When the final TD was made, the crowd just roared.  It was an amazing moment of final relief and accomplishment. Our salute was definitely to Coach Satcher who when asked about his feelings towards the win, responded with a few simple words: “I’ll be happy when we’re at the playoffs” . Sick! We are happy that your goals are set to such high levels coach! And we will be there right beside you in all of your endeavors to lead us into victory. Another man deeply in need of recognition is Junior, Chris Ross. This guy is the newest hero at our school.  I mean four touchdowns! Wow(: Hah keep up the good work Mr.Bamf! I think it is safe to say that this win is just a breath of fresh air to all of the students. Ugh, especially after such a rough week with the administration, we needed this!! Keep on supporting our troopers everyone!

Ps: Shout out to the class of 2011!!!

Coach Satcher Interview

Q: When did you get here?
A: I got here last January.  When I came in for the interview process, they told me it was a “Sun City” and it rained for two days, it was cold. I actually drove through a winter storm.

Q: What are your thoughts on Chico’s Tacos?
A: I haven’t had a Chico’s Taco yet. The big thing I’ve heard is from both sides of the fence. You either love Chico’s Tacos or they’re the most disgusting thing you’ve ever had. I haven’t had anyone say “Eh, they’re alright.” No, it’s either one or the other.

Q: Coming from Houston, how has it been adjusting to the Chicano culture?
A: It’s not as different as you think, the Hispanic culture in Houston is actually pretty large. Of course my wife is Hispanic, born and raised in Laredo. There’s actually a large Hispanic population in Houston, a lot more than you would think. The difference really isn’t that big.

Q: Some might say this is wild comparison, but I’m going to go ahead and compare you to President Obama, overtaking for a man who had low approval ratings and coming in presenting a lot of hope a lot of change. How do you prevent from falling into the approval ratings the same way President Obama has?
A: I think the big thing is, you have to sell kids on that they can do it and it’s not necessarily that there’s a magic potion that there’s going to be. The kids are going to have to work hard, they’re going to have to get after it. There are some things that we can do schematically that’s going to give them a better chance to succeed. The big part is going to be based on them. As I tell the seniors every year, and I’ve already kind of talked to these guys, it’s their team. What they put into it is what they’re going to get out of it. Two years, five years, six years, ten years from now, I’ll still be here, but it’s their legacy that they’re going to lead. So it’s has to be their work that they put into it. Then again with our guidance, we’ll put them in the right direction, give them a chance to succeed, but it’s all about those guys.

Q: What type of offense are you going to run?
A: The offense we run is what I call “11 Personnel.” One tight end, one running back, three wide-receivers with the ability to move back and forth to bring a guy in to run a power running game and then motion them back to run a quick pop game. It allows kids to get more involved with the offense. Anywhere from 15 to 17 kids can be through the rotation at one time. This offense give you ability to change the offense from year to year. You don’t have to find kids with a specific skill set like some schools that have big linemen that can just get after it or some schools have four wide receivers and a good quarterback. It lets you do more diverse things.

Q: What kind of defense are you running?
A: We’re running a 4-2-5 defense. It’s a defense that I learned when I was coaching in Southwest Texas. TCU runs it currently, one of the top teams in the country and the NCAA. Been running it now for about 8 years. It’s highly successful because it doesn’t have to take big linebackers. You don’t have to have huge linemen, the safeties do all the adjusting, and the kids don’t have to be huge because they’re not really linebacker types. For them it’s just “flow goes away” then you’re the cutback guy, you don’t have to take on those guards or those fullbacks.

Q: There’s been a lot of controversy about the school failing to stay locally here hiring a local coach. What are your thoughts on that?
A: I think the committee went with was trying to find somebody that they knew that had had success before and they were willing to look outside the box to go after it. I know the local promotion thing, I know a lot of times you want to keep it at home but a lot of times if you want to be a successful business, the Fortune 500 companies, they don’t necessarily hire from within. What they want to do is they want to win and they’re going to find the guys that they know have had success and have that win. It’s not about necessarily where you came from or what you’ve done locally but what you can do and what you’ve done in the past. So I really think they went out and took a template from companies who have had success and just go out and find the best person.

