What does 7-on-7 football tell you?

As high school football season beckons, tis the season for 7-on-7
matchups or taking a break before the calm reaches the storm. 

Here in the Napa Valley, which is the North Bay region of San
Francisco in Northern California, season opening games for all six
high schools from American Canyon to the South to Calistoga to
the North get underway in earnest on the weekend of Aug. 16. 

In the interim, teams throughout the state and country frequently
engage in 7-on-7 matchups. It is similar to flag football and/or
two-hand touch. There is no offensive or defensive line. On
offense, there are quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends and running
backs. Defensively, there are just linebackers and defensive backs.
On offense, you might employ a designated snapper. 

There are theories that 7-on-7 football is the future given the
increasing concern adults have in terms of post concussion effects.
While I think 7-on-7 football can serve a purpose, I’m not ready to
make that grand proclamation yet. Call me an old school 46-year
old curmudgeon if you will but so be it. Having reached middle-aged,
I have discovered my cranky old man side for better or worse. 

Though the participation numbers in football have dwindled
significantly, I still believe the sport will have a place but the
demographics will continue to change. For inner city kids, football
can serve as a way to deliver physical contact without getting in
trouble with the law. For kids that came from blue collar households,
because they are not averse to physical work, football can serve a
purpose. Plus, for all of the complaints about today’s youth and their
video game culture, people still love violence. You can debate
whether that is good or bad but it is there. 

The upper and middle class, however, will likely continue to diminish.
For further insight, refer to this column:

https://vincedadamo.blogspot.com/2018/07/football-will-not-die-it-will
-simply.html

Instead, I focus on the hot takery that comes from some that witness
7-on-7 events. 

When I was a sports reporter, I rarely covered 7-on-7 scrimmages
in person, unless they were being hosted locally, mainly because
they tell me very little. However, in the summertime when in need
of local copy for the newspaper, I was open to following up with the
coach to write a story. 

As a fan, I’ve been known to sneak in viewings of 7-on-7 involving
any of the six local high schools in the Napa Valley because I hope
to once again be involved in high school football coverage in the
fall for the Napa Valley Register. The only thing that would prevent
that is my own kids sports events/practices. 

In a sense, I find it comical how people (coaches, parents, etc.) think
that the score of a 7-on-7 event is a reflection of how things may
transpire in a regular game in the fall. That theory is both
preposterous and a joke. For openers, there is no offensive and
defensive lines. There is simply a clock to blow the play dead after
say four seconds as opposed to an outside linebacker to pulverize
the quarterback. 

Though rules continue to get made to benefit the offense, receivers
catch passes knowing they will not get lit up like a Roman Candle. 

The cynical side of me came out in my six years of covering the
Oakland Raiders as a freelance writer for a fan magazine, titled
Silver & Black Illustrated. Why so cynical? Because when covering
mini-camp and training camp, you feel like a total desperado. Oh
that sixth round draft pick made a one-handed catch against that
undrafted free agent. Take note.

Then there was the time that I was in complete awe. It was 2001,
the 49ers released Jerry Rice after 16 years in a salary cap move
and signed with the Raiders, who had Tim Brown and Jerry Rice.
I remember consecutive plays, one with Rice and the other with
Brown, where quarterback Rich Gannon threw a pass near the
sideline where either the receiver could catch it or no one could.
What do I remember? Watching two feet go “tap, tap” with
centimeters to spare in-bounds. Fellow media members turned
toward each other and asked, “My goodness, did we really see
that in person?” You came away amazed at how guys like Rice
and Brown worked so maniacally at their craft.

So what can you take away from viewing a 7-on-7 event as it
translates to when teams don the full pads? Is the quarterback
making the right reads? Are receivers catching the ball? Are
defenders using the right coverage techniques? Most of all,
regardless of position, do they know and execute their
assignments? Why is all of this significant? If they are having
trouble in 7-on-7, they will probably have trouble when it’s
11-on-11. 

Having college degree and trade skill is best of both worlds

There are polarizing debates where you can identify with both sides. 

Real or imagined, I have seen a movement requesting to emphasize trade
schools to youngsters with the same passion as earning college degrees. I
share that belief because one is no more or less important than the other. 

Before I go into facts, figures, beliefs, etc. I want to lay the groundwork
for my perspective because I believe I can offer one that many cannot. 

I am a 46-year old first generation American with both parents families
coming to the United States from Italy. Shoutout to my parents (Joe and
Iris D’Adamo) and grandparents (Vincenzo and Ines D’Adamo; Alfredo
and Giulia Santi). My father was a service station owner from 1965-2002,
in Napa, CA, before handing the reins to my brother, Joseph Michael
D’Adamo. 

