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Last Saturday March 16th Angelo Magnone(promoter) and Nichole Castillo(matchmaker) staged the St. Patty's Day Massacre at the Morgantown Marriott in WV.&nbsp; The venue and event itself was very good.&nbsp; I had 3 fighters on the card, one working with The Academy, the other two with the Mat Factory.&nbsp;First up was Tyler Covelli of the Academy.&nbsp; I have only worked with Tyler a few times prior leading up to the fight as we had just recently started working together.&nbsp; I remember when Tyler first started back at the Academy.&nbsp; I was still teaching the Monday boxing classes so I would see him from time to time.&nbsp; Tyler's a scrappy tough kid that has alot of room to grow and that showed in his fight.&nbsp; Tyler made some mistakes that lead to his own downfall.&nbsp; He fought tough and well both on the feet and the ground but certain decisions put himself in bad positions that lead to him not getting the decision in the fight.&nbsp; Tyler is learning on the job.&nbsp; He was a hockey player.&nbsp; No prior wrestling or striking background prior to his mma start a couple of years ago.&nbsp; At this state of mma I think anybody starting out how Tyler is will have some growing pains early on.&nbsp; The bright side is on the other side of the hill when the skills, technique, and IQ come together you already know you have a fighter because they've already faced adversity.&nbsp; Anybody can look good when their in the lead, but adventually you'll face a wall that you must surmount.&nbsp; Tyler will be just fine as I know he plans to continue on.&nbsp; &nbsp;Up next was The Gorilla Julian Flenory for the heavyweight made men title.&nbsp; This was arguably the most frustrating fight (if you can call it that) I've been a part of.&nbsp; The opponent made zero attempt to fight and just used his D1 wrestling experience to stall the fight on the cage wall.&nbsp; Wrestle fucking someone is one thing, stalling is another and that's exactly what he did.&nbsp; The crowd let it be known how they felt about this tactic to avoid fighting the entire time in a cage fight.&nbsp; I will give credit where it is due in that we found someone who could take more than one shot from Julian because as of up unil now no one else could.&nbsp; OK, so it would take two.&nbsp; Each time Julian landed Rossi was buzzed, would push into a body lock and stall the fight.&nbsp; The ref seperated them several times for this reason.&nbsp; Obviously I watched plenty of film on Rossi prior and I believe this was the first real fight he was in.&nbsp; His prior fights were all "wrestling matches" with little to no striking or ground and pound.&nbsp; This was the fight where he realized what this is and it showed in his eyes during the fight and his temperament and demeanor after.&nbsp; We see what Julian needs to work on and will do so and move forward from here as there were spots we could of taken advantage of and did not.&nbsp; We wish nothing but the best for him and his team moving forward.&nbsp; Fights like this are turning points and needed in everyone's career.&nbsp; Both Julian and Rossi learned alot this night.Last was Elijah Davis for the bantamweight made men title.&nbsp; It's not often I'm surprised as I'm the chef baking the KO cakes but I'll admit Elijah surprised me.&nbsp; I in time expected this but for Elijah to put it together again "in the cage" before I've seen it in practice again is a testament to how ready for the spotlight Elijah is.&nbsp; A lead hook KO, where have I seen this before???&nbsp; Must be lucky timing again and again.&nbsp; If you know you know.&nbsp; Toot Toot.&nbsp; After rewatching the fight Elijah made one mistake that we've been working to correct and will.&nbsp; &nbsp;The shot selection, positioning, and he chose to throw his best shot to finish the fight when he knew his opponent was hurt.&nbsp; Alot of action happened in that short period of time.&nbsp; There was alot of high level strategy that lead to the KO that most don't see.&nbsp; Welcome to the show Elijah.&nbsp; &nbsp;Somebody learned how to strike, uh ooooooooohhhhhh.&nbsp; -Happy Gilmore voice.The night ended with Ethan Hayes and what we would later learn to be his last ride as he later announced his retirement.&nbsp; Personally I think Ethan won the fight.&nbsp; Rounds one and three for sure but the judges saw it otherwise.&nbsp; The results though don't matter so much on this one.&nbsp; Like Ethan said at the afterparty "If he was still fighting he'd care more, but he defintely feels he won the fight", as most and many others do.&nbsp; What we saw was another passing of the torch.&nbsp; Ethan is an OG that's been around for as long as any of us can remember.&nbsp; I always told people and Ethan that I thought he could make it alot further than he gave himself credit for.&nbsp; However when a mans mind is made up under these circumstances and with conviction of this detail, it's made.&nbsp; I can see Ethan becoming a very good coach.&nbsp; He always states he fights for his people and nothing else.&nbsp; That's the type of person that whatever he does decide to do in the avenue of helping others he will excell at; for our younger generations sake, let's hope its coaching lol.&nbsp; Thanks for the ride Ethan, there isn't one person that doesn't respect you.P.S.&nbsp; Elijah Davis has signed to fight April 13th for the BCM bantamweight amateur title against a tough 4-1 Koby Carr Pierce.&nbsp; Action over words.

