Well, Well, Well

In case you did not know it is football season here in Texas which means coaches all over the state are putting in ridiculous hours in hopes of making the boys that they have play wildly above their God given ability. It is a fun job, and interesting.

Wake up 5:30.

Field House at 6.

Freshman workout from 7 - 8:30

Inservice from 9 - 2 or so.

Varsity film and weights at 2:45.

Practice from 4:30 - 6.

Off from 6 - 7.

Second practice from 7 - 8:20.

In the Field House by 8:45.

Home by 9:30 or later.

Start over tomorrow morning.

Have a great night and I will see you in November.

It's Over.

Football season is over. I am home and not at the field house and I will reintroduce myself to my family. I have some things to share with you about the events of last nights game against Coppell and the fun that we had at the new Texas Stadium and the fun of the evening. For now I will try to be a dad and husband. Talk to you soon.

Playoffs 2009

These are the guys that are helping us win in the 2009 Playoffs. Great Young Men.

The View From a Coach and His Family

Week 11

Well, we beat the cross town rivals again, and this time we are going to the playoffs. The game was great and the boys played so well and Fossil did not have an answer to what we were doing on Defense or on Offense. 48 to 28 was the final now on to the playoffs against Coppell, but the exciting part is that we are playing in the new Cowboy Stadium. Can't wait to be on that field.

Dinner is Served

Since coaching is such a full time job, I get to build a really good relationship with the guys that are on the football team. The ones I spend the most time with are the guys I coach, the Safeties. We have always wanted to share our lives and family with the boys I coach since I spend so much of my time with them. This is why we have always made a effort to have the guys into our home a few times each season for a meal together. Tonight was another Bundy Football Dinner.

5 guys, all safeties and all very hungry. Shar goes all out to feed these boys. Brisket, Green Beans, Cheesy Potato Casserole, Rolls, and home made Chocolate Chunk Layered Cake. It is like feeding kids that have never eaten. Worth every penny of their UIL mandated contribution.

All day long and even during practice they ask what is for dinner and I keep it a secret. Fajitas are the usual but Shar changed it up on them. After dinner and dessert and conversation we have play time. Normally it is football or something outside, but tonight Tyler brought his Nerf Guns and Blake got his out and we had a huge Nerf Gun War. So much fun. Robert turned the lights out, Brandon is hiding in the hallway, Drew is behind a curtain and Paul is behind the couch. Blake and Anna run wild through the living room and Shar runs for the bedroom to hide.

I am very grateful for these young men. It is so important to me that they know me as more than a football coach. I want them to know my wife and kids and see me interact with them. I want them to hear me pray for them by name and hold my kids hands around the kitchen island as we thank God for all we have. I want them to see a normal life because some of them don't get to. I want them to remember more than just football from me. I want them to know that I care about them now and in 10 years. It matters to me that they hug my wife and kids when the enter the house and when they leave. This teaching and coaching thing has to be more than just class and football. It has to be a relationship with the kids I am with.

1 and 0 is GOOD!!!

We beat Midlothian tonight. It was a great crowd for a Thursday night game. Slight delay at half due to a lightning storm that passed by. Offense and Defense both played well and we found a sophomore kicker that has Ice in his veins. He was solid.

Shar and the kids came to game tonight and I was very grateful. A school night game and the week is long on Shar with me being gone so very much. She had open house for the preschool where she teaches and Anna attends, so Blake got dropped off at the Field House at 5:40 and did not leave until after the game around 10:30. That is late for a school night and that is where Shar is great. It would have been normal to stay at home and have Blake in bed at a decent hour, but Shar sees the priority of me seeing the kids and the kids enjoying the football season, and that makes for some great memories. Blake loves to be there, and Anna has a Senior cheerleader that goes out of her way to give Anna some special attention. Thanks Steph. I am thankful that Shar sacrifices so I can be with the kids and so they can be at the game. I Love You Shar.

Details of 11-7-2008.

It had been a great week of practice.  The game was against cross town rival Fossil Ridge, and there is honest hatred between the schools for many reasons, the main one being that we are old Keller with the tradition and name and history and Fossil is the new Keller area on the other side of the tracks.  Anyway, the kids at both schools always get up for this game.

