FORAN HS HEAD FOOTBALL COACH GARRETT WALKER

The Head Football Coach of Foran Hs stops by for a chat!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
As far as they go. Allright, that's sports A nine to sixty

(00:02):
ninety six point nine FM W El I. This guy has been on
my show before you vernon as afootball as a baseball Oh yeah, he
was on as a baseball coach,and now he comes on as the head

(00:25):
football coach at one of my favoriteschools, one of my favorite AD's Anthony
the Human Ulcer, Anthony Vitelli ForeignHigh School in Milford. And he joins
me now and he's Garrett Walker.Oh, Garrett, hey, coach,
how are you. I'm doing fun? Yeah, you've been on as a
baseball coach. Now, weren't youat the Helm? How about the year
that what foreign came in got in? They were seven and thirteen at the

(00:48):
Latto number whatever it was, andyou won the whole thing. Yeah,
it was twenty seventeen, won thewhole thing, Garrett. Yeah, imagine
that. Good for you. Nowyou have taken over the football team.
Now were you ever on the footballstaff as an assistant or did you help
out before or no? Yeah,I've been on the football staff the last
nine years. Oh nine? Yea. What what did you do as an

(01:11):
assistant? What was did you havethe offense, defend what you do.
I've been on both sides of theball. I started as a defensive positional
coach when Jeff Baveno was there.Yes, when Tom Drew took over,
I moved into an offensive role,then an offensive coordinator pass game coordinator.

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So I've done a variety of thingsat the school. All right, now,
first of all, congrats, I'mbeing head coach. This is something
obviously you wanted, and it's aschool that obviously you're pretty familiar with.
Uh not well and uh oh yeahright, you know pretty well the red,
white and blue of the Lions here. And what will you do now

(01:55):
as head coach? Being that youwere an offensive coordinator? Will you?
Will you? He'll call the plays? Uh with this new team, with
your new team, well from fromlast year, our you know, our
playoff season, our play card callerMike Ferrell will be back with me,
so he'll continue to call the plays. I will kind of be managing a

(02:17):
little bit on both sides of theball. I'll have an offensive and defensive
coordinator that will I will work withon game planning, and they'll kind of
have the script going during the gameof what's going on. So that I
can be elsewhere we needed. Now, who's your defensive coordinator, Garet?
Can I ask? So we havea first year defensive coordinator by the name

(02:39):
of Casey Tiratio. Uh. He'sbeen kind of all over his coach at
Danbury High School, Southern connect Kids, Yale University. So we're fortunate to
have him with us this year.Very good. So you'll be like,
you know, you'll be over seeingeverything. I can see it now,
I can see it now with theoffensive coordinator, you really you're gonna call

(03:00):
that? Now? Really? Comeon now, I got changed, I
got changed, the car I gotand I have been doing it for a
couple of years now together. Sowe uh, we got a pretty good
routine. Yeah. I know youmight say, they might say, come
on now seriously, and the defensivecoordinator, I mean, all right,
so you want to blitz every play? I love blitzing, by the way,

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Garrett, I just want to I'mokay with a Well are you really?
Yes? All right? So whois your uh? The countdown goes
on the first official day of thoseout of season of those OTAs. Yeah,
they're coming up pretty soon. TenthAugust tenth, that's right, tenth

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eleventh and twelve. Then you'll lookthen you go into your practices and uh
wow, the first game is whatFriday September eighth? Our first game is
Thursday September seventh? Oh my,and who do you open up with?
I have schedule here? And isit a leag? It's Hillhouse against?
Is that home? We're away home? So you get you get Hillhouse,

(04:09):
you get them home. Everybody lovesopening up at home, you know that
absolutely? And oh my, nowyeah, I mean obviously you've been,
like you said, both sides ofthe ball, knowing what how many kids
you got coming back? Uh,we you know guys. Yeah, but

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we do bring back probably you know, eighteen to twenty guys that experienced varsity
time last year. So we're notin a total turnover. Okay, guys
have been in the system for awhile and now they said a business on
staff for a while, so it'snot really too big a overhaul for the
program. Okay. And right noweverybody's lifting weights. Oh yeah, we've

(04:54):
in the weight room for a coupleof months now, no fast and league's
going on here and there. Soboys are ready after it all, knowing
what you lost and what you havecoming back. Oh man, what do
you think right now? Will yoube more of a run team past team
both? I mean, what willthe ratio you think be right now?

(05:16):
I think I like to think willbe pretty balanced. We graduate our starting
quarterback. Obviously, we had agreat year forced Jack Cushman tremendous, tremendous
quarterback. I'm sorry. He wasa good player. Yeah, good players.
I was out there in a fewof the foreign games last year and
it was great. Guys are great, and so that'll that'll change a little

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bit of the past game. Butyou know, our new incoming quarterbacks are
ready to take on that challenge andstep in his shoes. We have a
good stable of backs that played lastyear obviously are starting. Our starting back
is gone from Matt Miller, butwas a service back of force last year.
He'll carry the ball Bulllow this year. He's a good ballplayer too.

