Shipley Prepares For Reunion With Former Team
By: Eric Boynton
Updated: October 11, 2012
The Brownwood Lions had a very difficult non-district slate, and this week they get to open up district play against Burnet. A team head coach Bob Shipley is very familiar with.
"It's really a special week. I was in Burnet for six years. We felt we raised the quality of the program, we had a great staff, and we had great players; we couldn't have done that without them. We played for two state championships. It's a special place for me. It's where I grew up. It's where my family still lives," said Shipley.
"There's a lot of irony this week considering the fact that Liberty Hill and Gatesville kind of flexed their muscles a little bit in pre-district. They look to be the teams to beat, and this game puts a lot of pressure on all of us," continued Shipley.
"I think we've been intense in every game that we've been playing, but I feel we're going to pick it up a little bit now that we're going into district. Like coaches have been saying to us we're 0-0 now," said Dylan Martin
.
"There's always more pressure going into district. It doesn't really change anything for us. We try and win every game. It's not like we put more emphasis on this than we do any other game, but it is something that's a lot more critical. There are some situations like in pre-district you may have gone for it on fourth down, you might have tried an onside kick, or a fake punt. You may not want to roll the dice in district because there's a lot on the line," said Shipley.
The similarities between Burnet and Brownwood don't stop there. Burnet's head coach was at one time an assistant for coach Shipley.
"It's really a special week. I was in Burnet for six years. We felt we raised the quality of the program, we had a great staff, and we had great players; we couldn't have done that without them. We played for two state championships. It's a special place for me. It's where I grew up. It's where my family still lives," said Shipley.
"There's a lot of irony this week considering the fact that Liberty Hill and Gatesville kind of flexed their muscles a little bit in pre-district. They look to be the teams to beat, and this game puts a lot of pressure on all of us," continued Shipley.
"I think we've been intense in every game that we've been playing, but I feel we're going to pick it up a little bit now that we're going into district. Like coaches have been saying to us we're 0-0 now," said Dylan Martin
.
"There's always more pressure going into district. It doesn't really change anything for us. We try and win every game. It's not like we put more emphasis on this than we do any other game, but it is something that's a lot more critical. There are some situations like in pre-district you may have gone for it on fourth down, you might have tried an onside kick, or a fake punt. You may not want to roll the dice in district because there's a lot on the line," said Shipley.
The similarities between Burnet and Brownwood don't stop there. Burnet's head coach was at one time an assistant for coach Shipley.