Made Men Promotions St. Patty's Day Massacre

This past weekend 247 FC staged BitB20 at the Murraysville Sportszone Arena.&nbsp; I think it was safe to say that the crowd for this one was a tad bit too big for this particular venue.&nbsp; Everything can't be perfect, a good problem to have really.&nbsp; Having said that let's seek shelter elsewhere moving forward lol.&nbsp; Looking forward to "The Venue" being finished, consistency is nice.The commission "suggested" to be there for 4:30, I promptly arrived at 5:10ish #boxingtime.&nbsp; I had a total of 4 fighters competing on the card and would be cornering 3.&nbsp; I wrapped all 4 pretty quickly and had everyone wrapped by about 7:30ish.&nbsp; Having several fighters on a card has become pretty customary now, the process is 2nd nature at this point.First fight was Paul Dotson and Tyler Diebert.&nbsp; This fight went pretty much as I expected.&nbsp; I figured Paul would dart him out of there with strikes or spend the majority of the round on his back and that's exactly what happened.&nbsp; Round one Paul landed some solid shots which hurt Tyler but Paul made some mistakes that allowed Tyler to secure a takedown and control the round via wrestling and ammy G&amp;P.&nbsp; Both the second and third rounds followed suit although I don't know that Tyler was ever hurt again after the first.&nbsp; Paul's striking stood out but the fight was completely controlled by Tyler's wrestling for a convincing win.&nbsp; We knew Tyler would be tough, and he was, as all Gorilla House fighters are.&nbsp; Paul has gotten significantly better in the short period of time we've worked together.&nbsp; I think it was maybe 5-6 sessions prior to the fight.&nbsp; I was a backup plan to corner as Ethan Hayes had prior boxing obligations to corner another fighter.&nbsp; Paul learns very fast and 100% has a fighters mental.&nbsp; You'd be surprised how calm he is in the corner for such a young buck.&nbsp; I think both Paul and Tyler have solid futures in this game.Fight two which I did not corner was Edwin Vera and Jameson Murray.&nbsp; I was able to watch some of the first round and Edwin controlled the striking the entire round with some strong leg kicks, lateral movement, and in and out boxing.&nbsp; The second round I didn't see but when I heard the announcement of "arm triangle" from backstage I knew Edwin got the finish as that is the Mat Factory bread and butter.&nbsp; Edwin is someone that everyone has grown to love and admire.&nbsp; A street kid with a big heart that no matter what lifes throws at him he's stays smiling.&nbsp; Edwin's had some shit luck recently so I know this one feels good.&nbsp; Now let's stay in the gym and keep the ball rolling because Edwin is one of those late bloomers.&nbsp; Juuuuuuuuuuu Heard.<figure id="figure-6i80pfz33lt7hbphe"><img id="6i80pfz33lt7hbphe" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/25nZ104aWHZHbe5WzATqY9dxpOpr7lTUjSUaBexZaDUzZa9Oqmx7IUrGXJqZOSLk.jpg" alt="MMA training. Video making workshop." class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/25nZ104aWHZHbe5WzATqY9dxpOpr7lTUjSUaBexZaDUzZa9Oqmx7IUrGXJqZOSLk.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure>Speaking of late bloomers.&nbsp; Remember when I was on the 247 podcast and said Craig Perry was one of my next stars??&nbsp; At that time Craig was 0-3.&nbsp; Today he's 3-3.&nbsp; Anybody wanna fight him???...........yep, I know.&nbsp; After the fight Richie Cantolina said he thinks that Craig is the best amateur striker this area has ever had.&nbsp; That got me thinking, if not Craig, then who?&nbsp; Hard to argue Richie's opinion isn't valid and Richie has seen this areas game from the very start.&nbsp; As for the fight Craig showed who he is.&nbsp; Craig walked with a confidence he hasn't had before after the fight.&nbsp; Rightfully so.&nbsp; He showed he's more than just some pretty boy from the suburbs that's a good athlete.&nbsp; He showed heart that very few have.&nbsp; Craig is a prime example of fighters come from all different walks of life.&nbsp; This is hands down one of my proudest moments as a coach.&nbsp; Words can't do it justice so head over to the 247 app and download the fight.