Coaching Management 15.4 by Momentummedia

Coaching Management VOL. XV NO. 4

F O O T B A L L

P R E S E A S O N

AGAINST THE GRAIN

Using an Unconventional System

E D I T I O N

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$7.00

2 0 0 7

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When Losses Mount

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Neckties Lead to Title

Circle No. 100

Coaching Management Football Edition Preseason 2007

CONTENTS

Vol. XV, No. 4

4 LOCKER ROOM

31 COVER STORY

Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Against the Grain

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Protecting your program from MRSA … Minnesota coaches derail high school fantasy league … SIU quarterback leads sweatshirt exchange … Hawkins promotes healthy competition among Colorado coaches … The drop kick makes a comeback … Keeping enough officials in the game.

When losses pile up, self-doubt can follow. A Hall of Fame high school coach offers advice for getting the most out of a losing season.

Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

Jerry Moore has led Appalachian State University to back-to-back national titles, making Mountaineers football a big deal in the small town of Boone, N.C.

Hard work is the bedrock of any successful strength-training program. But pushing players to lift until it hurts can do far more harm than good.

CHAMPIONSHIP SOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 GUIDE TO SYNTHETIC TURF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 FOOTBALL FACILITY EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 STRENGTH & CONDITIONING AIDS . . . . . . . . . . . 59 INJURY PREVENTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 TEAM EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 UNIFORMS & APPAREL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 MORE PRODUCTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 ADVERTISERS DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Publisher Mark Goldberg Editor-in-Chief Eleanor Frankel Associate Editor Dennis Read Assistant Editors R.J. Anderson, Kenny Berkowitz, Nate Dougherty, Abigail Funk, Greg Scholand, Laura Ulrich Art Director Pamela Crawford Photo Research Tobi Sznajderman Business Manager Pennie Small Special Projects Dave Wohlhueter

COVER PHOTO: PICTURE MANN/MICHAEL STRONG

Coaches who have won by defying conventional wisdom point out how to succeed while being different.

LEADERSHIP

Lessons from Losing

Gain Without Pain

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HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONS

Tieing Up a Title

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In his first season as Head Coach at an 11-year-old school, J.W. Kenton used Windsor knots to help his players prepare for the biggest game of their lives. On the cover: Graham Harrell is the latest Texas Tech University quarterback to operate Head Coach Mike Leach’s imaginative offense. The article begins on page 22.

Marketing Director Sheryl Shaffer Marketing/Sales Assistant Danielle Catalano Circulation Director Dave Dubin Circulation Manager John Callaghan Production Director Don Andersen Assistant Production Director Jim Harper Production Assistant Jonni Campbell Prepress Manager Miles Worthington IT Manager Julian Cook Administrative Assistant Sharon Barbell

Advertising Sales Associate Diedra Harkenrider, (607) 257-6970, ext. 24 Ad Materials Coordinator Mike Townsend Business and Editorial Offices 31 Dutch Mill Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 257-6970, Fax (607) 257-7328 info@MomentumMedia.com Mailing lists for Coaching Management Football are provided by the Clell Wade Coaches Directory.

The Coaching Management Football edition is published in November and April by MAG, Inc. and is distributed free to college and high school coaches in the United States and Canada. Copyright © 2007 by MAG, Inc. All rights reserved. Text may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Coaching Management is printed by Banta Publications Group, Kansas City, MO. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Coaching Management, P.O. Box 4806, Ithaca, N.Y. 14852. Printed in the U.S.A.

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LOCKER ROOM BULLETIN BOARD Football Programs Face MRSA Jon Cochran, a senior guard for Stanford University, stands 6-foot-6 and weighs more than 300 pounds. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria commonly known as MRSA, is too small to be seen with the naked eye. But when the two butted heads last season, the tiny organism sent Cochran to the hospital and sidelined him for two games. He was among a handful of Stanford football players infected during a MRSA outbreak last fall.