I worked for my dad around my school and sports schedule, even before
high school and into my college years. Pumping gas and changing tires,
I learned the value of hard work and having a good work ethic. My parents,
who came to the country in 1948 (father) and 1954 (mother), spoke no
English and emphasized strongly to me and all of my siblings to go to
college because it was an opportunity they never had but wished they could
fulfill. I remember my father telling me one day, “The average guy with a
high school diploma makes $5 an hour. The average guy with a college
degree makes $18 an hour.” Mind you, this advice came in the mid-1980s
if you are mystified by the hourly wages. 

That aforementioned advice swayed me to go to college along with seeing
one of my sisters (Annette), who is eight years older than me, get passed
over for a promotion because she did not have a college degree. My sister,
who was in her early 20s, then decided to attain her four-year degree, which
she did at age 25 if memory serves me correctly. 

Years later (1997), I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast
journalism from the University of Nebraska. I worked briefly in broadcasting
but went on to become a sports reporter in the newspaper industry for 18
years. I exited the industry in Dec. 2014 but transitioned my career change
by getting my CDL Class B driver’s license in Oct. 2012. I had the
opportunity to work part-time as a bus driver for two years before getting
my full-time opportunity with Alhambra Water. 

My experience brings another layer to the college degree vs. trade discussion.
College degrees have become increasingly emphasized. In the meantime,
trade oriented jobs remain plentiful but with far fewer bodies to fill them.
I’m not going to bore you with mounds of data but in 1940, 5.5% of males
and 3.8% of females completed four years of college or more according to
www.statista.com. By contrast, 34.6% of males and 35.4% of females
completed four or more years of college in 2018. 

As far as earning potential, there are factors such as gender, degree achieved
and level of postsecondary education. If you base jobs on educational
attainment, 35% require at least a bachelor’s degree, 30% require some
college or an associate’s degree and 36% do not require education beyond
high school. 

Though I am proud to have my four year degree and would not change
anything, I believe trade jobs are extremely vital, everything from welders,
construction workers, electricians, machinists, auto technicians, commercial
drivers etc. just to name a few. Those fields pay pretty well, in some cases
better that some that require college degrees. 

College degrees (specifically bachelors), however, can take 4-6 years in part
because there are so many course requirements that have little to nothing to
do with a person’s major. Seriously, I have not used my Western Civilization
class knowledge since I completed my final in the fall semester of 1992. I
also can’t think of the last time I used algebra. I could give many other
examples but I won’t in the interest of space. 

Conversely, with trade schools, you will get hands-on training in your field.
They are also less costly and less time consuming, two years at most in some
cases. I received my Class B license (Falcon Trucking School; Vallejo, CA)
just by taking a two-week course, costing all of $3,000. If you factor in
studying for DMV written tests, it was closer to three months but you get
the point. 

What I would espouse is a different movement and this is aimed at
youngsters wanting to go the trade school route: Even if you are so hell
bent on working in the trade field, get your four-year degree first (or at
minimum complete general ed course requirements), and then go to your
trade school. You will have the best of both worlds. I feel blessed to have
such. 

Why? I have seen this happen more times than I can count. An 18-year
old kid (anyone) graduates from high school, goes to trade school, gets a job,
makes pretty good money. Many trade fields, however, involve physical
work. Then, 10-15 years later, “I’m tired of this, I don’t want to do this the
rest of my life. I think I will go back to school and get a degree.” Well, at
that point, you are in your late 20s/early 30s. If you are not married and
don’t have kids, it’s easier to achieve but if you have a family, different
story. I’m not saying it’s impossible but it is a steep uphill climb. It is better
to choose the path of less resistance.

By having both a four-year degree and a trade degree, you have a much wider
array of options. The “you don’t need college to have a well paying job” or
“I know people without four year degrees making more money than those
with them” is a short-sighted argument. 

Both are important and if you have both, so much the better. 

Klein was another golden voice in Bay Area sports broadcasting

You know that you are advancing in an age when more parts of your
childhood keep disappearing. 

For Bay Area sports fans, most specifically the San Francisco 49ers and
Stanford Cardinal, that moment came on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, when
Don Klein died at the age of 95 at a retirement home in Santa Rosa, CA. 

The Bay Area has been blessed with many great sports broadcasters. The
ones people are very quick to mention are Bill King and Lon Simmons.
Klein is not the first that most mention and was the polar opposite of
bombastic but he was linked to many great moments. 

Though Klein was a native of Washington, he became entrenched in Bay
Area sports broadcasting lore in 1951, when he began broadcasting the
San Francisco Seals, which was a minor league baseball team that
competed in the Pacific Coast League from 1903-1957 before moving
to Phoenix. 