&nbsp; Easily fight of the night and both Craig and Chance deserve those meat bucks.&nbsp; Craig is a white belt that subbed a brown belt is the talk of this fight after fighting off an RNC and several other submission attempts by Chance who is as tough as they come.&nbsp; However this is mma, Chance was on queer street due to Craig's striking for almost the entirety of the fight.&nbsp; Like Carlton Gracie said many moons ago "You know how you turn a black belt into a brown belt? PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE.&nbsp; You know how you turn a black belt into a purple belt?&nbsp; PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE TWICE".&nbsp; It's hard to think through your sub flows when your brain has been dislodged 17 times in the past 5 minutes.&nbsp; I've stated in the past if you can't take Craig Perry down that you can't win.&nbsp; Well Somebody learned how to grapple/wrestle.&nbsp; &nbsp;Uh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.Fight four was the one everyone was waiting for; Cowboy Eddie and Hoot Lee.&nbsp; The energy for this fight was like that of a major promotion.&nbsp; The crowds were rowdy and the fight delivered.&nbsp; The grappling exchanges were controlled by Hoot.&nbsp; The striking exchanges by Eddie.&nbsp; Quickly into the first round Hoot backpacked Eddie and spent majority of the round there.&nbsp; Eddie got out towards the end of the round, landed some shots and secured a takedown of his own but the round was clearly a Hoot Lee round.&nbsp; At the start of the second round Hoot darted across the ring to strike with Eddie.&nbsp; Eddie landed some big shots that wobbled Hoot and knocked his mouth piece out.&nbsp; As Eddie stepped in the ref for some reason made the mistake of stepping in between them to give Hoot time to get his mouth piece back in.&nbsp; We all make mistakes but this mistake by the ref possibly cost Eddie the fight.&nbsp; Having said that we can't complain because Eddie made some technical mistakes that Hoot was able to capitalize on to ultimatley get the fight to the ground when needed and then the win.&nbsp; Hats off to Danillo and the team.&nbsp; We knew it would be a tough fight and it was.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure id="figure-dejfhegyuelt7qm5sd"><img id="dejfhegyuelt7qm5sd" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/22Is26v4HXPuzhMrPFIdvLwLlSOqhuucUKNY9CfMBRf9N5kyC8FnwesMhHT3EVtZ.jpg" alt="Speed bag hanging in the gym of a Chicago High Rise Apartment building" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/22Is26v4HXPuzhMrPFIdvLwLlSOqhuucUKNY9CfMBRf9N5kyC8FnwesMhHT3EVtZ.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure>I try and catch other fights as I can.&nbsp; I was able to watch the co-main and main event as after Cowboy Eddie our night was complete.&nbsp; Sucas Siebert put on about as good of a pro debut performance as you could ask for.&nbsp; He showed a little bit of this and that from stand up to grappling until the highlight reel knee which lead to the finish.&nbsp; "Showtime" Siebert showed up again.&nbsp; He told you so.&nbsp;&nbsp;After that was the main event.&nbsp; I don't know either fighter very well but it was good to see Bronco get the monkey off of his back like he stated in his post fight speech.&nbsp; The mental side of this game can be very unforgiving.&nbsp; Bronco is always over the top nice and polite to anyone around him.&nbsp; Mateo Garner suffers his first setback but he has a great team around him and they'll fix whats needed and and he'll be back stronger.&nbsp;&nbsp;The two under the radar fights I was interested in were Max Jarrell/Val Caruso and Timbo Slice/Drew Landycandy.&nbsp; I was able to watch the replay of Jarrell and Caruso and it delivered.&nbsp; Max is a young buck with some ahead of the curve striking for his current amateur level and I knew Caruso from the old Fight Club.&nbsp; Val is stupid tough.&nbsp; I knew it'd be a fun fight and it was.&nbsp; I didn't get a chance to watch Timbo and Drew yet but judging by Drews face and the submission win it delivered as well.&nbsp; All in all, another great show by 247FC.