Since football involves frequent body-to-body contact and it’s difficult to keep skin wounds covered, there’s constant risk of transmission during games and practices. The danger extends to locker rooms as well—MRSA can be spread when athletes share towels, razors, or even bars of soap.

miologist specializing in staph infections. “The treatment procedures and drugs are very effective, and the severe cases are usually the result of an infection not being recognized early enough.”

ting every cut, scrape, pimple, or spider bite checked out and not leaving anything to chance,” says Mike Goforth, Head Athletic Trainer at Virginia Tech. “The more often athletes hear it, the better.”

For this reason, protecting your athletes means making

Another key to preventing a MRSA outbreak in your program is reducing opportunities for transmission. At Stanford, the athletic department installed liquid soap dispensers in the showers to prevent athletes from sharing soap, issued each player his own towels and enforced a nosharing policy, and washed infected players’ laundry separately from everyone else’s. In addition, players washed their hands with an alcohol-based sanitizer before returning to the locker room after each practice and sprayed their gloves with a disinfectant.

If MRSA isn’t on your program’s radar screen yet, it should be. In the past decade, outbreaks have hit high school, college, and professional teams across the country. And while more coaches and athletic trainers are aware of the danger, outbreaks are still catching teams by surprise. “It was amazing how quickly the infection would hit someone,” says Charlie Miller, Stanford’s Head Athletic Trainer for football. “Our doctors would look at a tiny lesion and say, ‘All right, let’s keep an eye on it.’ By the next day, it had become something really significant.”

Jon Cochran, a guard at Stanford University, was hospitalized by a MRSA infection that spread quickly among some Cardinal football players. Infections occur when MRSA bacteria come into contact with open wounds, making it important for players to practice proper hygiene and have all skin problems checked out. When the infection is caught early, a doctor can treat it fairly easily by cleaning the wound site and prescribing special antibiotics. “The real key to controlling MRSA is identifying it as quickly as possible,” says Jeff Hageman, a CDC epide-

sure they don’t ignore seemingly minor skin problems. Every wound should be shown to an athletic trainer or team physician, who can decide if it should be tested for MRSA. “We must constantly reinforce the message about get-

Above all, when it comes to MRSA, constant vigilance is essential. “You should never assume that it can’t happen to your program,” Miller warns. “It’s easy to say, ‘We’ve been careful, it will hit someone else.’ But the truth is, you could always be next.”

Coaching Management’s sister publication, Athletic Management, offers downloadable posters on its Web site with tips for preventing MRSA infections in your program. The posters can be hung in your locker room, posted in the athletic training room, or handed out to parents during preseason meetings. To access these free posters, visit: www.athleticmanagement.com.

COACHING MANAGEMENT

DAVID GONZALES/STANFORD ATHLETICS

Staph bacteria are all around us—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 30 percent of the U.S. population carry it on their skin or in their nasal passages, and about one percent carry a MRSA strain, which means the bacteria are resistant to many standard antibiotics used to fight staph infections. But most of these “carriers” aren’t infected at any given time—infection occurs when the bacteria come into contact with a cut, turf burn, or other open wound.

Cleaning athletes’ padding should be a top priority—pads can provide an ideal environment for bacteria, including MRSA, to thrive, especially if they’re not dried out after each use. When MRSA struck at Stafford (Texas) High School last fall, Athletic Trainer David Edell took immediate steps to prevent it from spreading. “We told the football team, ‘Empty out your lockers— everything goes home, and you can’t bring it back unless it’s clean,’” he says. “Then our maintenance staff cleaned the entire locker room using a cleaning agent that kills microbes, and we sanitized all the lockers and pads.”

