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Liberty's Buzzo All Smiles After Coaching State All-Star Football Game
Amount of sleep and smile size were inversely proportional for Liberty High football coach Tommy Buzzo during the week he spent in Hampton earlier this month.Selected as the head coach of the West team in the Virginia High School Coaches Association (VHSCA) all-star game, Buzzo spent a small portion of his week asleep, but he enjoyed every hour awake while preparing for the game.
“It put a big smile on his face,” said Kory Gough, Buzzo’s lone Liberty player competing in the all-star game. “He loved it. When we went home he talked every day about it – ‘Hey, how about that all-star game.’”
The East beat Buzzo's West squad, 38-31, at Darling Stadium in Hampton on July 10, but that didn’t negate Buzzo’s enjoyment of a week spent with players and coaches from around the state.
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” Buzzo said. “It’s always been one of my goals to coach in that all-star game. Halfway into the [week] I rewrote my goals and I hope at some point I get to go back.”
Buzzo arrived in Hampton on Sunday, July 5, and began a grueling schedule to prepare for the Friday game. A typical day in the ensuing week included a 5:50 a.m. alarm buzzer for the coach and a player roll call shortly after 6 a.m. Then there was breakfast, a bus ride to practice, a three-hour practice session, a ride back to the dorms, lunch, down time for coaching staff meetings, another three-hour practice plus more bus rides and dinner.
After eating, the players enjoyed some entertainment, like watching the VHSCA baseball and basketball all-star games, or catching a movie or a cruise, before going to bed. Once the players were asleep, the coaches met to plan and script the next day’s practice, working at late as 2 a.m. some nights.
“There was very little sleep, but it was fun,” Buzzo said.
Gough said he had a great time, too. He arrived in Hampton to find he was one of nine Virginia Tech signees that would play in the game. Plenty of people in the stand were wearing maroon and burnt orange, too.
“The game atmosphere is crazy,” Gough said. “And my coach told me, ‘The whole Tech fan crew is going to see you play.’ Knowing that just makes you play harder.”
Gough needed to play harder than ever before to succeed in this game. As the West’s left tackle he faced off against a rotation of three defensive ends who, like him, are committed to Tech...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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