Klein was also the play-by-play voice of Stanford (football and men’s
basketball) and the 49ers. Klein is most closely identified with his call
in the 1982 NFC Championship Game between the 49ers and the Dallas
Cowboys. The signature play of that game was Joe Montana’s touchdown
pass to Dwight Clark that propelled San Francisco to the Super Bowl.
Since that play is so iconic in NFL history, the play is frequently shown
on NFL Films and the NFL Network with Klein’s call: 

“Third-and-3. He has the ball, Montana rolling out to the right ... looking
toward the end zone ... throwing under pressure ... throws his pass ...
Caught by Clark! Clark’s got a touchdown! Dwight Clark has it! It’s a
touchdown for the 49ers!”

Growing up in Napa, CA, I developed an affinity for the 49ers. Klein’s
voice was among the first I ever heard in Bay Area sports history. I began
going to 49er games with my father, shoutout to Joe D’Adamo, in 1984.
From time-to-time, I would bring my walkman to the game. For those
who did not grow up in that era, a walkman was a radio headset that had
a cassette player. I would watch the game through my binoculars and listen
to Klein’s call. 

I remember those years because of the 49ers' greatness as the franchise won
five Super Bowls in 14 years, one of the greatest runs of success in NFL
history. I also remember those years because I wanted to become a sports
broadcaster. Years later, 1997 to be specific, I earned my Bachelor of Arts
degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Nebraska. Instead, I
went on to become a sports writer for 18 years before changing careers in
2014. 

What fascinates me about Klein’s story is that there is so much more to him
than the unforgettable touchdown pass from Montana to Clark. While in
Hawaii at the end of World War II, he started broadcasting the Seals games
with the play-by-play being presented over the Western Union wire. 

In a 2011 story, former Oakland Tribune columnist Dave Newhouse wrote:
“‘S1C’ meant ‘strike one called. ‘B1-low’ meant ‘ball one low.’ ‘GO-6-3’
meant ‘ground out, shortstop to first.’ The ‘crack’ of the bat was Klein
tapping a drumstick on a wooden block. The ‘thud’ of a pitch in the
catcher’s mitt was Klein hitting a padded cushion with the drumstick.”

Newhouse also added that a studio engineer would add recorded noise of
crowds cheering and booing — even of planes supposedly flying overhead.

In a nutshell, Klein had broadcast over 300 Seals games without having seen
them play in person. 

Besides witnessing 49er greatness up close, Klein witnessed Stanford Rose
Bowl wins in 1970 and 1971, the former of which was Jim Plunkett’s
Heisman Trophy winning season. 

Klein became the voice of the 49ers in 1981 when KCBS, where he was
the station’s sports director, acquired the rights to the team’s broadcasts.
Klein resigned as 49ers broadcaster after the 1986 season. Klein’s career
also included two Summer Olympics for CBS radio. 

When I think of Klein, I think back to when broadcasting meant something
entirely different. For openers, you either watched the game on TV, went to
the game or listened on radio. There was no streaming on the internet or
iPhone. There was no NFL Sunday Ticket. You watched the games that
you were given. 

Though football is an emotion driven sport, Klein had a low-key voice. I
couldn’t tell if the 49ers were ahead or behind by four touchdowns or if it
was a 7-7 game in the fourth quarter where neither team could move the
ball. However, he always painted an accurate picture. When the offense
broke the huddle, yes they had those back then, Klein would alert the
listeners. 

So much of today’s media culture is about how loud your voice can be
like Screamin A Smith (err Stephen A Smith), Max Kellerman, Shannon
Sharpe or Skip Bayless. In addition, so much of today’s culture is how
many readers or listeners you can enrage. Don’t get me wrong, expressing
opinions and good healthy discourse on controversial topics have their
place but opinions should be substantiated with facts.

Listening to Klein provided a safe haven. It is easy to understand why he
had such a trusted relationship with his sources. Having spent 18 years in
the newspaper industry, I know the value of establishing and maintaining
trust with sources.

Klein represented a different era of broadcasting in that the on-air talent
were the reporters of the story, not the creators of it. He had the perfect
story-telling mentality for broadcasts. 

Next time I watch a highlight of The Catch, I’ll think of Klein in that
broadcast booth in the sky. 

St. Helena was a special place to Hoppe

There are times life can be humbling. The community of St. Helena, CA,
discovered that feeling recently as it lost another part of its past on June,
10, 2019. 

