Mangurian the Nice


For privacy reasons, I am not going to name names right now, but I have learned that one or two Lions who have chronic injuries will now be contributing to the team on the sidelines as effective assistant coaches. These young men asked for the chance to remain a part of the team and Coach Pete Mangurian was more than willing to reward their enthusiasm.

I know Mangurian has been getting the "hard ass" image down pat, but these moves by the coach really show his human side and will do a lot to build team morale.

Kicker Crop

One thing to consider during spring practice is the unusually high number of kicker/punters on the Lion roster. Right now, we have no less than five of them! I can't remember ever having such a deep kicking corps.

Not only will competition be fierce among them, but the coaches will have to work hard to make sure everyone gets a decent look. Kicking and all the other special teams plays are usually very difficult to fit into restricted Ivy League practice schedules.

For my money, I thought Paul Delaney was the most solid punter Columbia used last year. Luke Eddy is still a very talented place kicker and Greg Guttas and Tyler Feely could start on a lot of other Ivy teams. Dean Perfetti is a solid backup.

In other words, I don't envy Mangurian and co. as they will be forced to sort all of this out in the coming weeks.

Goings the Distance

You Can't Win if You Don't Play. 

Rising sophomore Percee Goings is featured in an excellent article on ESPN's Grantland website about Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, DC.

Friendship is a charter school that doesn't have a conference or even what I would call adequate athletic funding. And yet, it's offering a great high school experience and fielding strong football teams. Goings is a 2011 graduate of Friendship and considered to be one of its greatest success stories. 

If anyone still thinks that athletics doesn't help you learn the measure of a young man or woman, I urge you to read the article in Grantland. 

And from a fan's point of view, the article certainly upgrades what I thought was the athletic quality of the Friendship football team. Goings is certainly a strong athlete and I am more eager than ever to see what he can do on the field for the varsity.