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LOCKER ROOM BULLETIN BOARD Stopping HS Fantasy Football Fantasy sports leagues have become an accepted part of the professional sports culture, but when a Minnesota newspaper started one using local high school football players, area coaches took a stand against it. Using the only weapon at their disposal—the threat to withhold statistics from their games that form the very heart of the fantasy

including Ohio and New Jersey, have similar leagues that focus on players’ individual statistics, the coaches and administrations in the Twin Cities found the idea extremely inappropriate. “I was shocked when my football coach first told me about the league,” says Eric Lehtola, Athletic Director at Andover High School. “I brought it to the attention of the other athletic directors, and we agreed it was wrong and exploited

Kevin Merkle, Associate Director of the Minnesota State High School League. “But what about when a kid has a bad night, say 2-for-12 for 25 yards and a few interceptions? Typically, a bad night like that wouldn’t get much ink, but if he’s on somebody’s fantasy team, those numbers are going to stick out.” After talks with the newspaper’s editors brought no results and the league continued, Lehtola and the other athletic directors decided to boycott the newspaper. “We told our coaches to stop calling and e-mailing our scores and stats to the paper,” Lehtola says. “It was the only leverage we had.” Lehtola also reached out to other athletic directors in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to spread the word about his conference’s approach. After hearing his reasoning and strategy, other conferences joined the boycott.

A group of athletic directors in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area derailed a local newspaper’s high school fantasy football league by refusing to provide statistics from their games to the paper. Here, Andover (Minn.) High School running back Mike Schmidt breaks through a hole during a 13-0 win over Maple Grove. league—coaches and administrators convinced the newspaper to end the fantasy season after only a few weeks. Before the high school season started, the Pioneer Press in St. Paul set up a league for its sports writers, drafting players and creating a point system based on the number of yards and touchdowns they racked up each week. Although newspapers from several states,

COACHING MANAGEMENT

our high school athletes and trivialized everything their teams were doing.” Many of those opposed to the fantasy league say it sent the wrong message by placing too much emphasis on individual statistics. “If you throw for four touchdowns and 300 yards, that’s a great accomplishment and it would be in the newspaper anyway without a fantasy league,” says

“Tom Johnson, the Athletic Director for Hastings High School in the Suburban East Conference, thought it sounded like a good idea, so he brought it up to his conference and they followed our lead,” Lehtola says. “Once the dominoes started to fall, the newspaper realized the high school community was not at all pleased with what they were doing.” The league continued for another few weeks after the boycott began before the Pioneer Press acquiesced and terminated it. Lehtola says that without a united effort from area football conferences, the fantasy league would have continued. “The networking was absolutely critical,” Lehtola says. “We have very strong, organized conferences—almost a brotherhood between them—so we were able to talk and come up with an effective strategy.”

The Shirts Off Their Backs As Southern Illinois University football players walk around campus this spring, they will likely see more students clad in maroon. Thanks to an effort initiated by starting quarterback Nick Hill, 300 SIU students are sporting new Saluki sweatshirts, and many of them have a better feeling about athletics at their school. During the fall semester, Hill, a junior, planned and implemented a sweatshirt exchange program aimed at getting more of SIU’s student population dressed in Saluki apparel. For several afternoons, he and other student-athletes patrolled campus armed with a box of Saluki sweatshirts. Whenever they saw a student wearing another school’s sweatshirt, the athletes offered to give them a new one bearing the SIU logo—as long as they surrendered the one they were wearing. The used sweatshirts were donated to two local charities. Christian Spears, Assistant Athletic Director at SIU, helped Hill with the project. “A lot of our students are commuters, and when we looked around, we realized they weren’t wearing very much SIU apparel,” Spears says. “At the same time, on a lot of campuses it’s typical for the general student population to view athletes as elitist or unapproachable. We decided the sweatshirt exchange could be a good way to increase school pride and provide a positive connection between our athletes and the rest of the student body.” Spears and Hill approached the school’s chancellor, requesting $5,000 in funding for the project, which he quickly granted. Hill met with the school’s bookstore manager, designed the sweatshirts, and negotiated a price ($10 each). Then he coordinated