Q: Have you had contact with Coach Ardoin at all?
A: I have not.

Q: What is the future of the coaching staff here?
A: I have a couple of guys coming in. In fact I have one coming in Thursday, he’s a defensive coordinator. He’s actually working at one of the colleges here in Texas. He’s a guy that I’ve known for a long time that’s worked at a couple colleges and at the high school level. I have an offensive coordinator who’s flying out in two weeks, (in fact he’ll be here on Valentine’s Day) Both of the guys are single so it’s easier to move to El Paso. I do have an offensive line coach who’s coming with his wife.

Q: What are you’re first impressions of the players?
A: It was great yesterday. I’ll tell you what, there was a lot of kids in there that were excited to be there. They worked hard yesterday and I talked to the track kids about coming out, you know doing their track workouts and coming to work out in the morning. Voluntarily, I had 20 kids this morning here at 7:00 AM. I told them “You don’t have to be here until 7:30.” and they were banging on the door at 7 ‘o’ clock this morning.

Q: Have you talked with any former players?
A: I have. Actually, I’ve talked to last year’s quarterback and one of the offensive linemen. They were extremely encouraging, they wanted to offer their help and appreciation for coming in and just excited that the guys behind them are going to have an opportunity to have some success.

Q: What kind of reception have you had?
A: It’s been great. I’m telling you, the biggest thing is coming in the weekend before, because I’ve driven through El Paso, I use to live in Colorado, but never really stayed here, never really spent any time. My wife though, the one that talked me into it, to coming out here and really seeing it. The weekend I spent here on the interview process, I went to a bunch of different restaurants and even convenient stores and just walk around and spend a little time around the neighborhood and the people are extremely friendly. Everybody was “Hi, how are you doing?” you know, “Can I help you with something?”, and it’s been great. Of course, the school’s been great. Kids are walking up and saying “ Hi Coach” and even the ones that haven’t been in the program or not in the program right now, but it’s been extremely great.

Q: Have you received any feedback from any sources?
A: I have. In fact, I had a parent this morning that came by and dropped her son off today to work out. So he actually worked out yesterday and wanted to come and get another work out and she had been an assistant principal here a couple years back and transferred to another school. She told me that this morning that she was just excited that her son hadn’t been this happy in a long time, that he came back with a lot of positive feedback and was real excited about the program and had talked about a lot of kids being excited about the program. And she just wanted to thank me for coming in there and really giving those guys some confidence and some hope.

Q: What are your thoughts on the field conditions?
A: (laughing) Trick question there. From what I understand, the field will be ready in the Fall. Again, with the limited space, there’s definitely cities, in Houston, there’s definitely places that have the same sort of situation. With the grass and being a multi-use for different sports, and that’s something we’ll work on. I know El Paso ISD just turfed all their fields at their local high schools. From what I’ve heard there has been some talk but, I don’t know if that’s in the works.

Q: Can you explain your family philosophy, or the “Three F’s?”
A: Yeah, the “Three F’s” is the only time in school that F’s are good. It’s one of the things that I really want the kids to believe in, it’s one of the things that I believe in more than anything. The first one is ‘Faith’ and it doesn’t matter what faith you are and there’s no judging of faith in the program but, you have to have a strong faith. It doesn’t natter what it is but that’s what’s going to guide you through life and that’s what’s going to help you make the right decisions and help you do the right thing. So, faith to me is the biggest thing that’s important. The next one is ‘Family.’ It’s not just your immediate family but it’s also the family that’s here in football. Family members don’t let each other down and they’re always there when they need help. You know, if you need a ride to school, if you need a ride to the workouts, if you need a little help in class, if you’re failing Algebra and help there, I’m here for you. And it’s the same way the rest of us take care of our family, whether it’s our mother, father, cousins, uncles, we’re always there for them and that’s a big part of it. The next one is ‘Football.’ So the kids will understand that there’s things before football that they have to prioritize and that football’s not the most important thing that you’re going to get out of this. It’s the same that you’ll hear in the program, we’re going to be good in football and we’re going to get after it in football but there’s other things we have to prioritize first.

