The are one of the few that will not just use you and leave you to the side when they are done with you. Those big factories like FSU or Ohio and the others may say they care but their past actions are not there to back up their promises...look into the history of those staffs before you make a decision. Dont end up at a school that the second you dont make a play you are forgotten... you may think you are the greatest but there is always some one better...dont chose a school that holds that against you.
The food service here are second to none. No other school I have seen has the system this school does. The weight room here is way beyond what Bc has or even Miami and the dorms? ask about your housing...Miami for one only gives you housing for 2 years then you are paying on your own...check with your schools about that it may make a decision where you end up easier.
Dont be blinded by the glory of past records...if you believe you are the best and want to play in a great system... come to syracuse and be the difference to put this team over the top. You can be on the team that everyone looks at and says that was an amazing team. They expect great records out of those schools that have the bling come be the difference on a team that can be better than those factories. Ask questions and make sure the choice you make is right.
Had to log on and say that post gave me chills. Wow. Made me proud to be an Orangebrova. I hope any recruits contemplating Cuse gets an opportunity to read that. Good job Bam. Shy made a great decision, welcome to the family.
That was sincerely one of if not the best post I've ever read here. Not only is it phenomenal to see it from that side, but, it's also nice to see it reiterated what many here already know of this staff.
So happy for Shy and your family that you feel this way about the school/team many of us love.
Ok where to start in this whole thing. I will go back to a couple weeks ago and really give you the whole back story. It was the weekend we went to Miami and we were going down to the camp. They really did love Shy and i still expect him to get an offer from there. But during that week end some stuff happened in Syracuse that had me worried. I noticed a lot of kids going on visits would be told go home and think about your commit and let us know. Except the big star kids. they would get their commit that day. i was worried for shy. You never really know where you are in this whole process..every coach has a great sale spitch and even ones not interested in you talk like you are the greatest thing. I was worried we would get to syracuse and find that Shy was a plan B. So I sent an email to a coach feeling out where we were. Even though he said they want Shy they had the grade concern. I was afraid they wouldnt let Shy commit...now keep in mind up until that week I had been running my mouth on here saying shy was coming. I was like omg this kid is going to be embarrassed if they tell him go home and wait. I was like omg Im going to look like an idiot on the message board...what do I say? He didnt like the place? So I told you he was slowing down keeping options open...which was all true I just didnt know if it was us having to slow down or not. I told Shy i was worried and he was crushed. He was truly set on going here. He looked at me and said now what do I do? I told him we go on as planned if any media ask we are slowing down and holding off. It is such a game and so much happens through social media one wrong perception can ruin a future. I told Shy we go to camp we meet the coaches you show them who you are and you leave it all on the field.
Needless to say when Barry went with Wisconsin I sighed a little. I am sure you guys are disappointed by losing him as a player but I will assure you in four years you wont know that kids name but Shy you will know. I belong to so many forums and recruiting sites I read all day long about this stuff. I knew if a couple big names fell off it would make Shys shot better if he was a plan B.
So we drive up this weekend and the coach texted a bunch asking when where and saying he was looking forward to it. We told him we would be at the camp at 8 and he said he would meet us. We went in and immediately a bunch of coaches came over said hi talked to me and my wife and checked out JJ. Coach Bullough introduced us to Coach Lea. We went in and sat down to talk and he told us of his philosophies and some stories of who he is and where he comes from. Then we went into the defense tape room and did some x's and o's. Shy was a nervous and the coach was testing him. he was asking him to remember terms and Shy was struggling. His coach doesnt use the terms they were and it was all knew to him. needless to say I was sweating. He then took us out to sit down and talk football with coach Bullough who again told us his philosophies and started showing shy terms they use for defense. I started sweating again but this time the coach was up doing the moves physically to show the terms and Shy caught on quick. Coach Shafer came in to talk to us for a brief moment and met my wife and JJ. He was very nice and seemed excited when he met Shy in person. Shy maybe impressive in pictures but standing next to him is a whole different experience.
