Celebrating Sports Fellowship,
Spirit, and Community Pride
Important Note: All those planning to attend the next meeting,
please RVSP to John prior to the meeting night.
This will insure proper food coverage for the meeting.
John: 251-967-4237 or mccormick436@centurytel.net
GCAC
2013 Scholarship
Recipients
GCAC 11th Annual
Golf Tournament Results
Congratulations to the Winners!
Brad Patty, Craig Mathews, Hunter Mathews, Johnny Neumeier
Who shot a 49.3 Net to take the 4 Man Scramble!
Visit Our 11th Annual GCAC Tournament Page
containing results and pictures of all the fun!
GCAC Donates $5,250
To Gulf Shores Middle School
The Gulf Shores Athletic Club presented the Gulf Shores Middle School football program with a check for $5,250.00 on Thursday, May 23rd.
Earlier Discussions with Head Football Coach Mel Stringfellow, revealed that the Gulf Shores Middle School football program was in dire need of
updated equipment, especially from a safety standpoint. As an example, Coach Stringfellow pointed out that all of their shoulder pads were in disrepair,
and were literally held together with string and tape.
The Gulf Coast Athletic Club made a decision to help. The donation from GCAC allows the school to purchase new shoulder pads for the entire team and help with the purchase of new uniforms.
This donation only helps Coach Stringfellow in his quest to update their equipment and the Gulf Coast Athletic Club would encourage other individuals or organizations to consider doing the same.
A strong Middle School program can do nothing but help the Gulf Shores High School Dolphins football program.
Congratulations To Our
2013 Scholarship Winners!
Nicole Wallace and Brooks Mason
The Gulf Coast Athletic Club recognized the club’s “Scholar Athletes of the Year” and presented its annual scholarships to Gulf Shores High School Senior Scholar Athletes, Nicole Wallace & Brooks Mason at the school’s annual awards night May 17th. Each received a scholarship from GCAC valued at $2250.00.
Nicole Wallace is an active student at Gulf Shores High School where she maintains a 3.94 GPA while taking Honors and Advanced Placement classes. She is an A-B Honor Roll student and is ranked 23rd in her class of 185 students Her ACT score is 26. Nicole is a member of the National Honor Society, Juniorettes, Pure Club officer, active in Friends of Exceptional Children and Teens Against Animal Cruelty.
Nicole is captain of the varsity softball team and played and lettered in softball her entire high school career. She was 7th in the state for 5A stolen bases as a 9th grader and All-County both her Junior & Senior years. She also lettered in Varsity basketball. Nicole was voted “Most Athletic Female” in her senior class.
Nicole is active in her community where she was a softball tournament scorekeeper and soccer official for the City of Gulf Shores. She is a Volunteer for softball camps, Children’s Church, Costal Cleanup, and is active in Vacation Bible School.
Nicole plans to attend The University of Alabama in the fall to pursue a degree in Nursing and, ultimately, obtain a master’s degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She is inspired by her grandmother, a nurse for 17 years, but who entered college only after 22 years as a homemaker. Nicole is motivated to be the best caregiver she can possibly be.
Brooks Mason maintains a 3.87 GPA while enrolled in Honors Classes and has a 25 ACT score. He is ranked 20th in his class of 187 students. Brooks is a member of the National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Interact Club, Friends of Exceptional Children, Teens Against Animal Cruelty, and is a Juniorettes Sweetheart.
Brooks played both baseball and football at Gulf Shores High School. His honors and achievements include:
4 Year Letterman-Varsity Baseball 
3 Year Letterman-Varsity Football
3 Year Letterman-Varsity Football Team Captain-Baseball-2011Honorable Mention-All Region-Baseball-2009
Honorable Mention-All Region-Baseball-2009All-County Baseball-2011 & 2012Eric B. McCoy Leadership Award-2012
Eric B. McCoy Leadership Award-2012Alabama East-West All-Star Baseball Team Selectee
Brooks is very active in his community and church. He is a volunteer and Youth Leader at Liberty Church and participates in the Youth Group activity of feeding the Homeless in Pensacola. He is a reader for Orange Beach Elementary School and volunteers for other Orange Beach and Gulf Shores activities.
Brooks plans to attend Samford University where he will major in accounting.
September 9th
Meeting
6:00pm Social---6:30 Supper
Guest Speaker
Kevin Steele
Alabama
Director of Player Personnel
Oddsmaker and sports analyst, Danny Sheridan, was the key note speaker to kick off the 2013 Gulf Coast Athletic Club (GCAC) season on August 26. His remarks were filled with jokes and focused on insight into the upcoming college football landscape. With GCAC members representing roughly 23 colleges, Danny made sure that no one would leave wondering how their team may fair, commenting on every SEC team, several non-SEC schools, as well as predicting who will meet in the Super Bowl.