Richard Joseph Hoppe died peacefully in his home after a brief illness.
The Hoppe family has established a storied legacy on many fronts in the
community. Most recently, Richard Hoppe, who graduated in 2013, was
a three-sport star at St. Helena High who went on to play baseball at Boise
State University. Tom Hoppe, who is the son of the elder Richard Hoppe
and father of the younger Richard Hoppe, was a two-sport athlete at St.
Helena. He graduated in 1977 and has been the school’s athletic director
since 1998. 

The elder Richard Hoppe was born in New Jersey in 1933, Richard and his
first wife, Birdy, moved to St. Helena in 1967. Hoppe served in the navy
during the Korean War. He later worked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard
until his retirement. He had a passion for all athletics and hunted with his
son and family friends. 

Hoppe is survived by his wife of fifteen years, Laurie Jensen Hoppe; son
Tom and daughter-in-law, Julie Hoppe; son-in-law, Stash Faria; grandchildren
Hillary Hoppe, Richard Hoppe, Kyle Faria, Cara Faria Moore (Geoffrey);
sisters Cookie Carter (Freddie) and Gail Hayes; Laurie’s two daughters and
their families. He was preceded in death by his first wife of 44 years, Roberta
Rasler Hoppe and by his daughter, Denise Hoppe Faria. A private interment
with military honors was held at the St. Helena Cemetery.

There will be a Celebration of Life at the St. Helena American Legion Hall
at 1291 Madrona Avenue on Sunday, July 14 from 1:30 to 4 p.m.

Donations in Richard’s memory may be made to the Saint Helena High
School Athletic Department at 1401 Grayson, St. Helena, CA 94574.

I mainly knew Hoppe on the periphery in my 10 years as a sports reporter
in the communities of St. Helena and Calistoga (2004-2014). In that
environment, however, when you know someone on that level, you feel
like you know then up close as well. 

Though I have changed careers, I often think about my days as a sports
reporter. Community journalism is not for everyone. Sometimes life can
feel claustrophobic but the people you meet and relationships you develop
make it special. Hoppe was one of the many people I met that contributed
to making my time special. 

My first impression of him though was less than pleasant. It was January
2004. I had just taken over as sports reporter for the St. Helena Star and
Weekly Calistogan. I was covering a St. Helena Saints boys basketball
game. Tom was the coach. I remember chatting during the JV game with
varsity assistant coach Mike Werle. I stood up to stretch and I hear this
voice about 8-10 rows in the bleachers: “Hey, reporter we missed you
at the last game.” I turned to Werle and ask: “Who the hell is that guy?”
Werle replied: “That’s Tom’s dad.” So I nodded my head. After the game,
I met the elder Richard Hoppe. That conversation and everyone we had
thereafter was nothing but pleasant. We would chop it up about anything
from sports to family to life. He always had a smile on his face. It was
hard to be in a bad mood around Mr. Hoppe. 

Because of my role as a sports reporter, I mainly saw him as the No. 1
fan of his grandkids, Richard and Hillary, along with the coaching
endeavors of his son, Tom. In general, that narrative describes most
parents and grandparents. Then you peel various other layers of his life.

For openers, he served, as I channel my inner Archie Bunker, “These
here U S of A Nation States, in this here Korean War.” All kidding aside,
veterans and soldiers currently serving our country are a special kind of
courageous. They have my undying respect. 

For about the last 18 years, Mr. Hoppe split his time between St. Helena and
Rathdrum, Idaho, which is in the state’s panhandle with a population of
about 5,000 people. Hoppe would spend the months of May through October
in Idaho and the remaining time in St. Helena. Since his grandchildren
(Richard and Hillary) were at Boise State, he was sort of nearby. 

New Jersey and Idaho were the arms and legs of Hoppe’s life but St. Helena
was the heart and soul. 

Though it may not be known to new generation St. Helenans, Hoppe’s
volunteerism spoke volumes. He served the following roles: St. Helena Little
League president, field maintenance for Crane Park, served on the St. Helena
Recreation Commission, St. Helena Little League coach, Carpy Gang football
and basketball coach and also coached baseball in Vallejo. He did all of this
while being a devoted Mare Island employee, father and husband. 

His volunteerism was not limited to sports. Hoppe took time to read to
elementary school classes, most notably to the fifth grade class of Carol
Shirmang at St. Helena Primary School. Anyone that volunteers time of any
sort is a good hearted person in my world.

One of the more misunderstood narratives is “you only live once.” Not true.
You die once but you live every day. Hoppe lived eight and a half decades
to the fullest. The sadness of his loss is immutable but if we can take a portion
of his life in terms of making a difference to others, we will all be better
people. 

Mr. Hoppe, I’m in no hurry to get to where you are going but I know we will
meet again someday. Enjoy that youth sporting event. You have earned your
luxury suite in the sky but if you prefer bleachers, they have those in the sky
too, my friend.