The coaches all had to go to a meeting for camp to go over the days plans so they brought us to Eric White for a tour of the building. First what a great guy he is... very excited about football and knew everything about the history of it. We toured the trophies and the dome experience we got to see the new uniforms in person...which are much more impressive when you get to see all the details put into them...like the stripes that you cant see in pictures being set to a 44 degree angle. He spoke of the history of the team and the great players which Shy was all over he knew the ups and downs and the whos whos...he must have been studying. We then went and saw the place the kids eat and were told of the rules for the kids. We met some more of the staff and they told us how the lady who works there will make what ever the kids want and if the kids dont have time to eat there will have a sacked lunch made for them to take made with all their personal favorites. I can tell you I have seen a lot of schools none of them do anything remotely close to this. We then made our way to the room where you see all the pictures of the kids in front of the back drop. They had Shys number all set out for himt o try on and get the picture taken. then they showed us all the stuff they get from Nike for free...omg nike is pretty generous but im guessing they dont want shy having anymore photos in my under armour gear. Next we went to see the locker rooms some of the current players where there so we made that quick. We went to the training room where Eric told us of the policies on hurt players and the staff and equipment they have to handle injuries.
Then it was time to get shy measured weighed and signed in to camp. It was almost 11 and we had to get him in. He measured 6 11.5 and weighed in at 208. I told Coach Bullough he was a little light and we just did a change in his medicine to get him back to 215. He indicated he was very happy with shys size and not to worry about him. My wife need to go feed the baby so we headed out to the car. When that stuff was done we headed back to find them. I made the mistake of thinking it was an out door camp and we took a long walk around the complex...needless to say it was hot and a long walk= wife not happy. But eventually we made it in and the kids were warming up. Coach Shafer was standing near shy talking to him during warm ups. They finished up and went to the first of 5 stations. Shy was up at the vertical leap station. I could see him do it but was to far away to know what the height was. as he came around he used hand signals to indicate 36 inches. he had a second chance coming. Coach Bullough came over to the side and yelled up he jumped 36 on bot attempts I yelled back thats it? He said that awesome. I yelled back he jumps 38 make him go again...but it was time to run the three cone drill. I moved over to a spot I could film shy run the drill... that why I can rewind and time him exactly off the film. I saw him go did the calculations and he ran a 4.35...thats pretty good for his size not his best be we will take it. Again coach Bullough yelled up his time they had him at 4.40...didnt make me happy but coach seemed excited about it. Then he slid over to run the 40. Coach Shafer had started moving over during the cone drill and was watching shy talking to him to see what he did. Shys turn came up and he ran a 4.70...again not his best but coach said kids that run on that turf usualyy say they are about .10 or so off from out door numbers so Shy felt better... at any case he and coach Bullough were happy with the 4.70. Finished there and went to the shuttle. Shy had never ran this drill...ever and I was sweating. I didn't even know what a good time was. He ran it while Coach Lea was timing he ran a 7.07 i believe which I later found was a good time. The coaches were happy and coach Lea seemed excited more about the fact of how he ran it He liked that shy was able to move fast at a low stance. then came the broad jump. It was right in front of us and the coach running it had been pumping the kids up big time. Shy jumped 9.8 his first attempt and 9.11 his second. after all the kids were done the coach brought Shy back up and had all the kids gather around and cheer and shout as he took an attempt to jump over 10. He jumped and this time he went really far... I could tell from the marks it was about 10.5 but he fell forward and it didnt count. He had the kids start yelling again and Shy took another shot and jumped 10.1
See Shy looks impressive and is really big but the scarier part of Shy is he stretches every night and works out on speed and flexibilty so he can move and still be the size he is. Thats something alot of gym rats miss out on. they spend all their time lifting and get tight and cant move.
Coach Bullough said he wanted us to come down and shy was running a couple line backer drills with coach Lea. He told us they would be taking Shy out of camp and we would be going with coach Shafer to talk. he said he wanted to make sure we got plenty of time with him and didnt know if after camp he would have time because he had a lot of kids visiting. So they pulled Shy out which actually disappointed shy he wanted to stay and run the drills..he kept saying they didnt get to see me. So we walked bakc thru to coach Shafers office and met some more staff and a bunch of current players who were heading out to the camp to work with the campers.