Sheridan agrees with the overwhelming consensus that Alabama will win the SEC West this season and will face the winner of the Florida-South Carolina game for the SEC Championship. He predicts the Tide to be double digit favorites in every game except Texas A&M and they will win 11 regular season games and play for the National Championship.
For a more in-depth report on Danny Sheridan's thoughts on the upcoming season, visit Mobile-Press Registers, Mark Inabinett's report on AL.com.
Past President, Fred Dickinson, was awarded a plaque by the club, to honor his two years of great service during his term. Congratulations again, Fred!
New members were welcomed and introduced as our club continues to grow, thanks to efforts of many, including new Membership Chairman, David DeMeyer.
As in every meeting, we waited with great anticipation for the Team Reports, led by Kevin Corcoran.
Although no games have been played, each GCAC member had the opportunity to tell a little about their teams prospects for the upcoming year. Kevin has also introduced a new "timer", to help certain members.....David DeMeyer.....in keeping team reports brief. This timer is complete with a Washington State Cougars logo on the face of it. David totally ignored his first encounter with the timer and is certain to do so in the future!
After another great meal provided by the Craft Farms staff, the meeting was adjourned.
Next meeting, as shown at the top of this page, is Alabama's Director of Player Personnel......more importantly, former Husker coach, Kevin Steele, on September 9th. Please let John McCormick know as soon as possible if you will be in attendance.
See you next meeting!
President John McCormick
presents past President Fred Dickinson with a plaque
honoring his two years of service as the GCAC President.
Congratulations on a job well done, Fred!
Click on Pictures To Enlarge
September 23rd
Meeting
6:00pm Social---6:30 Supper
Guest Speaker
Eli Gold
Radio Voice
for Alabama Crimson Tide
Eli Gold, voice of the Alabama Crimson Tide, entertained the Gulf Coast Athletic Club at the September 23rd meeting. Although best known around here as being the “Voice of the Tide” (which began in 1988), Eli’s broadcasting career began in 1972 in Brooklyn, New York. By age 23 he was announcing hockey in New York and has since handled play-by-play assignments for various college football programs, NHL, MLB, AFL, NFL, and NASCAR. Eli has been recognized 4 times as being the Alabama Sportscaster of the Year.
Eli offered insight into his broadcasting background, career, and how he has ascended to where he is today. With a predominately UA crowd on hand, Eli played to his base early on, addressing Tide-specific matters such as the Bill Battle hire, how the Tide’s season has unfolded thus far, his relationship with the various coaches, and how he got to Tuscaloosa. But no matter whom you cheer for on Saturdays, large parts of Eli’s message reached across team lines. His message was simple and inspiring: If you focus on what you want to do, commit yourself 100% to your goal, prepare and practice, nothing is out of reach. Few realize Eli didn’t go to college or even finish high school. He would spend countless hours at the ball fields watching games from the back row of the bleachers, practicing his play-by-play announcing. “I didn’t know the players or their stats, but that didn’t matter”, he said. He was practicing his art, perfecting his play calling. His love of broadcasting, constant practice, and study of the English language set the foundation for his career. He is quick to point out that his story is not intended to diminish education, but is to encourage those to aim high, continually strive to improve your craft, and always believe in yourself, even if the deck is stacked against you.
A common fallacy is that Eli is an employee of the University, when in fact he is actually employed by Learfield Communication, who is the “rights holder” of Alabama athletics broadcasts. His contractual responsibilities include announcing all of the Tide’s football and basketball games, host call-in talk shows, play-by-play for other college games (that don’t interfere with Bama), several NFL games, and NASCAR races. Just to get a sneak peak of this hectic schedule, in November, Eli will be announcing the Baylor/ Oklahoma game on a Thursday, Alabama/ LSU on Saturday, NASCAR in Phoenix on Sunday, and a NFL game on Monday.
With a majority of the crowd in Crimson and Eli’s association with Alabama football, much of the presentation centered on the Tide, as expected. He praised new AD, Bill Battle. Noting Battle’s deep UA roots and experience, “there could not have been a better replacement for the late Mal Moore.” Regarding the season thus far, Eli said that it has been “interesting.” He thinks Virginia Tech will end up with a top 7 defense, Johnny Manziel is the clear front runner for the Heisman, and the players “just had no excitement or enthusiasm” for the Colorado State game plus the team was “decimated by injuries.” Eli drew many laughs from the crowd, such as when he described his fist impression with Texas A&M. This was his time to the stadium at College Station. He arrived at the press-box four hours before kickoff and was greeted by a team of workers who were removing all of the bats from the press-box. He related this to the time he was announcing a NASCR race in Phoenix, where an Indian arrived on horseback to the track to remove rattle snakes. His assessment of the A&M game boiled down to one thing, or better yet, one person, Johnny Manziel. According to Eli, “Johnny Football is the best QB I have ever seen”, adding “I wish him nothing but the best, but hopes he leave soon”. Eli is optimistic as the O & D lines are improving from week to week.