We play pre game music during warm up on Friday nights.  The music is normally very modern, rap to rock and popular to the kids but foreign to most people over 30.  Last weekend we decided to try and stalemate the Fossil Panthers and have a coaches pick pre game C.D.  Everything for "Sweet Home Alabama" to "If This Is It" by Huey Lewis to "Devil Went Down to Georgia", "Jump" by Van Halen, "I Wanna Dance" by Whitney Houston and many others.  The favorite was Neil Diamond "Sweet Caroline" and the guys fell in love with that song.  Listening to it all week in the locker room, weight room and now at pre game, they had learned every word.  During the offensive pre game when "Sweet Caroline" came on the coaches and defensive players begin to clap to the beat.  It is Senior night so there are 500 parents on the track that join in.  By the time the chorus had come along the stands were up on there feet and we were all singing together.  It was a great event to watch and the brothers at Fossil did not know what to do.

We played a great game against Fossil.  We are up 14 to 10 at half and the kids are ready to end this game and move on to playoffs.  We are in a 3 way tie with Northwest and L.D. Bell, but had to win this game to go on and win a coin toss after the game.  We won, and earned it.  This game is so important to our community and to this team and to the seniors and to win and then know that we are going to win the coin toss was just the perfect plan for a great night in Texas football.  The final score was 21 to 13, Keller Indians win!!!  Coaches and kids hugging and jumping around.  It was a great ending to the regular season and the future looked bright.  The field was packed after the game and the kids were not ready to leave.  After about an hour of waiting it was time.  Kids in the locker room listening to "Sweet Caroline", Coaches and wives and families in the field house waiting for Coach A. to come out of the office.  And then he did, and "I lost, we're out" is all he said.  The room fell silent.  Like some one had died.  We knew we would win the toss.  It was never a question.  The next few moments watching Coach A. pace the room were agonizing.  "What do I say to the guys?"  "How do I tell them?"  "Coaches, get in the hallway, this is going to get bad."  As we walked into the hallway together we prepared to tell this group of young men that their season was over.  That the last  15 weeks of work has ended in the flip of coin.  

We walked into the locker room, the boys were now silent and waiting and watching.  Many had their heads down.  The were sitting around the lockers, arms locked together all the way around the room.  "Guys, I lost the toss, and I am so sorry."  Tears begin to fall down the faces of 17 year old boys that have just played their final football game.  As Coach A. explains the details he again reminds the kids that football is like life and that what you want to happen or what you think you deserve does not always happen.  "There is a reason that this is ending like this, and we won't get to understand that right now, but there is a reason for everything."  His words of encouragement, apology and pride in what they have accomplished go on for another 3 or 4 minutes.  It was a very difficult time to be in that locker room.

We do a receiving line at Keller High.  It honors the seniors and gives the underclassmen, parents and students, cheerleaders, drill team to come in the locker room say goodbye to the Senior football guys.  Coaches are in the hallway and greet those coming in.  Parents crying because another part of their son's high school career is over.  Hugs and tears and appreciation for the work we do.  It is a really good moment.  The locker room is pure sadness.  The guys saying goodbye to something they have committed to and given so much to.  Hugging these guys as they cry in your arms and thank you for all you've done and we as coaches are so grateful to have them work so hard in this program.  It is a full hour of emotion.  

Coaches dinner at the Webb's house and we are home and in bed by 2 a.m.  And just like that, football season is over and I am home on Saturday morning.  It is odd to be here.  I woke up and saw the kids on Saturday morning for the first time in 10 weeks.  I ate breakfast with them and Shar and we did a family trip to the store.  Blake and Anna keep asking if I have to go to work and I tell them not today which makes them happy.  Blake reminds me that he really does not like coin flips.  I'm out of words, and I will stop the rambling now.

7-3

We went 7-3, beat the cross town rival in a great game in week ten and our playoff dreams and hopes came down to a coin toss.  Just like in the move "Friday Night Lights", the head coaches from 3 schools were there in our field house and in one toss of the coin 17 weeks of work came to a very fast end.  We did not win the coin toss and therefore our season is over.  