Q: Can you go a little bit more in depth about your experience at State?
A: In 2003, I was the offensive line coach at Bay City. We had a 6-5 team the year before, probably underachieved a little bit but we had a good core that went through there. We had a good run through the playoffs, we played North Crowley High School. It was really a 5-A playing 4-A they went up the next year. We went and played them at College Station. It was about 25 degrees at kick off, it was cold. It was game, I think, we were probably the better athletes at the time but we had the cold condition really worked on us. We had five turnovers and the state championship game was really frustrating. We out gained about 150 yards, held them to 200 total offense. We couldn’t hold on to the ball when it got there but it’s a great experience, it really is. It’s something again, not everybody gets a chance to do and it’s something some coaches do their whole lives and never get to that point, so it was a great opportunity, especially to get to do that. The next year I left for a promotion, defensive coordinator over at Clear Lake. It was a school very much like Eastwood, where it was a highly academic school, hadn’t had a lot of success in football. They’d never won a second round playoff game and that was one of the things we ad to change mindset wise with those kids. We were going to go into every game expecting to win and it wasn’t a game where the kids walked out there and said “ You know, I hope we win.” No the kids went out there with the idea, “ No we’re going to win.” And that’s what we came out with. When we won the second round playoff game, first time in school history, it was a big deal for the kids, but the mindset had already been that we didn’t storm the field, even though it was the first time in the school’s history. The kids walked across, shook hands with the other team, because they knew they were going to win when they got there. And that’s the kind of thing that we’re going to have here. I promise you that the student body may storm the field but the kids are going to know when we win next year that it’s something they expected to do. We’re not going to rush the field, we’re going to shake hands and act like we’ve done this before and a lot of these kids have done this on the JV level.

Q: Can you comment on your last season at Clear Lake?
A: Yeah, our last season there we had a few injuries. We also have sort of what happened here, I guess in Eastwood. A few years ago, we had another school, actually we’ve had two schools now, that have been built in the last 2 or 3 years that have really taken away from our numbers. It’s been depth has really gone down last couple years. This past year we had our starting quarterback go out and non-district in the third game. I had eight different starters on defense that went out during one point or another, including three for the season. So we ended up starting four sophomores by the end of the year and in the area we play a lot of schools that have 3000-3500 kids. You start getting into those lower numbers and your depth wears away when those kids get injuries, it’s hard to replace. I think we probably played as well as we could have played with the kids that we had left. I felt bad for the kids because we hadn’t had a losing season in forever and the kids we just so use to winning. So it was a difficult season to go through but the younger kids, the Sophomores and Juniors got a lot of experience playing this year so I think they’ll have a great season next year.
Q: Can you name one person or one experience in your life that motivated you to get to where you are?

Someone out there decided he wanted to make a difference and start an entrepreneurship that no one had dared to ever do before. Inspired by shoe donation drives he saw while traveling he decided to put a stop to this need. Blake Mycoskie saw a need and decided to put it to an end.

After designing a shoe that was affordable to duplicate Blake turned his idea over to businesses. The idea of creating two pairs of shoes cut out profit and many turned his idea down. Some even suggested that each pair bought could buy one shoe instead of a pair. One shoe wouldn’t help his cause so he moved on. This didn’t stop Mycoskie.

With a keen sense for business he soon turned his tiny company into a massive producing shoe company that donated thousands of shoes in its first year. The first year after the company debut he donated 10,000 shoes to the children he had met in Argentina who had inspired his idea. Every year him and a team of people travel around the world to find children that are in need of shoes.

Since the debut of TOMS in May 2006 the company has donated over 600,000 pairs of shoes because of one for one.

One for one is a contagious movement. Because the movement is so effective everyone is getting in on the power of giving. Other companies have created products that if bought will buy the equal product for children in need in other countries. Element and Ralph Lauren have created skateboards and shoes that will be equally matched when given to those in need in other countries.

With shoes that are impossible not to like what is there to lose? Comfort, style, and simplicity make the shoes a must have. If only everything we bought in life could be available to those in need.