Eli discussed his working relationship with both Stallings and Saban, sharing stories of his interaction with each. He told about his firsthand experience with Stallings and a kicker recruit where the kicker could drill FG’s from anywhere on the field but when Stallings would approach him, he couldn’t come close. The recruit told the coach, “I just can’t do it with you watching”, to which Stallings replied, “Well son, I’ll be at all of our games”. Regarding Saban, Eli described him as “different,” “punctual,” “focused,” “businesslike” and simply “a winner”. Eli said they didn’t even speak for the first year so he called an LSU broadcasting colleague to try to figure out what the problem was. The colleague told Eli that he and Saban didn’t speak for five years while in Baton Rouge. He learned quickly that Saban puts little emphasis on anything other than what it takes to execute on Saturday.
Q&A with Eli Gold:
What was your favorite game to call? “There are too many to list. For the sake of sheer excitement, I’ll say all of the National Championship games.” He also singled out the 1989 UA/ Ole Miss game where Bama won 62-21 and the 2009 UA/UT game where Terrance Cody blocked two FG’s.
Who will win the Heisman? “Johnny Manziel. Without him, they are a totally different team. Right now, I don’t see anyone close”.
Do like announcing football or NASCAR better? “They are totally different. With football, you represent one side, one team. With NASCAR, you represent all 43 teams and have to appeal to everyone.”
GCAC’s membership is diverse, and everyone, regardless of team affiliation, was sure to have left Eli Gold’s presentation entertained, informed, and even inspired.
Other highlights include:
Coach Ben Blackmon, head football coach and AD at Gulf Shores High School, addressed the club and expressed his gratitude for GCAC’s donation which funded an end zone camera system. Offensive line coach, Matt Blake, also expressed his appreciation and joked that the players don’t like it near as much as the coaches.
Kevin Corcoran hosted the team reports. Still fired up from the Rutgers comeback victory over Arkansas, Bill Durmer, was on point as usual with his teams report. The “crying towel” went to Arkansas for their heartbreaking 24-28 loss to Rutgers. Ed Cluck reluctantly accepted on behalf of the Razorbacks.
No scholar athletes were recognized at this meeting.
We hope to see you at our next meeting on October 7th at the Craft Farms Clubhouse where sports talk radio personality, Scott Moore, will be speaking and broadcasting his live radio show. Reserve your spot by contacting John McCormick.
GCAC Donates $5,000
To Gulf Shores High School
Gulf Coast Athletic Club President, John McCormick, was pleased to surprise Athletic Director and Head Football Coach, Ben Blackmon, with a check for $5,000 at Monday nights meeting. The funds will be used to purchase a much needed endzone camera for filming each game and practices.
The portable unit is needed to replace the previous method of borrowing a bucket truck, that was able to pull up to the endzone and raise a volunteer high enough to record the games. New renovations at the football stadium do not allow for a truck to be used in the this same manner.
Coach Blackmon seemed genuinely surprised by the donation and thanked the club for the very generous contribution to the needs of the football team.
Coach Kevin Steele, later added that this is how communities can make a difference in not only how the teams can prosper, but how individuals can be benifited by these types of technologies as well, to further their goals and ambitions.
Over 100 GCAC members and guests welcomed the University of Alabama’s Director of Player Personnel, Kevin Steele, as the speaker for the September 9, 2013 meeting. Mr. Steele returned to the Tide earlier this year with a new role after spending the 2007 & 2008 on Saban’s staff followed by a 3-year stint as Clemson’s Defensive Coordinator.
Steele, a 1981 University of Tennessee graduate, played for Johnny Majors and has coached under some legendary coaches including: Joe Lee Dunn (New Mexico State: 1983), Phil Fulmer (UT: 1987), Tom Osborne (Nebraska: 1989-1994), Dom Capers (Carolina: 1995-1999), Bobby Bowden (FSU: 2003-2006), Nick Saban (2007 & 2008, 2013-present), and Dabo Swinney (Clemson: 2009-2012).