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LOCKER ROOM BULLETIN BOARD with other student-athletes to make the exchanges. Since he had pitched a story about the project to the student newspaper in advance, many students were aware of the program and excited to exchange sweatshirts. Nearly everyone the athletes approached was happy to turn in their used sweatshirt for a new one. “We made sure the sweatshirts we offered were thick, heavy-duty, and looked classy,” Spears says. “We didn’t want to ask them to surrender their old sweatshirt for something that wasn’t as nice.” Only a handful of students refused to make the swap. “Some kids said that their brother had given them the sweatshirt or other things like that,” Hill says. “But no one was

negative about the idea, and it really was great to be on campus talking with other students and getting to know them.” In the next project, Hill and Spears will organize groups of athletes and non-athletes to build a new home in a community near Carbondale for battered women and their children this spring. Spears expects nearly every one of SIU’s 350 student-athletes to take a turn on the project, and hopes to also involve at least 350 nonathletes. With their remaining funds, they’ll provide each nonathlete who comes out to work with a new SIU T-shirt. Hill sees the housing project as another way for athletes and non-athletes to work together, while helping someone who is disadvantaged in the process.

“All of the athletes I’ve talked to about it are really motivated,” he says. “It will be exciting, because we will be the entire workforce on the project. Contractors will direct us, but we’ll do the actual work.” Hill credits the NCAA Leadership Conference, which he attended last summer as President of SIU’s SAAC, for sparking his desire to lead the programs. “The conference is a life-changing experience,” he says. “It taught me that when you have an idea it’s worth taking a chance to pursue it. Now, I’m submitting a followup report on how the idea worked here, and I’m hoping to be selected to make a presentation about it at the next conference.” For Spears, the project’s benefits could go well beyond the obvious visible changes. “We’ll soon be asking our student body soon to vote in favor of raising student fees to help pay for new athletic facilities,” he says. “We need their support, and we’re hoping that some of our efforts to connect will resonate with them and they’ll vote for the increase. As athletic departments, sometimes we don’t focus enough on initiatives that benefit non-athlete students on our campuses, but they can be extremely valuable in generating campus pride and support.”

Colorado’s Healthy Competition

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Many head coaches tell their assistants to maintain some

balance in their lives, but Hawkins turned the advice into a competition among his staff. He awarded points for doing things that would promote one’s own physical, mental, or emotional health. Coaches could earn points by weightlifting, going for a run, maintaining a proper diet, getting a full night’s sleep, or spending quality time with their kids. “It’s impossible to keep everything in balance with this job, because there’s too much work and there aren’t enough hours in the day,” Hawkins says. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a little exercise, make some time for your family, or take other simple steps that over the long term will make you healthier and happier, which will ultimately be reflected in the job you do.” While the point system helped tap into coaches’ competitive instincts, the point wasn’t who finished on top. “Everybody has their own ideas about how to take care of themselves, so I just told them to think about it and then try to

CLIFF GRASSMICK/DAILY CAMERA (COLORADO)

When Southern Illinois University starting quarterback Nick Hill wasn’t busy eluding defenders last fall, he was helping build school spirit by offering fellow students new SIU sweatshirts in exchange for their old ones from other schools.

For coaches at the University of Colorado last season, taking time out wasn’t just something to think about during late-game drives. Under the leadership of Head Coach Dan Hawkins, the entire staff participated in a Coaches’ Wellness Challenge, reminding everyone that taking a break from work can be a good thing.

University of Colorado Head Coach Dan Hawkins encourages his assistants to take time for themselves and their families by establishing a Coaches’ Wellness Challenge.

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LOCKER ROOM BULLETIN BOARD do it,” Hawkins explains. “The challenge was a way for me to emphasize to our staff that it’s important to not forget everything else when we’re focused on the season. If you work 18 hours a day, how long can you honestly keep that up and really be productive? And does it mean you aren’t present in your family’s life? It’s about setting priorities.

“Carthage is one of the top teams in Missouri and they’re one class above us, so we were pretty outgunned in the game,” says Skeans. “But we had just scored a touchdown, and it seemed like a good opportunity to steal some momentum. We got into the formation we’d been practicing, Ronnie boomed it through, and the fans on both sides started cheering. It was a pretty special moment for everyone there, and even though we ended up losing, it gave us a jump start that helped us for the rest of the game.”

“By the end of the season, I wasn’t really keeping track of everyone’s score,” he continues. “But if they were better fathers and better husbands and their health was better because of this, then they were winners.”