247FC BitB20

Saturday night at Mountaineer casino was fight night for Colby "Duck" Potts of The Academy and Yinzer Boxing at The Made Men Promotions card in West Virginia.&nbsp; A 9 fight card where Colby was fight 6.&nbsp; Alot to work on but Colby got the win.&nbsp; He made life alot harder on himself than needed but those are the growing pains of early mma.&nbsp; He's getting better and better because he keeps showing up.&nbsp; He got the "win" monkey off of his back and has alot to build on from this one.&nbsp; I cornered with Khama Worthy of the Academy as I have so many times before.&nbsp; We were completely nsync like always.&nbsp; We yelled alot....at Colby lol.&nbsp; Also that night Chris Zona of the Academy trained by the current coaching staff at The Academy had his first fight and impressed with a 1st round tko.&nbsp; Chris is going to be someone people recognize very fast.&nbsp; He does everything the right way and has a strong team behind him.&nbsp; I think Chris can take this pretty far.&nbsp; He's definitely somebody I'm interested in seeing more from.&nbsp; Overall a good night for Pittsburgh as there was other gyms on the card who picked up wins as well.They say it only takes one coach to believe in you.&nbsp; Colby always credits his coaches for believing in him more than himself.&nbsp; He got his first win in his 4th fight.&nbsp; Most would quit.&nbsp; Remember when Craig Perry started 0-3?&nbsp; That train is steam rolling now.&nbsp; It's still ammy level but everyone starts somewhere.&nbsp; It's not how you start it's how you finish.<figure id="figure-31frf03e7klst45cf8"><img id="31frf03e7klst45cf8" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/342jOdJVG7cMzdt7jbsOcbOaHkMfUopbzb1Tp1pLlSIXBRyknfHSZsBFkhGo5dmK.jpg" alt="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: 50% 35%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="1:1" data-caption="OG Yinzer" data-positionx="50%" data-positiony="35%" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/342jOdJVG7cMzdt7jbsOcbOaHkMfUopbzb1Tp1pLlSIXBRyknfHSZsBFkhGo5dmK.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: 50% 35%;"><figcaption class="body-normal text-gray-500 mt-2">OG Yinzer</figcaption></figure>Speaking of a start and finish.&nbsp; I've gotten alot of positive feedback regarding these blogs.&nbsp; Thank you to those that are reading.&nbsp; Here's a little story as to why I decided to write.&nbsp; The start anyhow.&nbsp; In 5th grade we were evaluted by a program that came to our school to test and evaluate the classes reading/creativity writing skills etc.&nbsp; We were given by the instructor a short story about a warehouse burning and we were to write I believe it was 5 paragraphs building upon the short one paragraph story into a 5 paragraph story.&nbsp; We were told prior the scoring system was numbered 1-5 and what was to be expected from the scoring system.&nbsp; A 1 was below average but likely.&nbsp; A 2 was average and what almost everyone got.&nbsp; A 3 was exceptional and very rare.&nbsp; A 4 has only happened a select few times.&nbsp; A 5 has never happened.&nbsp; Guess who got a 5!!!!&nbsp; Yep, this guy hahahahaha.&nbsp; Coaches, mentors, teachers.&nbsp; They are there for a reason.&nbsp; Human beings are tribal, we connect.&nbsp; You know who you can and can't trust.&nbsp; Listen to them, they see potential before you do.&nbsp; I remember those scores and the womans praise.&nbsp; I was the next Stephen King.&nbsp; OMG!!&nbsp; Now I write mystery novels in the cage that other striking coaches can't seem to figure out until its a horror story they can't put down.&nbsp;&nbsp;P.S.&nbsp; Mentors require trust.&nbsp; Trust is tricky because it can be taken advantage of.&nbsp; Quick coaches lesson, if the mentory has to sell their mentorship, they are self serving.&nbsp; Leaders eat last.&nbsp;&nbsp;A leader is not chosen by position, they are thrust into position by others because of their actions for others. -Drew McNair

Duck got the Dub.  Why I write. 2