Many Eastwood students participated in this event as well. Students such as Brian Monk and James Van Horne give their perspectives on the reason behind the day and the the TOMS movement overall. Brian is a junior here at Eastwood High School and was among the many that participated in the One Day Without Shoes event. When asked his personal motivation for walking around among his peers all day with no shoes, he replied, “One Day Without Shoes is not a day to promote the TOMS shoes but rather to promote awareness of a serious problem that many children face throughout the world.” Although others share the same thought as Brian, there is another idea to think about. Senior James Van Horne is not a TOMS believer and he explains why. “I think it’s fine but..the whole corporate backing and the entire movement is capitalizing on the problem that is going on in third world countries. If it were non-profit I would support it fully. It just seems to me that the TOMS company is making money off of people suffering” It was for this reason that James decided not to walk barefoot through the halls of Eastwood High School. 

Overall, whether one decides to wear the shoes, not wear the shoes, love TOMS or not support TOMS, the problem remains. The growing problem of poverty, hunger, and yes, children left to remain barefoot everywhere they walk. There are many movements that began long before TOMS and others that will begin. Don’t wait for another crisis to begin to start helping. Somewhere around the world someone is in need.  ]]> http://www.theetank.com/student-life/2010/06/08/a-day-without-shoes/feed/ 0 http://www.theetank.com/news-events/2010/05/27/coach-ardoin-a-trooper-for-life/ http://www.theetank.com/news-events/2010/05/27/coach-ardoin-a-trooper-for-life/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 20:49:02 +0000 adviser http://www.theetank.com/?p=648

The yearbook adviser Ms. Lupe Carrasco informed him that the yearbook class had unanimously voted to dedicate this year’s book to him. Ardoin was surrounded by his greatful players and family that included his beloved wife Carlisle, his son Jordan, sister Nancy Anthes, and daughter Kelly. Ardoin was visibly emotional but stayed characteristically composed.

Shrek must battle Rumpelstiltskin in order to get back his kingdom, swam, friends and family.  Along the way he gets help newly introduced ogres and his old pals who he has convinced to help.  He must overcome evil witches controlled by the nasty Rumpelstiltskin.

This truly was a fight for death or happily ever after.  Overall, it is a great movie for kids, but if you’ve seen the first three, go ahead and save your money.  This fourth installment has more of the same kind of humor that by this point has become extremely monotonous….definitely not Dreamwork’s finest!

Major General) Pittard graduated from Eastwood High School in 1977 where he was active in JROTC, Student Council and a host of other clubs and activities.  He went on to graduate from the United States Military Academy in 1981 as an Armor Officer.  Immediately after graduating, he attended the Armor Officer Basic Course and was subsequently assigned with the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1982. He served as a Tank Platoon Leader and Tank Company Executive Officer in 2-63 Armor; then as a Scout Platoon Leader and Battalion S1 in 3-37 Armor.  

In 1984, he served as an Admissions Officer at West Point; and in 1985 was assigned to Bad Kissingen, Germany, as the Squadron S4 for 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR).  In October 1986, Pittard commanded E Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR until May 1988. He next commanded Fox Company, 40th Armor (Berlin Brigade) from June 1988 until March 1990. In April 1990, he commanded D Company, 1-37 Armor at Vilseck, Germany, and led his unit in combat in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. Upon returning to Germany, he served as an Assistant S3 in 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. He next served at Fort Hood, Texas as the Assistant G3, Chief of Plans and Exercises for 2nd Armored Division; the S3 for 1-67 Armor; and then as the S3, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. 

After his promotion to Major, General Pittard served as a Military Aide to President Bill Clinton from November 1996 until January 1999. In June 1999 to Jun 2001, now Lieutenant Colonel Pittard commanded of 1-32 Armor/1-14 Cavalry at Fort Lewis, Washington as a part of the Army’s first Stryker Brigade.

Following promotion to full Colonel, COL Pittard took command of 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in July 2002 and led the unit on deployments to Kosovo (2002–2003) and to Iraq (2004–2005). 

Here, COL Pittard received accolades for deftly employing his soldiers in a variety of challenging environments to achieve tactical and political success.  In Iraq, COL Pittard was quoted in a New York Times article as saying, ”War is more than just killing people.  We were trying to gain the trust and confidence of (the Iraqi) people.”  In 2006, now Brigadier General (one star) Pittard would return to Iraq and as Commander of the Iraq Assistance Group, the unit charged with developing the Iraqi Security Forces.