Steele began his presentation saying, “I have no clue what Director of Player Personnel means, but I do know recruiting.” Steele leads recruiting efforts for the Tide’s football program and quickly pointed out that he won’t be able to go into detail on recruiting as this is as secretive as Coco-Cola’s formula. Touching briefly on Alabama’s recruiting, he said, “we are at 20 commitments now for 2014. Our biggest need is at Defensive Line, and there just aren’t a lot of solid DL’s out there now”.
Steele’s presentation touched briefly on the “X’s and O’s” and the currently climate in Tuscaloosa, but primarily focused on stories involving his coaching carrier noting many of his legendary past employers, how the game has evolved, Saban’s relentless work habits, and what Saban expects from coaches and players.
He told stories of his past employers and what he was able to pick up from them. For example, he touched on the defensive prowess of Dom Capers, Bobby Bowden’s “ability to relate with everyone”, and Saban’s relentless work ethic.
According to Steele, one of the primary changes in the game is the evolution of the offenses. He discussed how the speed of the game is so much faster with the emergence of the “no huddle” and how this plays a toll on the opposing defense. “Not too long ago, a team had maybe three formations on offence and ran their plays from those. Today, a team may have a dozen different formations, running it from the no-huddle, getting off 9 plays with just 41 seconds coming off the clock. Defensive Coordinators are having to get creative in developing schemes for these emerging style of offensive play”.
The attendees were eager to hear Steele’s experiences working for Coach Saban. He began by saying, “It probably isn’t a good idea to speak in public about your boss and this is no exception”, which drew a large from the crowd. He said what makes Saban unique is his laser focus on only what takes place between the lines. “His commitment to excellence 24/7 puts him in a category by himself and is why he has won 62 of the last 67 games.”
Steele’s comfortable in his new role over recruiting and prefers it (at least for now) over coaching from the side lines due to the coaching carousel associated with college football coaches. “Just look at the Texas DC. He loses one game and he’s fired.” Colleges are quick to fire a coach but they aren’t so quick to fire the guy over recruiting. Steele ended his presentation by taking questions from the attendees.
Other highlights from the meeting include:
Continuing in the spirit of promoting Gulf Shores athletics, John McCormick, GCAC President, presented a check for $5,000 to GSHS Head Football Coach and AD, Ben Blackmon. This donation will fund an end zone camera system which will capture video necessary to improve player technique and alignment.
GCAC board member, Dr. Gaylon McCollough, recognized and introduced two scholar athletes from Gulf Shores High School. This week’s honorees were Carolina Braga and Parker Mason. Carolina is currently #1 in her class with a combined GPA of 4.03 GPA. She is a 4-year letterman in Volleyball. After High School, Carolina hopes to pursue Biomedical Sciences. Parker is a multi-sport athlete, lettering in football, basketball, and baseball. He hopes to continue athletics and study Engineering once at college. GCAC scholar athlete recognition makes both Carolina and Parker candidates to earn a scholarship, which will be presented at the GCAC Annual Banquet, worth at least $1,500 to a four year college.
Kevin Corcoran energized the crowd with “team reports”, where GCAC members discussed their teams’ recent performance and upcoming matchups, with Kevin often interrupting to take a jab the team in focus…or the member. This week’s “crying towel” went to the Fighting Irish for their tough loss to Michigan. Dec McClellan accepted the towel on behalf of Notre Dame.
We look forward to seeing you at our next GCAC meeting on September 23rd, where Eli Gold, voice of The Alabama Crimson Tide, will be the key note speaker.
Written by: Taylor Means
October 7th
Meeting
6:00pm Social---6:30 Supper
Guest Speaker
Scott Moore
Sports Talk Radio Host
Broadcasting from Craft Farms on Meeting Night
Scott Moore, nationally renowned sports talk radio personality, is scheduled to speak at the October 7, 2013 meeting of the Gulf Coast Athletic Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The meeting takes place at the Craft Farms Clubhouse, starting at 6 pm.
Scott W. Moore is renowned for his college football acumen and uncanny ability to impersonate over 70 celebrities, sportscasters and college football coaches. He is sure to keep your audiences laughing with hilarious takes on Bobby Bowden, Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Bob Stoops, Ron Zook, Nick Saban, Pat Dye, Lou Holtz, Keith Jackson, Bill Clinton, George Bush and more!
Over the past five years, Scott has had the privilege of speaking at the National Quarterback Club in Washington, D.C. with General Colin Powell, the NFL MVP Award Ceremony and the 2005 ESPN College Football Awards. In addition, Scott served as host of CSTV's "Coast to Coach" and has been a featured guest speaker at five BCS Bowls, including the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl.
Auburn, Alabama, Florida, California, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Ohio State have all hired Scott to entertain and motivate their players.
While at the meeting Scott Moore will broadcast his radio show.
Click on Pictures to Enlarge
Written by Taylor Means