I do want to share with you the mood and events of the evening, but at this early morning hour I am not able to express or recall all that I want to.  I will end in saying that the kids that we have here in Keller are some really great kids, and the program that Kevin has set up is done with the kids at the front of his mind.  We do some neat things here for the football boys.

7-3 and the season is over.  I am so defeated right now that I am not sure if I should go to bed or just sit here and be sad and upset?  It was a rough night for the Indians, but a night we will survive, and hopefully we will be better as individuals and a team for this adversity we are going through.  

Second Addition, and then some......

Here are a few pics from Halloween this year. This kids looked great and had a good time trick or treating for 5 houses or less. The coaches wives all brought goodie bags for each others kids to the game and they trick or treated in the stands. Shar said it was great, so whatever.....

The Horns just lost a really great football game to TT. Truly a great college game against two great teams and TT deserved to win.

I will put a link up to the podcast of Rick's sermon from Richland Hills this evening (Saturday night church). He gave a great introduction to worship concerning the election and God's everlasting goodness that we receive. It was the best pre election 3 minute talk I have heard from the church, and it should be on the hearts and minds of all who believe and profess the name of Jesus.

6 & 3

We lost tonight.  This is now two weeks in a row where we have not played very well and lost, bad.  This has been a rough couple of weeks, but tonight after the game, when all the kids had left the locker room we had our coaches meeting and Coach A. said to "get over it."  That is an odd statement coming from a head coach that has lost 2 in a row and not had a very good showing at either game, but I liked hearing that.  He went on to say that "the offense is going to score and the defense is going to stop them and that we need to convince our kids of that, and that if you don't believe it can be done then turn your keys in."  Some brief personal encouragement about the staff and what he thinks of us, and then he said "start smiling because the Indians are going to win next week and go to the playoffs."  

I hated getting fired in Belton, but I am very grateful for the job God has provided for us here in Keller.  It is not perfect, but it is really really good.

Shar was on her own again tonight, again.  Halloween by yourself is not what I want her to have to do.  She really is a great coaches wife, and the kids were more excited about getting to the game then they were about trick or treating.  I asked Blake if he had fun trick or treating and he said "dad, it was great but we had to hurry because the game was tonight and I have to run through the sign."  Anna just wants to see Stephanie (a cheerleader for the team) and Batoba (a corner of mine).  

By the way, Blake was Luke "Sky Walker" and Anna was "Ariel" from Little Mermaid.  

I have a great family.

U.T. Is # 1, For Now.

That is what the current rankings show, and by the way they have played the past 3 weeks I think it is a deserved position.

Tonight the Cowboys of O.S.U. played a great game against U.T.  It would have been a greatly deserved upset if it had happened, but McCoy and the Horns pulled of a victory.  

As Shar and I were watching the final seconds and the immediate post game report, we were both listening with one ear and helping Blake plan out his face for his pumpkin when the announcer clearly said "if you are just now joining us then you have missed one hell of a football game."  

Shar and I both looked at each other and paused, and then hit rewind just to make sure that what we both heard was really said.  Did anyone else catch that?  It was a good game, but not good enough for that broadcast statement.

Indians!!!

The Keller Indians are 6 & 1!!!  With a win tonight (Thursday night game) over Northwest we are set to play L.D. Bell next Friday Night.  It has been a while since I was with a winning team.  Great kids and coaches at previous schools, but winning is so good for the school, team, coaches and families.  It makes the job that much better.

Played the Best, and ...........

Trinity scores first in the 8th minute of the first quarter, 7 to 0.  Keller Indians get a defensive stop and then convert a 26 yd. field goal, Trinity 7, Keller 3.  Keller misses a field goal in the second quarter and then holds Trinity to a field goal, Trinity 10 Keller 3 at half.

Keller scores after recovering opening kickoff of second half to tie at 10 to 10.  Trinity scores after a 5 minute drive to go ahead 17 to 10.  No scores in the 4th quarter.

Trinity 17, Keller High 10.  We held the # 1 team in the nation to 268 yds. total offense.  

A great game by our guys and the entire team did everything we needed to do to have an opportunity to win.  Trinity is a very athletic and very well coached team and it was a great Friday Night atmosphere to play in.  District has begun and we are ready for the next 6 games. See you in November.

B

Playing the Best

We have a football game this Friday night. There are many football games this Friday night, so to say that the Keller Indians have a football game is not that special. The special part is that we are playing the # 1 team in the nation by 5 of the 7 top polls. We are facing Euless Trinity at their field and it should be a great game.  Last year we faced The Southlake Dragons who were the # 1 team in the nation at that time.

It is a great opportunity to be able to play the # 1 team.  Not many kids or coaches can say that they went against the very best in the nation.  We can say it two years in a row.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

August 22

I was at football practice during our mid morning workout. I was in the middle of a secondary drill when Linda Hable, the athletic secretary at Belton High came running out the door. "Byron, you have to go home right now!!!" I got in my truck and flew to the house only to find Shar walking the kitchen and living room, anxiously awaiting my arrival. We went to Kings Daughters and checked in. The first room we were in seemed like an old closet and the nurse had just returned from a 30 year stint at the local prison. It was not an ideal situation in my mind, but once nurse Dana got there then those minor problems melted away. We were calling the families and checking the monitors and waiting for the right moment. Dr. Furman was so comforting to us and so kind in the way she treating Shar. When the action finally came, Ron and Diana were waiting outside, and my parents and sister in California were on the phone on a conference call. Shar was working so hard and doing such a great job, and then there was nothing... no sound or cry or anything.... just silence. Dr. Furman quickly went from calm physician to actively working for life. "The cord is around his neck" she said to Dana, and instantly the room was filled with nurses. When I looked over the sheet that was covering Shar I saw a little boy, but he was an odd shade of grey and was not making the noises that I was expecting, and then blood shot across the room and across my shirt. Then a baby screamed and Dr. Furman smiled and I cried as I watched my son take his first breath. It was amazing to see the hand of God that close.

Today my boy turns 5 and I am in awe at how beautifully and wonderfully he is made. It is just a pure joy to be his father and see his life unfold. I will never forget that first day, but the days to follow have been such a blessing to me that I want to remember them all. Blake is having his birthday party tomorrow, but today is his day, he just doesn't know it. Blake spent his birthday at my scrimmage against the Hebron Hawks at Hebron High in Lewisville. He was on the field tonight serving as the assistant to the ball boy, his 12 year old buddy Davis, and Blake loved every minute of it.

Dear son. It is so wonderful to be your father and I want you to know that your mother and I love you so very much. I hope you life is filled with joy and happiness. I pray that God will use you in mighty ways for the Kingdom and that you will be a faithful servant. You are a wonderful son, and loving brother and a joy to our life and I love. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

FOOTBALL CLINIC

We had a football clinic this past weekend in College Station. It is called the Lone Star Football Clinic and is a really good gathering of college coaches and top ranking high school coaches. The lectures were good and then I took another beating at "Texas Holdem", but that is just going to happen.

The highlight of the trip was Saturday afternoon when all the coaches were invited to go to the Bright Athletic Complex at Texas A&M. It is their field house and it is just a beautiful and well set up building. The main hall with all the honored players and team captains and profession football players from the program over the years was really impressive. The new indoor facilities that were halfway completed were amazing, with 2 full size, indoor, turf, football fields.

The locker room was also very impressive, and professionally done. Giant open wood stained lockers with each players name and hometown on the upper ledge so you could know where these young men were from. Lunch was served in the Athletic Lounge of the players which is on the second floor over looking Kyle Field.

I really was impressed with the whole facility and I have to say that this gives me a new appreciation and general positive feeling about Texas A&M.

The best part of the 3 hours that we were there was when I got to meet the new Head Football Coach, Mike Sherman. And as I stood there shaking his hand, I could not help but smile with joy, just as I did while walking the looker room, weight room, and new practice facilities. The joy I had did not come from anything that A&M did, and again I was very impressed with all that they had to offer both coaches and kids. The JOY that I had came from the fact that I did all of the above mentioned while wearing my BURNT ORANGE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS POLO!!!!!

