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| Coach Thomas, who was honored to participate in the Shrine Bowl, helping to raise $1.5 million for Shriners Hospital for Children. |
Staff Writer
Coach Gregg Thomas had the honor of coaching in the 2011 Shrine Bowl, a game featuring the best high school players in North Carolina against the best high school players in South Carolina. “Being selected is one of the greatest honors in high school coaching in North Carolina. I was very fortunate to be selected,” Thomas said.
North Carolina won the game 26-19,
which took place on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Thomas coached the defensive line. While selecting players, Thomas said he was
looking for a defensive lineman who had a good pass rush. “Their ability to
pass rush [was important] because we knew going in [that] South Carolina was
going to throw a lot,” he said.
Thomas said his love of football
came from his family. “My family has always been involved in athletics. My dad
coached softball, [so the love of sports is] in the family,” he said.
The process of choosing players
is hectic for the coaches, taking nearly a year. The coaches first contact
every high school coach in the state and ask for nominations. Those coaches
then send in their nominations, along with film. “We watch a lot of film,”
Thomas said. Then a preliminary list is developed, and combines are held in the
spring, where the coaches can see each player in person. After the combines, a
final list is drafted, and those players are invited to another combine. Then,
the roster is announced in October, two months before game day, which was on
December 17.
Thomas was also honored to coach
in the Shrine Bowl because the game helps raise money. “It is prestigious
because it helped raise $1.5 million for Shriners Hospital [for Children],
whose motto is, ‘We play so weak legs can walk.’”
