By Steven Baker staff reporter During the North Texas Cross Country meet in October, senior runner Jared Pope was breathing harder than usual. His legs were aching, and he had to find something to help him make it to the finish line. Then he remembered his lifelong friend Brady Garrett Brown and finished the race with his best time ever. "I felt like something was carrying me," Pope said. "If it was angels or whatever, I just didn't know. But then I felt like I could keep running stronger." Brady, 17, died July 30 in a car crash in Granbury. In a conversation a week before the accident, Brady told Pope to go out and have his best season ever in cross country. So, after Brady's death, Pope decided he would dedicate his season to Brady. Brady was driving at a high speed in a 1998 BMW when he lost control of the car, and it slammed into a concrete bridge. The car was split in two, killing Brady and one of the two passengers. Karen Brown, Brady's mother who has come to most of the TCU cross country meets this season, said Brady and Pope were both determined to be successful in their respective sports cross country and soccer. "Brady reminded me a lot of Jared," she said. "They were both small and had the determination that you are not going to tell them they can't do something because of their size. "I don't want Jared to think he has to go out and win every race. But if he can do his best, that is what Brady was about, performing to the best of your ability," she said. At Granbury High School, Pope finished eighth at the 1995 Texas State Cross Country Championships and third in the two-mile at the Texas State Class 4A Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Pope received all-state honors in cross country and track and field as a senior in 1995-96. In his four years at TCU, Pope has achieved Academic All-Conference three times and has won the 1996-97 Outstanding Freshman Athlete Award. Georgeanne Biancardi, a sophomore cross country runner, said besides Pope pushing himself in athletics and academics, he is also friendly, outgoing and is always making sure his friends are doing OK. "It inspires him, and he loves to do things for other people," she said. "This dedication is a good opportunity for him to do that." In April, Brady, as a starting midfielder, led his Granbury High School soccer team to the 4A state championships, where the team defeated Nederland High School. Head coach Larry Mayo would periodically consult with Brady for the starting line-ups of the team. Mayo said Jared and Brady were similar in that they led by example instead of verbally expressing what needed to be done. "(Brady) put the team above himself," he said. "A lot of the time if he thought a line-up would work better without him, he would suggest that someone else play in his place." Mayo said people really had to know Brady to understand how much he cared for others. "He had no class distinction," he said. "He could be friends with the athlete as well as the non-athlete." Brady grew up as a TCU fan because his mother once owned 50-yard-line seats. Attending each game, Brady became a big fan of Horned Frog running back Kenneth Davis, who played from 1982 to 1984. "Whenever Brady went to the football game, he went dressed as a player," Karen Brown said. "He carried his football and came to watch the game. The other kids might have wanted ice cream or popcorn, but he sat down and watched the game. He had always been an intense little boy, and this showed in everything he did." Kenneth Davis, now head football coach of Dallas Bishop Dunne High School, said he dedicated the rest of his career to his brother Earnest Davis after he was injured in a head-on car collision in the spring of 1982. "With (Pope) dedicating this season, that is an incredible credit to him not only as an athlete, but as a human being," he said. "I think those types of things put life in perspective." Karen Brown and her husband Donnie coached Brady, his brothers Bucky and Cody, as well as Jared and his brother Zach in soccer, baseball and basketball. Pope said they all grew up as a family - playing sports together and hanging out at each others' houses. "I feel honored to have Karen Brown come to my cross country meets because she cares so much," he said. "She has always been there to watch me excel in sports. When I was growing up and first began to play sports, she was one of the first people there to support me." Pope said Brady was always "energetic and enthusiastic" when it came to helping others. Pope was on the way to work in Fort Worth when he noticed that the police were re-routing traffic. Then, his mother called him on his cellular phone and told him that one of the Brown boys had died in a car wreck. Pope didn't find out that it was Brady who had died until he arrived at the Browns' house later that morning. "I just had this quiet feeling like something bad had happened, and I probably knew who it was," he said. "You never know who around you is going to be there tomorrow. It has really humbled me and made me realize that the people I take for granted need to know how I feel about them." Karen Brown said Pope was probably the first person to come to her house the day Brady died. "There have been times that I felt the same thing as Jared did (at the cross country meet), and Brady has helped me too," she said. "So, if it helps Jared, that is great, too."