Almost immediately after departing Iraq in Jun 2007, BG Pittard assumed command of the U.S Army Training Center located at Fort Irwin, CA.  While at Ft Irwin, BG Pittard did something that I never witnessed in my 25 years of active military/civilian service to our nation – in 2007, seeing himself as one of the more physically fit soldiers at Fort Irwin, he did not think he needed (the eight) preferential parking spots close to his office, the commissary and other buildings on post so he changed his spaces into “expectant mother only” parking.  The signs had a stork carrying a baby and sat in front of many commonly used buildings at Fort Irwin.  At the time, BG Pittard said that he did not mind giving up his space and walking a few extra yards… so that expectant mothers could park closer to the base exchange, commissary and other activities.   From Ft Irwin, he would go on become the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Training at TRADOC in March 2009.  

In Dec 2010, BG Pittard after was promoted to Major General rumors started circulating that he might return to El Paso in the summer of 2010 to command Ft Bliss.

MG Pittard has received numerous awards for exemplary service to the nation during his storied career to include the Bronze Star with Valor Device.  He is also authorized to wear the Army Ranger Tab and, Airborne and Air Assault Badges.

The Trooper Golf team has certainly made a name for themselves around the great state of Texas. For the second consecutive year the Lady Trooper Golf Team earned a spot at state.

The 2010 Lady Trooper Golf Team was led by Alexia Heist, Laura Barron, Amber Herrera, Aries Ramirez and Dell Blair. The Lady Troopers finished fourth at state and represented not only Eastwood High School but also the city of El Paso very well. Alexia Heist, one of the Eastwood High School standouts, finished the day at state 115 (75-40) and finished 15th overall. Alexia was the region one champion.

Heist said ” I thought I could have done a lot better than what I did at state, but I did my best and that’s all I could.”

All the Lady Troopers said that the main key to their success was that they played poised and had fun doing it.

“We are very close as a team, our chemistry is great, most teammates just see each other at practice and stuff but we go to lunch with each other and hang out on the weekend.”

When asked if there’s a state championship in the near future for the Lady Troopers, Coach Stovall commented that ” I don’t like to make predictions on stuff like that, to get to state in the first place is really tough, you have to play near perfect at regional’s.”

The Lady Troopers will return their whole golf team next season, which definitely brings up talk of another successful year. The key to the Lady Trooper success was the team bond they have.

Amber Herrera said that, “[the bond] kept us together at state, when we were waiting in the storm delay we bonded together, gathered our composure and shook off our rough start the day before.”

The Lady Troopers finished #1 in the city and claimed a district championship title and finished second place at the region one tournament. With the whole team returning next season, expectations are set high for the Lady Troopers in 2011. A state championship is definitely possible.

Her family called to tell her that her beloved older sister, Karla Cerino was in a tragic rollover car accident on 1-10. She was able to save her 8 year old daughter Priscilla and her 4 year old son Edgar by passing them to good Samaritan; Rodrigo Diaz.

The car rolled on its side, sliding across three lanes of traffic and came to a rest on the emergency lane to the right of I-10 West. 

On April 1st, that Wednesday afternoon, Karla Cerino was driving a 2000 Ford Expedition, investigators believe her front left tire blew out being the reason for the crash, it was not found that she was speeding

Karla Cerino was not able to escape the car crash because her leg was pinned, police said, she burned to death. “When they called me, I didn’t know what to do,” Arlet Cerino said, “I was pulling my hair. I just wanted to get out and run to the hospital. I just wanted to see her one last time.” 

Priscilla Chavez, Karla’s daughter, suffered third-degree burns to her face and has been transported to the Lubbock burn center where she was in critical condition on April 2nd, she later passed away . Edgar Fuentes, Karla’s son, was released with no physical harm, but tormented memories and the lost of his mother. 

Karla’s family announced in the morning on April 2nd that Cerino was pregnant with her third child at the time of the fatal crash. 

Investigators found that Karla Cerino was not wearing her seat belt during her accident. The family is extremely thankful for Rodrigo Diaz acts of goodness. 

Even in the toughest of the times the family is staying positive and growing stronger. They are grateful for the family they have, and dearly miss their sister, daughter, and mother.