So we get to Coach Shafers office and we sit down around a table and start talking he begins by telling us some stories of his history and philosophies. He begins telling us the story of a kid who was like Shy that he took a shot on...I said I know I have read a lot of stories about you. I had done a lot of research into this school and him and his staff. He looked either impressed that I knew or worried I was a stalker im not sure which it was. I told him some of the things I had learned that had impressed me and told him I thought he was a great leader. Then he turned to Shys grades he said he thought shy could do it but need to know if Shy wanted it. Shy told him he would work as hard as he could. and coach said he believed he could. He said he knew from talking with Shy that Shy had that look and that it factor that he was looking for.
So then he says to Shy so our offer is on the table and we would love to have you come play here...Now in my head Im still thinking he is going to say but we need to see the grades first ( by the way they actually had Shys grades before we got them...he jumped 2 tenths of a point on his gpa in the fourth quater alone. thatw as huge for us) So I kinda look at my wife like does he mean know? and I look at Shy who is still looking at coach like he is waiting for the but... So coach starts telling us about his reasons he thinks Shy can do it and tellimg us some more stories. I tell him about Shys past testing and his iep and the mess that has been his school time. He brings up a name of a kid he used to Coach at URI from Lowell and Shy says oh yeah Mr Slattery he is my head master at school. Coach Shafer couldnt believe it was the same guy. Its funny how small the world really is.
So then Coach tells him again well the offer is on the table and I am looking at my wife and Shy like say it dam it! But Shy is still looking at him like ...come on give me the but. So the coach goes and starts explaining how his team will work with Shy and the school and how if he needs to prep...they dont want him to but they will be there for him even if we need a plan b. He tells us how if shy gets hurt they cover it and if god forbid he cant play he still has a scholarship and is telling us about the great degrees avaiable.
So he then says to Shy I know if you need some time to think about you can have it if you need a week or so just let me know. and all of a sudden its like shy gets it there is no but coming. Shy gets all watery eyed and says I love syracuse this is where I want to be I thank you so much for believing in me of course I commit. Coach looks over at me and says are you guys on board and I told him about how I thought they might not except his commit but that we had pretty much made up our minds weeks ago he would commit today. I was crying my wife was crying shy was crying every one was hugging... it was awesome. Coach Bullough came in and Coach Shafer told him the news and he was excited. We talked a little more about what was going to happen and he set us up with a couple guys on the staff for a campus tour.
We went and saw the buildings and the guys told us about the area. We went to the dome and they took us inside. I cant wait to see a game there. Whe we went to leave they were explaining how the dome is pressurized and I m not sure if shy thought the door was closed or if he was just excited but lets just say on his first visit to the dome he almost brought the roof down...literally. He opened the door while the inside was opened and wooosh we were almost blown out the door. Dont try that at home kids. they took us to see the dorms next and those were very impressive.
We went back to the building and met the rest of the coaches and staff said all the thank yous and good byes.
The only other thing I want to add is to any kids out there looking at this school...I have seen alot of schools and met a lot of staff. I have never met a staff as down to earth and shoot you straight as this one. I havent been to a single school that made us all feel welcome. The staff here is interested in you as a person and a football player. The are one of the few that will not just use you and leave you to the side when they are done with you. Those big factories like FSU or Ohio and the others may say they care but their past actions are not there to back up their promises...look into the history of those staffs before you make a decision. Dont end up at a school that the second you dont make a play you are forgotten... you may think you are the greatest but there is always some one better...dont chose a school that holds that against you.
The food service here are second to none. No other school I have seen has the system this school does. The weight room here is way beyond what Bc has or even Miami and the dorms? ask about your housing...Miami for one only gives you housing for 2 years then you are paying on your own...check with your schools about that it may make a decision where you end up easier.
Dont be blinded by the glory of past records...if you believe you are the best and want to play in a great system... come to syracuse and be the difference to put this team over the top. You can be on the team that everyone looks at and says that was an amazing team. They expect great records out of those schools that have the bling come be the difference on a team that can be better than those factories. Ask questions and make sure the choice you make is right.
