Who Did Geno Poli Revere?

Who did Geno Poli revere?

Geno Poli himself was an outstanding football player for Coaldale in the late 1940’s and received a scholarship to play at New York University. Unfortunately, NYU dropped the football program and Poli completed his degree at East Stroudsburg.

On another level, who was Geno’s favorite pro-football team and what coach did he revere?

On one occasion, I had the opportunity to talk to him about pro-football when he asked me who my favorite team was, I told him that it was the Baltimore Colts and I used to watch one of the New York channels on Monday evening as they would review the previous game played by the Colts back in the late 1950’s thru early 60’s.

I then had the chance to ask him who his favorite team was, and he told me about the Cleveland Browns. Specifically, he liked how they ran the ball and how they were coached. Surely, he was referring to Jim Brown, but the name never came up in the conversation.

I later understood the connection: Geno admired Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown, who introduced many coaching practices that emerged in the 1950s and remain part of the NFL today.

Paul Brown introduced several innovations that transformed football, including the playbook, game-film study, sideline playcalling, blackboard-based team meetings, year-round conditioning, and the first helmet radio for quarterbacks. The NFL later banned the device because other teams could not replicate it.

After becoming Coaldale’s head football coach in 1960, Geno Poli adopted many of Paul Brown’s coaching philosophies.

So here are a few of the things that Coach Poli instituted. Before classes ended for the summer, he would have a meeting with prospective players for the upcoming season and provide instruction on what to do over the summer to benefit themselves before the practices began on August 15th.

First, no swimming because you lose muscle tone, practice running every day, no smoking, no drinking alcohol, go to bed early and be sure to eat the right things.

Back in those days, it was illegal for coaches to lead practices in the summer but there were some shadow ways to help build the program.

In Coach Poli’s first year he wanted to have a weightlifting program during the summer, however, the financial means for this were not available so metal bars were installed on the back of the bleachers on the field to do Isometrics. Iso’s involve static movement of the muscles with no joint movement and requires one to start slowly and then use maximum pressure for several seconds and then relax.

Somehow, and probably with his own funds in the second-year coach Poli had weights in the gym and some players faithfully showed up to take advantage of the program. Also at this time, the skill position players practiced plays out of public view around the area of Foster’s Tunnel.

When the official season began, the team met in the classroom, where Coach Poli drew plays on the blackboard and encouraged players to copy them into their notebooks. He never issued official playbooks because he feared they might fall into opponents’ hands.

Practices were intense, long wooden boards with ropes above at four feet where the lineman had to hit a dummy bag and stay low and push the dummy the length of the 20-foot board. Backs had to run through a series of well-placed tires, all of this was in addition to the regular calisthenics.

Now the Brown philosophy comes into focus. Watching game film on Sunday morning in the classroom overlooking the field prior to the Marian games. Getting tendencies of the opponent and going over your “keys.”

Going to the auditorium on Monday and reviewing the film from the game which we just played. Often funny comments by the coach and a lot of whispering by the players. Sometime praise was handed out and other times you were pulled aside and told what you messed up.

When the games were played, coach Poli utilized the play calling like Brown by shuttling in the guards with the next play.

Coach Poli wore a black baseball cap with orange C to practice. If you want a comparison, go back and look at the pictures of Coach Brown when he was on the field.

However, the playbook for the offense and defense did not come from the Browns. Coach Poli used Paul Dietzel of LSU for the Wing-T offense which relied on deception and utilized team speed. The defense was called the “Chinese Bandits” like the term used by Dietzel.

Poli is credited with bringing back the glory days of Coaldale football and in his short four-year period he posted a win-loss record of 33-10 to the delight of the fans.