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Digitizing Warrior football history

Xs and Arrows

What does a dusty box left behind by a retired Hall of Fame coach really hold? Turns out a lot of history and an opportunity for a unique archiving project for one of our town's greatest assets, Tehachapi Warriors football.

When he retired from Tehachapi High School, former football coach Steve Denman left behind a box of game films, in many different formats, with a series of games from the mid-1980s through the early 2000s. Instead of throwing it out, his successors have asked me for a favor; and in turn "The Warrior Film Room" project has been birthed. Current head coach Doug DeGeer made the transfer last week as two of us loaded an oversized box in what serves as the first official step in archiving the film and rescuing it from its outdated and deteriorating state. There is everything from VHS, Hi-8mm, mini DVDs and DVDs in this box, all yearning to be salvaged into a digital format.

The premise is simple, create a digital archive of this footage for former players, fans and families to enjoy for years to come. There are bits and pieces of a lot of seasons included and some games "yours truly" played in. Once I locate a VCR, I am excited to watch them for a trip down memory lane and to show the kids that dad was once an athlete and not just someone who fetches snacks for demanding toddlers.

It's not a small undertaking, but my hope is to also create a unique show for each game film we have, possibly recording an introduction to each using the wonderful print archive already in place and available at www.thswarriors.com. There are also some loose stats and recaps available that I believe will add to the films to allow viewers to get an entire picture and feeling for the game they are watching.

Equipment is on order to pull this off, something I am personally funding because I believe this footage needs to be preserved, digitalized and forever archived as a part of Tehachapi history. There are hours of work to be done, but in the end the transformation of these game films will provide a limited video history of our program. And for us old guys it wouldn't hurt to have a little video evidence out on the web that we were once young and tough, too. Maybe we want to take this chance to feel 17 again. Maybe a little of both.

So, stand by, details about online access and games available to view will be coming soon enough. Just sorting through the names on some of these labels are bringing back memories of years gone by and legendary rivalries of years past. It might take some time on my end to sort through the nostalgia, but, in the end, I am hoping the Warrior Film Project will allow us all to enjoy those same feelings

Corey Costelloe has covered NCAA, professional and local sports for more than 20 years as a reporter and broadcaster. He can be reached at [email protected]. Read more content at http://www.CostelloeMedia.com.

 
 
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