I haven't written in about 5 weeks.&nbsp; It's slow season for the combast sports world as January always is and with my mind focused on the contruction of the peach pit and prepping for fantasy baseball I haven't sat down in a while.&nbsp; We'll start there.&nbsp; The Peach Pit is well on its way to being finished as Cowboy Eddie and crew mowed through the demo and built the bones of the place.&nbsp; The bar should be complete this week with the rubber flooring for the gym coming next.&nbsp; Soon I'll discuss how we got to the "Peach Pit".&nbsp; It's fight week for Colby "Duck" Potts of The Academy.&nbsp; &nbsp;Colby's getting better and better so he's more than ready to go for this one.&nbsp; Chaka Worthy got a big win in enemy territory a few weeks back while fighting the enemies rule set.&nbsp; Future post coming detailing that win and how he was able to use boxing to win a muay-thai fight.&nbsp; 247 FC has a very interesting card coming up Feb 24.&nbsp; Every fight top to bottom is intriguing for the local crowd.&nbsp; Personally I'll have Cowboy Eddie and Craig Perry.&nbsp; Also, Edwin Vera of the mat factory will be rumbling and always fun to corner.&nbsp; &nbsp;All of this will be discussed in near future posts.&nbsp; Things have settled down with the peach pit and I'm ready to start mock drafting so I'll be back to writing again often which seems for whatever reason to be something people have interest in.&nbsp; I have had several people give very good feedback and also alot of people asking why I haven't written recently.&nbsp; Next time I'll discuss the story of the first time I realized I had a real talent for writing, I was 11.&nbsp;&nbsp;

quick catch up

<figure id="figure-ejcmh70lmslqs1imk3"><img id="ejcmh70lmslqs1imk3" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/9s5EAyZYR7QtELwN3S85PFcSpazM8bXp3WeF9oyRt6clrOeDuABgW9IItDq2qvlJ.jpg" alt="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="1:1" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/9s5EAyZYR7QtELwN3S85PFcSpazM8bXp3WeF9oyRt6clrOeDuABgW9IItDq2qvlJ.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: center center;"></figure>I teased last post that I would dive into how I realized why I was a coach but before we get there I'd like to brief you on an interesting dot connecting and funny story.&nbsp; A story of culture.&nbsp; We we're watching a fight montage show that I believe was on FS1 at the time.&nbsp; She says "What do you think of the name Cain?".&nbsp; Cain Velasquez was fighting.&nbsp; I wasn't too keen on that name but the very next fight was Rory MacDonald vs Robbie Lawler 2.&nbsp; She then said "How about the name Rory"?&nbsp; Then we had it.&nbsp; The first name of our son would be Rory.&nbsp; If he was a girl he would have been named Mila.&nbsp; That was decided right away but a boys name we had trouble with.&nbsp; When deciding what the middle name would be we came up with alot of options but then I thought of the name Robert because that is my father in laws name.&nbsp; Then a few days later it hit me.&nbsp; Rory fought Robert in the most iconic fight in mma history, and there we had it. Rory...Robert...Williams.Funny story at the baby shower they played a game where the girls had to guess which parent did what.&nbsp; One question was who came up with the name and 29/30 girls were incorrect.&nbsp; The one person who knew I believe was Becca Leyshock who had just been with us a few days earlier and had prior heard the story lol.&nbsp;&nbsp;So there it is.&nbsp; Rory......Robert......Williams #CULTURE

Rory Robert Williams

<figure id="figure-do4hnq17f7lqojut6v"><img id="do4hnq17f7lqojut6v" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/26Lf64HHEPUqT3HnVby2wIRhebAoPBmrU78lcDtNkMwhnozigF3rpAHh89mjIDAs.jpg" alt="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: center 85%;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="1:1" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="85%" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/26Lf64HHEPUqT3HnVby2wIRhebAoPBmrU78lcDtNkMwhnozigF3rpAHh89mjIDAs.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: center 85%;"></figure>To fight or not to fight, that is the question: whether 'tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them.&nbsp; We don't choose our seas, but we sure do build our boats.&nbsp;&nbsp;A sea of troubles???&nbsp; Was your sea troublesome?&nbsp; Why do you fight?&nbsp; All fighters have a story.&nbsp; As a father I"m often asked "If", in fact its expected by most, that my son will be a fighter.