Herda missed a second attempt later in the game, but converted two the following week against Webb City. After that, the drop kick became a regular part of Nevada’s special teams. “Sometimes we’d disguise it by lining up in a standard offense like we were going for two,” Skeans says. “If the opponent lined up in a basic defense, we would drop kick and there wouldn’t be much pressure. If they lined up to block a kick, we would run a two-point play.”

Hawkins adds that the competition provided some humor around the office. “One guy took his daughter to the airport in the morning, then came in and said, ‘Yes! I got two points!’” he says. “And somebody would come in looking really tired and say, ‘Well, I didn’t get any points for sleep last night.’ That showed me they were at least thinking about it.” Joking aside, the Coaches’ Wellness Challenge is a genuine reflection of how Hawkins believes a program should be run. “If I want to keep the right kind of people—coaches who care about our players and treat them like family—then as the head coach I’d better exemplify those values myself,” he says. “If I’m asking our staff members to treat each guy like he’s their son, then they’d better understand what that means by having a healthy family life of their own. To me, it all goes hand in hand.”

An extra point is rarely the most exciting part of a football game. But at a game last season in Missouri between Nevada and Carthage high schools, fans from both teams responded with a standing ovation when Ronnie Her-

COACHING MANAGEMENT

da’s kick sailed through the uprights. On that September night, Herda converted Missouri’s first high school football drop kick in decades. For the most part, drop kicking has gone the way of leather helmets and the flying wedge. Doug Flutie’s famous boot for the New England Patriots last year was the NFL’s first successful try in more than 60 years, and the NCAA hasn’t seen one since 1990. So when Herda told former Nevada Head Coach John Skeans two seasons ago that he could drop kick a football, the coach didn’t know quite how to respond.

“I was skeptical, but he insisted that he was serious,” recalls Skeans, who resigned his coaching position after the season. “Finally I said, ‘All right, show me. If you can make 10 in a row, we’ll give it a try.’ I give Ronnie all the credit for figuring out how to make it all work.” Herda made his 10 kicks, but the sophomore suffered a season-ending foot injury while playing quarterback before he had a chance to drop kick in a game, and the idea was shelved until last summer. In the Sept. 22 game against Carthage, Skeans decided it was time.

Skeans believes this versatility is the drop kick’s biggest advantage. If the team lined up to kick and then decided to go for two, Herda was already in a basic shotgun formation. If they lined up to go for two and then decided to kick, the running back became an extra blocker in case anyone penetrated the line. “Having someone in the backfield gave us a multi-gap defender to make sure Ronnie had time to get the kick off,” Skeans says. As word spread around the state—helped by a Kansas City Star feature on Herda’s kicking exploits—letters and postcards began arriving from former players excited to see the revival of a long-lost art. “One postcard we got said, ‘Dear Ronnie, I was delighted to read the article in the Star about your drop kick … Par-

GARVEY SCOTT/THE KANSAS CITY STAR

PAT from the Past

By reviving the art of drop-kicking, Nevada (Mo.) High School quarterback Ronnie Herda gave his team a double threat on PATs. If an opposing team lined up to defend a two-point try, Herda could drop kick for one. If the defense lined up to block the kick, Nevada would go for a two-point conversion.

ticularly because of its disuse, it is one of the most wonderful things in football.’ The guy went on to say he remembered a high school teammate drop kicking from the 50-yard line in the 1940s,” says Skeans. “Another guy wrote and told us he held the NAIA record for the longest drop kick. We even heard from a surgeon at the University of Missouri who had written a book on place kicking—he congratulated Ronnie, and included a signed copy of his book. We had no idea it would snowball like that. We were really surprised it attracted so much interest.” Herda will most likely continue drop kicking in his senior year, and he’s received some recruiting interest as a quarterback from college scouts, so it’s possible he’ll take it with him to the next level. “I

think it’s a great tribute to the sport that he’s out there doing this,” Skeans says. “I was truly humbled to be a small part of a local kid making a little history for Missouri football.”