Thank you for this post! One of the best windows ever into the process of recruiting. Welcome to the Syracuse family... can't wait to follow your son's journey over the course of the next 4-5 years and beyond!
Ok where to start in this whole thing. I will go back to a couple weeks ago and really give you the whole back story. It was the weekend we went to Miami and we were going down to the camp. They really did love Shy and i still expect him to get an offer from there. But during that week end some stuff happened in Syracuse that had me worried. I noticed a lot of kids going on visits would be told go home and think about your commit and let us know. Except the big star kids. they would get their commit that day. i was worried for shy. You never really know where you are in this whole process..every coach has a great sale spitch and even ones not interested in you talk like you are the greatest thing. I was worried we would get to syracuse and find that Shy was a plan B. So I sent an email to a coach feeling out where we were. Even though he said they want Shy they had the grade concern. I was afraid they wouldnt let Shy commit...now keep in mind up until that week I had been running my mouth on here saying shy was coming. I was like omg this kid is going to be embarrassed if they tell him go home and wait. I was like omg Im going to look like an idiot on the message board...what do I say? He didnt like the place? So I told you he was slowing down keeping options open...which was all true I just didnt know if it was us having to slow down or not. I told Shy i was worried and he was crushed. He was truly set on going here. He looked at me and said now what do I do? I told him we go on as planned if any media ask we are slowing down and holding off. It is such a game and so much happens through social media one wrong perception can ruin a future. I told Shy we go to camp we meet the coaches you show them who you are and you leave it all on the field.
Needless to say when Barry went with Wisconsin I sighed a little. I am sure you guys are disappointed by losing him as a player but I will assure you in four years you wont know that kids name but Shy you will know. I belong to so many forums and recruiting sites I read all day long about this stuff. I knew if a couple big names fell off it would make Shys shot better if he was a plan B.
So we drive up this weekend and the coach texted a bunch asking when where and saying he was looking forward to it. We told him we would be at the camp at 8 and he said he would meet us. We went in and immediately a bunch of coaches came over said hi talked to me and my wife and checked out JJ. Coach Bullough introduced us to Coach Lea. We went in and sat down to talk and he told us of his philosophies and some stories of who he is and where he comes from. Then we went into the defense tape room and did some x's and o's. Shy was a nervous and the coach was testing him. he was asking him to remember terms and Shy was struggling. His coach doesnt use the terms they were and it was all knew to him. needless to say I was sweating. He then took us out to sit down and talk football with coach Bullough who again told us his philosophies and started showing shy terms they use for defense. I started sweating again but this time the coach was up doing the moves physically to show the terms and Shy caught on quick. Coach Shafer came in to talk to us for a brief moment and met my wife and JJ. He was very nice and seemed excited when he met Shy in person. Shy maybe impressive in pictures but standing next to him is a whole different experience.
The coaches all had to go to a meeting for camp to go over the days plans so they brought us to Eric White for a tour of the building. First what a great guy he is... very excited about football and knew everything about the history of it. We toured the trophies and the dome experience we got to see the new uniforms in person...which are much more impressive when you get to see all the details put into them...like the stripes that you cant see in pictures being set to a 44 degree angle. He spoke of the history of the team and the great players which Shy was all over he knew the ups and downs and the whos whos...he must have been studying. We then went and saw the place the kids eat and were told of the rules for the kids. We met some more of the staff and they told us how the lady who works there will make what ever the kids want and if the kids dont have time to eat there will have a sacked lunch made for them to take made with all their personal favorites. I can tell you I have seen a lot of schools none of them do anything remotely close to this. We then made our way to the room where you see all the pictures of the kids in front of the back drop. They had Shys number all set out for himt o try on and get the picture taken. then they showed us all the stuff they get from Nike for free...omg nike is pretty generous but im guessing they dont want shy having anymore photos in my under armour gear. Next we went to see the locker rooms some of the current players where there so we made that quick. We went to the training room where Eric told us of the policies on hurt players and the staff and equipment they have to handle injuries.