Steven Baker
By James Zwilling skiff staff Chances are when assistant soccer coach Blake Amos isn't recruiting, scheduling or on the field or making travel arrangements, he will probably be watching, reading or thinking about soccer. Amos said his love of the game is part of all aspects of his life. "My passion for the game sets me apart from other coaches," Amos said. "This is all I do, and this is all I want to do. Soccer is in everything I do. It's what I watch on television, what I read about and what I think about." Amos served as a head coach for the Olympic Development Program from 1995-97 and currently serves as assistant coach to both the men's and women's teams at TCU. Amos played midfielder for TCU from 1989-94 and began coaching immediately after. "I was one of the few people who knew what I wanted to do when I got out of college," Amos said. "I knew what I wanted to do when I got out of high school, so I was able to gear all of my studies in that direction." Head coach David Rubinson said that Amos was the best man for the job. "Coaching is something Blake always wanted to do," Rubinson said. "He coached as a graduate assistant and a volunteer and he knew the programing in and out. "(Hiring) him made sense." Rubinson's duties as head coach for both the women's and men's team leave Amos as acting coach for most away games. Amos said this responsibility attracted him to the position. "One of the reasons I'm here is because I have the ability to be a head coach on the road," Amos said. "While lots of other assistant coaches are busy placing cones on the field and watching the game, I get the chance to coach." Rubinson believes Amos makes a big impact in the soccer program. "Blake has incredible organizational skills and a no nonsense attitude that really contribute to this program", he said. Rubinson said Amos is different from other coaches. "The demands he puts on himself to make our teams better set him apart from other coaches," Rubinson said. "He has such a good hold on the team, he takes charge and gets so much done." Junior midfielder Doak VanEnk, who played for Amos on an Olympic Development Program team, said he enjoys playing for him. "Blake relates well to the players and helps us understand what we need to do as individual players," he said. VanEnk said Amos continually motivates the team. "(Amos) is extremely competitive, and that motivates us to do whatever it takes to win." Amos said the challenges of soccer keep him coaching. "Soccer is such a unique game," Amos said. "You can give the players all of the tools during the week, but during the game there is really little for the coaches to do. It's fun and challenging because you kind of get to sit back and enjoy what you've been working on all week and hope that you did your job well." As for the future, Amos said he remains uncertain. "Eventually, I would like to be the head coach at a Division I school," he said. "Right now the future of the sport is in women's soccer because there is more growth in women's programs. I can't really say where my future is because although women's soccer is promising, right now I have more involvement with the men."
James Zwilling
By Matt Stiver staff reporter Some of them spend their afternoons getting pulverized by offensive linemen. Others lineup against All-America candidates. But when the football team charges out of the tunnel on Saturdays, they will not. Welcome to the life of a TCU scout team member. But by no means are they under-appreciated. The scout teams prepare the starting units for the next game by running the sets (looks) they likely will see. For example, when TCU played Rice, the scout team offense ran the Rice's triple-option offense against the starting defense. The scout team defense ran Rice's various defensive sets against the starting offense. Special teams coach Mark Tommerdhal said the scout teams are important to the success of the team.
Head coach Dennis Franchione said by preparing the starters for what they will see, the scout team players have an important role. "In some respects, their impact on the game is more significant than a back-up player that would play a few plays in the game," Franchione said. Bruce Galbert, a freshman scout team wide receiver, said he sees the scout team as a chance for improvement. "You can look at it as just running the other team's offense, but you can help yourself because you are going against our No. 1 defense," Galbert said. Tommerdahl said scout players have a chance to learn. "If I'm a young freshman, or if I don't have a lot of game experience, it's a chance for them to prove themselves against the best," Tommerdhal said. "God bless you if you are an offensive lineman and your are 18 years-old and are trying to block our defensive line. You won't find too many people that block, certainly not in this conference or at (the Division I-A) level. So you really do have a chance to learn under fire, and that's the best way to learn." Donald Burrell, a freshman scout team defensive lineman, said he has made some memorable tackles. "I got a couple good hits on some of the running backs and some of the lineman," Burrell said. "I'm a freshman, so I don't get that many chances to pop a running back."
Matt Stiver |
"I don't like to use the word, 'critical,' but (they
are) pretty important," Tommerdhal said. "They are directly responsible
for providing us with the look we will see that week."| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |