Servite High School, Anaheim California

by Greg Shepard Head FB Coach Ron Smeltzer Servite High School Anaheim, California #34 Ted Pru Kop: Junior 5'llW' - 174 - 4.7 - 40 THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION It was early in the fourth quarter late in the fall of 1982 and some of the fans were alread y leaving. It was the finals of the California CLF. playoffs. Servite High School was polishing off Long Beach Poly 31 to 7 for a number one big school ranking in the State and a #4 national ranking. Coach Ron Smeltzer was all smiles; all the hard work had paid off. Victory was especially sweet since great success in football had not always been at Servite.

In the Spring of 1981, Coach Smeltzer invited me down to Los Angeles for a BFS clinic. Two hundred athletes packed a long narrow room and history was to begin at Servite. It worked out to be one of the finest clinics I've done. All the right emotional things happened. At the beginning of the clinic some of the big city "sophisticated" kids were nonchalant and were wondering if they were too cool to be dedicated and committed. By the end of the clinic it was a different matter. I'm sure it is safe to say that everyone was emotionally involved "to the max for sure."

Here's the story: During a clinic, after all the spotting, lifting and coaching techniques have been taught, the athletes and coaches get a chance to experience the core lifts as I oversee this 30-minute session. One ninth grader caught my eye. His name was Ted Prukop. I asked him to demonstrate the squat. He had perfect form. Since the weight lifting experiences at Servite were really quite limited, seeing big amounts of weight lifted had not been seen by the athletes. The varsity standard on the parallel of competition level squat is 300 pounds; All-State is 400; and All-American is 500 pounds.

Anyway, we put 300 pounds on the bar and Ted ripped off 5 perfect reps to the wide-eyed amazement of the older athletes. From my experience, I know to do that is very unusual and I knew Ted was going to be a great player. Ted, this past 1982 season, was to power his way into the Servite record books. He rushed for 5.6 yards a carry and 16 touchdowns. He scored for 3 TD's in four different games! Ted Prukop was an All-League selection as a Junior. However, the most exciting story of any BFS clinic came at the end of the Servite clinic with a stocky tackle by the name of Bodie Newcomb. At the end of each clinic, we select 12 athletes to dead lift. It is always a great climax.

Since the Servite kids had not dead lifted before, there was only one athlete left when we got to 500 pounds. Everyone was enthusiastic and clapping their hands in unison as Bodie came up to the bar. With a mighty pull Bodie got it past his knees, but then the bar ripped loose and crashed to the floor. Bodie's 5'10" 240-pound body was big, but his hands were kind of small and were fleshy from not much prior lifting. 1looked over amid a very quiet silence and saw that Bodie's left hand was bleeding slightly. Bodie's eyes were big, real big, and they flashed with determination as he roared, "Let me do it again." He stomped over to the chalk tray and proceeded to grind that chalk into his hands.

Now the quiet suddenly changed to an every increasing chant as his 200 teammates reiterated, "Bodie - Bodie Bodie!" Bodie pulled on the 500 pounds even mightier than before and it looked like he was going to make it. However, the bar ripped out of his hand again. This time the blood was gushing out and it looked like the flesh of his hand had been sliced as you would filet a fish. You could hear a pin drop. I told Bodie, "That's it son." "No, I can do it." "I can do it," Bodie responded in an almost inhuman way. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I don't think I could have stopped Bodie from trying again.

He again made his way to the chalk tray and spent several minutes grinding the chalk into that wound. Because his hands were so heavily chalked the bleeding finally stopped. I'll guarantee you, two hundred people were going crazy. The noise from people screaming in unison: "Bodie - Bodie - Bodieil" was unbelievable. In fact, a woman three blocks away called the police to report a riot. It was too bad because two police cars just missed Bodie's last attempt. Continued on page 16 THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION Continued from Page 3 This time Bodie was not to be denied. He strained. The bar slowly inched upward. His teammates were hysterical. The coaches were hysterical and so was I. Bodie made it.

I could not believe it People were jumping up and down. Bodie was mobbed and hugged. You would have thought they had just won the State Championship. Then it all got quiet. It was a very emotional time. Everyone listened. I mean, really listened. The message got through I'm sure. Bodie left a legacy of greatness. The next 1981 season was really successful. Bodie as a Senior was an All-Orange County player and led his team to the Cl.F. semi-final round. Bodie's legacy of greatness continued in the fall of 1982. They took on famous Moeller High School at Cincinnati, Ohio. They were leading going into the fourth quarter but lost.

If they had hung on in that game and as the rest of the undefeated season turned out they may have been crowned National High School Champions instead of number four. Steve Beuerlein, Servite's QB had a great year. He was named as a Scholastic Coach All-American and has accepted a full scholarship to Notre Dame this fall. Steve completed 56% of his passes for2244 yards and I'm sure his6'5" 200-pound frame will be a great asset at Notre Dame. Steve commented, "The clinic worked very well at our school because it was presented in a wa y that left people enthusiastic about weight training.

People believed that if they followed this program they would definitely get bigger, faster and stronger ... and we did!" Congratulations to Servite High School, Coach Ron Smeltzer, Steve Beuerlein, Ted Prukop and the legacy of greatness of Bodie Newcomb.

#7 Steve Beuerlein Servite's A 11- American Quarterback We now have a Big Inventory ready for immediate shipment on All Equipment!!

1982 RESULTS Servite 15 19 38 36 42 50 23 42 Opponent Moeller Fountain Valley Garey Bishop Amat Pius X Serra St. Paul Mater Dei San Gorgonio Loyola Alemany Long Beach Poly

From BFS Magazine — September/October 1983. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).