Then it was time to get shy measured weighed and signed in to camp. It was almost 11 and we had to get him in. He measured 6 11.5 and weighed in at 208. I told Coach Bullough he was a little light and we just did a change in his medicine to get him back to 215. He indicated he was very happy with shys size and not to worry about him. My wife need to go feed the baby so we headed out to the car. When that stuff was done we headed back to find them. I made the mistake of thinking it was an out door camp and we took a long walk around the complex...needless to say it was hot and a long walk= wife not happy. But eventually we made it in and the kids were warming up. Coach Shafer was standing near shy talking to him during warm ups. They finished up and went to the first of 5 stations. Shy was up at the vertical leap station. I could see him do it but was to far away to know what the height was. as he came around he used hand signals to indicate 36 inches. he had a second chance coming. Coach Bullough came over to the side and yelled up he jumped 36 on bot attempts I yelled back thats it? He said that awesome. I yelled back he jumps 38 make him go again...but it was time to run the three cone drill. I moved over to a spot I could film shy run the drill... that why I can rewind and time him exactly off the film. I saw him go did the calculations and he ran a 4.35...thats pretty good for his size not his best be we will take it. Again coach Bullough yelled up his time they had him at 4.40...didnt make me happy but coach seemed excited about it. Then he slid over to run the 40. Coach Shafer had started moving over during the cone drill and was watching shy talking to him to see what he did. Shys turn came up and he ran a 4.70...again not his best but coach said kids that run on that turf usualyy say they are about .10 or so off from out door numbers so Shy felt better... at any case he and coach Bullough were happy with the 4.70. Finished there and went to the shuttle. Shy had never ran this drill...ever and I was sweating. I didn't even know what a good time was. He ran it while Coach Lea was timing he ran a 7.07 i believe which I later found was a good time. The coaches were happy and coach Lea seemed excited more about the fact of how he ran it He liked that shy was able to move fast at a low stance. then came the broad jump. It was right in front of us and the coach running it had been pumping the kids up big time. Shy jumped 9.8 his first attempt and 9.11 his second. after all the kids were done the coach brought Shy back up and had all the kids gather around and cheer and shout as he took an attempt to jump over 10. He jumped and this time he went really far... I could tell from the marks it was about 10.5 but he fell forward and it didnt count. He had the kids start yelling again and Shy took another shot and jumped 10.1
See Shy looks impressive and is really big but the scarier part of Shy is he stretches every night and works out on speed and flexibilty so he can move and still be the size he is. Thats something alot of gym rats miss out on. they spend all their time lifting and get tight and cant move.
Coach Bullough said he wanted us to come down and shy was running a couple line backer drills with coach Lea. He told us they would be taking Shy out of camp and we would be going with coach Shafer to talk. he said he wanted to make sure we got plenty of time with him and didnt know if after camp he would have time because he had a lot of kids visiting. So they pulled Shy out which actually disappointed shy he wanted to stay and run the drills..he kept saying they didnt get to see me. So we walked bakc thru to coach Shafers office and met some more staff and a bunch of current players who were heading out to the camp to work with the campers.
So we get to Coach Shafers office and we sit down around a table and start talking he begins by telling us some stories of his history and philosophies. He begins telling us the story of a kid who was like Shy that he took a shot on...I said I know I have read a lot of stories about you. I had done a lot of research into this school and him and his staff. He looked either impressed that I knew or worried I was a stalker im not sure which it was. I told him some of the things I had learned that had impressed me and told him I thought he was a great leader. Then he turned to Shys grades he said he thought shy could do it but need to know if Shy wanted it. Shy told him he would work as hard as he could. and coach said he believed he could. He said he knew from talking with Shy that Shy had that look and that it factor that he was looking for.
So then he says to Shy so our offer is on the table and we would love to have you come play here...Now in my head Im still thinking he is going to say but we need to see the grades first ( by the way they actually had Shys grades before we got them...he jumped 2 tenths of a point on his gpa in the fourth quater alone. thatw as huge for us) So I kinda look at my wife like does he mean know? and I look at Shy who is still looking at coach like he is waiting for the but... So coach starts telling us about his reasons he thinks Shy can do it and tellimg us some more stories. I tell him about Shys past testing and his iep and the mess that has been his school time. He brings up a name of a kid he used to Coach at URI from Lowell and Shy says oh yeah Mr Slattery he is my head master at school. Coach Shafer couldnt believe it was the same guy. Its funny how small the world really is.