GO HORNS!!!!!

2007 Football is Over

We lost our first round play off game tonight to the Marcus Marauders. The final score was 28 to 25. It was a good game and we had some opportunities but it just did not work out. I am still frustrated about some things in the game and that is why I am up at 1:55 in the morning.

The head coach at Keller high does some good things in his program that I hope to take with me. Some special things to honor seniors on their last game, underclassmen on the legacy that they get to hold onto and finally the parents which are involved in a special way after the last game.

Keller has been good to us this football season and we are looking forward to the future. I have learned that no place will ever be perfect and each new school and city will have it's pros and cons. Shar and the kids and I are grateful to be here in Keller and working at Keller high and we still trust that God's guidance will lead us while we are here.

Thanks for reading.
Go Blue !!! (keller indians)

PLAYOFFS!!!!

The Keller Indians are going to the playoffs!!! This is what we work for and this is where the season gets really fun.

We had to work really hard and overcome some obstacles to get here but we made it. 4 & 6 overall and 3 & 4 in district gives us 4th place and an opportunity to play in week 11. We face The Marcus Marauders of Flower Mound this coming Thursday at Justin Northwest Stadium.

Go Blue!!!

Weekend Update with Byron Bundy

Wow, I have been so busy that I just do not have time to write these days. So much is happening and I am beginning to forget what I am trying to remember to write about. This is going to be long, so get ready.

Big game last Friday night for the Keller Indians. We are in a very tough district, 5-5A, and Keller has struggled that past 2 years to get into the playoffs. This past Friday was a game we really wanted and needed to win for us to have the opportunity to play in week 11.

We played the Richland Rebels from Birdville I.S.D. It was a great game with a great beginning to it. This season, 2007 is the reunion year for the 1957 Keller Football team, who has the greatest record in Keller football history. Playing in Class A, this team went 11 & 1, and won their region which was the highest possible honor for a school of that size. The impressive part is that the 1957 team had 10 shut outs in that season. That is truly amazing. The Head Coach of Keller, Coach A. found this out when he first came to Keller and was looking through the history of the school. This impressive record caught his attention and he decided to do something about it.

This entire season we have been reminding the players about the '57 team and this past week was homecoming at Keller High, so Coach A. invited as many players as he could find back to Keller for this weeks pep rally and game. You will not believe it, but 19 guys from the '57 team came back along with the head coach and the assistant coach. We honored them on Friday at the pep rally, and then Friday night it got really good. We gave them jerseys, with their number from high school to wear on the sidelines and be honorary captains at the coin toss. The head coach was pushed onto the field in his wheel chair by his former players, and the men stood there at the 50 yard line and relived a small piece of their past. It was awsome to see the fans rise and cheer these men, and to watch them relish in the moment, together. It was a great tribute to give to these guys, some of whom came in from Florida and Arizona to be apart of the weekend. I shook as many hands as I could and the smiles and tears they had was encouraging to see. It was strange, but felt good for a 67 year old man in a football jersey to say "go get'em coach, go win."

Now, all of this happened before the Black Knights parachuted into the stadium with the American Flag and the game ball. The air show is in town and somehow we had this incredible pregame show by the U.S. Army. Very cool way to start a high school football game.

Then, if the night was not good enough, we had a great come from behind win, in the last 6 minutes, to beat Richland and be one step closer to the playoffs. The players, stands, band and coaches were so fired up at the win. It was wild on the field after the game; hugging and high fives all around. What a great night.

I stayed at the field house late that Friday night and early Saturday morning to break down my game film, because I had plans for Saturday. A.C.U. Homecoming in Abilene was this weekend, but it is late, and I am tired so Abilene and Homecoming will have to wait until tomorrow.

Hope you all have a great day.
I hope to finish the story Monday night. See you later.

District 5 -5 A

"Hey Hey, what do you know, the Keller Indians are 1 and 0. "

Big win last night in the district opener against the Northwest High Texans. 39 to 31 was the final.

Here are a few updates and wright ups if you are interested.

Dallas Morning News Blurb

Fort Worth Star Blurb click on the Keller/Northwest game on the upper right of the screen under the 5A tab.