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When Coach Semancik would get upset with a player, he would often bark the command, "Bend over."We all knew what that met. "It was Chuck's way of driving home a point"don't make that mistake again".don't get to cocky, senior.
As I understood the "the kick in the rear" story, Chuck had done this for years. "It got to be one of the most anticipated happenings of two-a-day practices (of which we had many). "As the tale was passed down, it seemed that it was always a senior-starter who got the first toe of our mentor. "
I recall from previous varsity teams that a cash pool was collected with the entrant who got the initial swift boot of the new season taking all the proceeds. "Man, there were even side bets as to who would "win" the pot. "I'm glad the Washington State Gaming Commission didn"t get wind of this.
An unwritten rule of the contest was that we were all supposed to give our best in each practice and not try to get the "kick-start." "My team practiced hard, and I'll always think that Chuck just didn't want to break the tradition or perhaps, felt it necessary to give us a reminder that he was "the guy."
I can still hear those immortal words issued the day I "won" the pot. "Smitty, bend-over." "The cheer that arose was like one issued after yet another victory over East"we beat them twice my senior season. "I felt like I had just won a big award, well, I guess the pot (into the three-figures range) was well-worth it.
Now it is not so much the money as the "honor" of being the recipient of that kick. "Sounds strange? "You had to be there. "You needed to be a part of that man"s program to understand. "What a memorable time. "Thanks, Chuck!
Darren Smith (center and nose guard) Class of 1976
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