So then Coach tells him again well the offer is on the table and I am looking at my wife and Shy like say it dam it! But Shy is still looking at him like ...come on give me the but. So the coach goes and starts explaining how his team will work with Shy and the school and how if he needs to prep...they dont want him to but they will be there for him even if we need a plan b. He tells us how if shy gets hurt they cover it and if god forbid he cant play he still has a scholarship and is telling us about the great degrees avaiable.
So he then says to Shy I know if you need some time to think about you can have it if you need a week or so just let me know. and all of a sudden its like shy gets it there is no but coming. Shy gets all watery eyed and says I love syracuse this is where I want to be I thank you so much for believing in me of course I commit. Coach looks over at me and says are you guys on board and I told him about how I thought they might not except his commit but that we had pretty much made up our minds weeks ago he would commit today. I was crying my wife was crying shy was crying every one was hugging... it was awesome. Coach Bullough came in and Coach Shafer told him the news and he was excited. We talked a little more about what was going to happen and he set us up with a couple guys on the staff for a campus tour.
We went and saw the buildings and the guys told us about the area. We went to the dome and they took us inside. I cant wait to see a game there. Whe we went to leave they were explaining how the dome is pressurized and I m not sure if shy thought the door was closed or if he was just excited but lets just say on his first visit to the dome he almost brought the roof down...literally. He opened the door while the inside was opened and wooosh we were almost blown out the door. Dont try that at home kids. they took us to see the dorms next and those were very impressive.
We went back to the building and met the rest of the coaches and staff said all the thank yous and good byes.
The only other thing I want to add is to any kids out there looking at this school...I have seen alot of schools and met a lot of staff. I have never met a staff as down to earth and shoot you straight as this one. I havent been to a single school that made us all feel welcome. The staff here is interested in you as a person and a football player. The are one of the few that will not just use you and leave you to the side when they are done with you. Those big factories like FSU or Ohio and the others may say they care but their past actions are not there to back up their promises...look into the history of those staffs before you make a decision. Dont end up at a school that the second you dont make a play you are forgotten... you may think you are the greatest but there is always some one better...dont chose a school that holds that against you.
The food service here are second to none. No other school I have seen has the system this school does. The weight room here is way beyond what Bc has or even Miami and the dorms? ask about your housing...Miami for one only gives you housing for 2 years then you are paying on your own...check with your schools about that it may make a decision where you end up easier.
Dont be blinded by the glory of past records...if you believe you are the best and want to play in a great system... come to syracuse and be the difference to put this team over the top. You can be on the team that everyone looks at and says that was an amazing team. They expect great records out of those schools that have the bling come be the difference on a team that can be better than those factories. Ask questions and make sure the choice you make is right.
Oustanding post. Very interesting to those of us who have never or will never experience the process. Coach Shafer isn't recruiting 37 year old men in wheelchairs like me for some reason Welcome to the family! Very much looking forward to cheering for Shy - not only because he looks like a great player but seems like he will represent Syracuse very well in all aspects of being a student-athlete.
That was an awesome inside look. Like others have said, we really love the family atmosphere that exists with this coaching staff. It had to be a great feeling to know that if anything were to happen to Shy that he still has a great education free of charge. Thanks for the post. I can't wait for Shy to hit the dome.
Yeah nothing weird about that...I can tell you they all play lower divisons than shy. MIAA ranks divisions by strength. Shy plays in division one. they have the hardest schedule and play against the teams that actually recruit... the catholic schools, private schools...kids that got scholarships to play high school football. Then you have lowell playing there in a town that loses kids to those schools plus an in town charter school and a tech...but still puts together a playoff high school team. Brandon Hall of espn watches all these kids and ranks shy much higher than this site does. he sees these kids every year. He loves Shy and is always speaking with him. This season Shy will fix all this ranking non sense...he will dominate.
Welcome to the family! Very much looking forward to cheering for Shy - not only because he looks like a great player but seems like he will represent Syracuse very well in all aspects of being a student-athlete.