&nbsp; Why? Well the answer is easy, his father is steering a boat that has parted the "black and gold" sea like Moses himself.&nbsp; However that question isn't as simple as it is for most parents.&nbsp; All parents use their sport/activity/hobbies etc to help mold character and structure in their children.&nbsp; But this is different, I can remember my first coach Shorty saying for comparison that in baseball when you make an error the other team gets another base or scores a run or two.&nbsp; In boxing, when you make an error you get punched in the face.&nbsp; Fighting is not for everyone, period.&nbsp; There is a reason only 1% of the population do so.&nbsp; Fighters are forged through life experiences that they've overcome or built from the ground up brick by brick from day one.&nbsp; Sometimes, just sometimes, violence is culture.We don't choose our seas, but we can build our boat.&nbsp; The stories I could tell you from the fighters I train would leave you speechless and have you never wanting to complain again, inspiring to say the least.&nbsp; I fought because of alcoholism stemmed from a narcissistic drive for winning.&nbsp; I have found myself as COACH the same way someone finds themselves as FIGHTER.&nbsp; A combination of competetion and empathy has forged me into where I am today.&nbsp; Yes I fought, but coaching is my calling.&nbsp; To me, winning is love.&nbsp; It's a sickness that runs very deep that I will dive into in my next blog.&nbsp; This one is about whether a combat sports coaches child should fight.The father-son bond in combat sports is a very fine line to walk.&nbsp; A line that I'm unsure of I want to walk yet am very aware that I might have no choice.&nbsp; Fighting is culture, violence is culture for us.&nbsp; It's literally how I feed my son.&nbsp; If I lose too often I won't have a job.&nbsp; When discussing the father-son relationship with Tommy Yankello he stated that the last thing he wants is a relationship with his boys like Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Jr. have had.&nbsp; They've patched things up since but everyone knows the history of those two.&nbsp; The reason Tommy stated this is because like stated earlier fighting is not for everyone.&nbsp; The training and technique of a fight is, but actually physically fighting under the lights is for a very select few.&nbsp; There lies the problem.&nbsp; How do you prepare your son for battle against people who have had choppy seas while they have not.&nbsp; You do it brick by brick from day one.&nbsp; You create a competetive atmosphere that is 2nd to none and that is the fine line to walk.&nbsp; How do we prepare them with a level of accountability thats necessary yet still be dad.&nbsp; It is a very fine line to walk.&nbsp; A line I see with other fathers who mess it up all the time.&nbsp; Then theres some who hit grand slams.&nbsp; Shane Mosley has a very good relationship with his father as do alot of world champions.&nbsp; Locally I admire the relationship Darren Cassidy has with his sons.&nbsp; Both boys are as competetive as it gets and still are very close with dad.&nbsp; Perhaps a lunch bromance date is due to get some advice lol.&nbsp; It's a challenge I'm looking forward to if it ever presents itself.&nbsp; Key word there is IF.&nbsp; I don't care if Rory fights a day in his life.&nbsp; He will be a martial artist because this is our cultured vehicle of morality and man should be strong to protect and serve.&nbsp; I'm very aware that he probably will fight at the entry level to some degree or another but its entirely up to him when and if he ever does, and how far he takes it.&nbsp; However when the time comes if he decides that this is what he intends to do then he will be treated as all of the others.&nbsp; Coach/father first, friend second.Culture has lead us here.&nbsp; My family was known for fighting.&nbsp; At a Christmas a few years ago my cousin Sara who is in the air force so I only see her every so many years stated "Hey cuz it's pretty cool you turned all this fighting into a career, most of us just get arrested".&nbsp; When I realized WHY I was coaching, I knew very few would have what it took to compete against me.&nbsp; At that point, I went all in.&nbsp;&nbsp;