(06:02):
Yep. So I think we'll bepre balanced to be able to kind of
have a good mix of run passto our offense. You know this is
going to be interesting, right becauseTom Drew, who you took over for,
is now the athletic director at JonathanLaw. That's correct, he's wearing
the Black and the Gold again fora second time for the second time.

(06:23):
And now, yeah, yeah hebecause he was there, right, yes,
so so he's going against the Lions. Oh my, And I got
to tell you something. Up untila few years ago, remember, was
the only game we had not doneon Thanksgiving I had not done was foreign
in Law. I had one ofthe most memorable games we've ever, ever
ever had on Thanksgiving when Law cameback in the final. I'm just letting

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you know. You remember the game, and they beat four and Jeff Jeff
Bovino's last game there, but itwas a great game. And then I
came back again and boy Knighter puthis show on and yeah, yeah,
you may not want me any ofit. No, I start to think
about this for a minute. No, I did other foreign games last year
during the regular season, which youdid very very well. And so it

(07:12):
looks like so it's it's you mightsay, Garrett, it's been a smooth
transition for these kids because you've beenon the staff. They know your voice,
they know what you want, andit seems things seem okay right now.
Then huh, yeah, I thinkit's been easier for the kids.
They said, I've been on thestaff for a number of years. I

(07:33):
coach a lot of them in baseball. I worked at the school as well,
so they seem on a daily basis. I think it's something that's just
kind of happened at the right time, and kids are adapting to it.
Well, let me ask you aquestion, and I know a lot of
what are your thoughts. How importantis it to have the coach at least

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and mainly the head coach, butI guess other coaches obviously would be there.
How important is it for that coachto be in the school where they're
coaching. It's a huge asset,you know, with with football and the
large roster size and how much thatgoes into the weekly planning, it's a
big benefit to have the coach inthe school accessible to the kids right away.

(08:22):
Plus it really helps with scheduling ofpractices after school, during breaks during
the weekends because their schedule matches upwith the students. Yeah. How and
of course you have a beautiful facilitydown there, now, Garrett, You've
got a beautiful facility down there,and I just love going there and it's

(08:43):
a lot of fun. So youlook in the staff, have you already
obviously met with the kids. Obviouslythey're lifting weights. Your staff is ready
to go, they're all on board. It's ready, yes, sir,
And you open up at home Thursday, September seventh against the Academics. And
ironically enough, this will be agame of two new head coaches. That's

(09:07):
correct, that's new head coaches.Well how about that? Wow? That
want to be something? Oh mygoodness. And you'll be home and uh,
the Red, White and Blue willbe probably running out there with Garrett
Walker. And of course you're stillthe baseball coach. I am all right,
So this is great. I mean, you're really you're really making your

(09:31):
mark here, Garrett Football of baseballnow football. I really a great guy.
I wish you a lot of luck. I really do any time.
And again you have one of myfavorite ads when we love Dearly here at
the radio station Anthony VI Telly.He is tremendous. He is tremendous.
He's tremendous guy. As I said, you know when he coached basketball there

(09:52):
at four and I called him oneday the human ulcer because he was walking
pacing up and down before every game, up and down the hallway in the
school. What are you doing.I remember I played that I played for
him, at for him exactly.Sure what you say, and let me
tell you something good, coach,I should say, so great coach,
But pace, I said, Anthony, take it easy, walking up and
down. So I called him thehuman ulcer on uh the radio the next

(10:16):
day and a lady called me upand hell and she said, you can't
call him that coach. I said, no, I mean it in a
loving way, man, in aloving way. And she said, okay.
I said, he just gets sopumped up, worked up. And
you know what, you won't beany different, Garrett, Well, I
won't be. I have a Ihave a lot of the old school coach

(10:39):
characteristics about me. Oh you do? Oh boy? I like on game
day? Really, you don't reallydon't want to be bothered on game day,
do you? I mean now,I mean not until it's time for
the you know, get ready togo to the you know, okay,
now it's game time now, Butyou still got to go and do your
job at the school. What doyou teach? What do you what do
you teach? I don't see thatactually working the school scary always? Okay,

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all right, wow, I'll tellyou one thing your players don't want
to see I have to come reportto you? Do they? I mean,
so and so report that mister,No anybody but him, please,
no, no, Are you ona football team? Yes? Oh no,
I don't want to go. Yeah, that's true. That's how it

(11:22):
works. I know as a coach. You know the thing I used to
not like when I when I coached, I coached middle school, and so
I wasn't in the high school whenI taught with my son, but middle
school when I taught there, Ihated sometimes walking down the hall because I
didn't know which teacher was going tostop me to tell me something about one
of my players. Really as unbelievableI used to try. Of course,

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it happens, and I was thinking, wait a minute, I'm starting out
my day. I got to hearthis first. Anyway, Uh, you're
a great guy, and you doa great job, and I know you'll
be fine, you and your staff. I will definitely, obviously always have
Feign on my mind, uh fora game to get out to see the
lions of foreign love going there.And I wish you success in your in

(12:03):
your first year as head coach.I appreciate that. Thanks coach,