Officials Getting Harder to Find Sometimes it means having four officials at a game instead of five. Other times it means having a rookie official working a varsity game. In extreme cases it can mean moving a game from Friday night to Saturday because no one was available to work the game. Across the country, the pool of football officials is evaporating, and these scenarios are becoming more common. The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) says

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there are several reasons why referee numbers are down, but poor sportsmanship is perhaps the biggest. “The lack of sporting-like behavior drives people out of this avocation,” says NASO President Barry Mano. “And I don’t mean the players. It’s the parents, fans, and coaches who are out of control. “We don’t expect every fan or even every coach to know the rules like we do, but a lack of fundamental understanding of the rules can cause them to act out—pour gasoline on the fire,” Mano continues. “Unfortunately, that causes officials to feel beleaguered and ultimately question why they’re doing this on a Friday night.” Mano says coaches can help promote sportsmanship by remaining calm while communicating with officials. “I don’t

give a lot of leeway to the idea of getting caught up in the heat of the moment,” he says. “A game may be emotional, but a coach shouldn’t get a free pass for that reason.” Mano doesn’t place all blame on fans and coaches, though. He says that part of the issue is a lack of support from school administrators. “We see bad behavior, but no accountability,” he says. “Whether it’s the conference commissioner, athletic director, or coach who sets an example by saying, ‘I may not like that call, but I understand why it was made,’ that sends the right message to young people, parents, and fans.” Even when the atmosphere is welcoming, outside forces reduce the number of available officials. “I get a fair number of people who are

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LOCKER ROOM BULLETIN BOARD interested in officiating, but in many cases, people just don’t have the time,” says Steve Audette, Commissioner of the northern group of the Vermont Football Officials Association and an official himself. “When they start out, most refs have to work j.v. and freshman level games for a year or two. Those start at four o’clock on weekday afternoons and it’s hard for people to get out of work at that time. As soon as I tell them about that and the required meetings, studying, and annual test, a lot of them get turned off and we never see them again.”

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Audette suggests that coaches help with recruiting new officials. “Coaches have a lot of contact with players’ parents,” he says. “With the exception of the 10 percent whose sons go on to play at the next level, parents tend to no longer associate with the sport after their kid graduates. Coaches could really help us a lot if they talked up the officiating aspect as a way for parents, or even former players, who enjoyed the game to stay involved with football.” For more information visit the NASO Web site at: www.naso.org.

AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS

Efforts to stem a decline in the number of football officials are needed to ensure there will be enough officials in position to make future calls, such as this one during the Virginia High School League Division I championship game.

Audette and Mano both say that once people get over the initial hurdles, they don’t have a problem retaining them. “The NASO has found that if we can hang on to someone longer than three years,

we have a long-term official,” Mano explains. “But the initial attrition rate is huge—after three years only 30 or 40 percent of the original pool may be left.”

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Q&A

Jerry Moore Appalachian State University

Who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks? In 2003, after missing the NCAA Division I-AA (now the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision) playoffs for the first time in six years, Appalachian State University Head Coach Jerry Moore decided to change things up.

Entering his 19th season at ASU, Moore has quietly built one of the top programs in college football. Under Moore, Appalachian State has posted a record of 140-67, and the team will take a 27-game home winning streak into the 2007 campaign. Along the way, the Mountaineers have made Kidd Brewer Stadium the place to be on Saturdays in Boone, N.C.

During spring practice that year, Moore replaced the Power-I offense the Mountaineers had used for the better part of 16 years with a no-huddle, oneback spread offense. The team experienced some initial growing pains in 2004, finishing 6-5, but rebounded strongly in 2005, winning the first of two consecutive national championships.

Prior to his arrival at ASU, Moore served as Head Coach at North Texas (1979-1980), then at Texas Tech (19811985). He also spent 14 seasons as an assistant to coaching legends Hayden Fry at Southern Methodist University and Tom Osborne at the University of Nebraska. In this interview, Moore talks about his approaches to walk-ons and recruiting, scheduling I-A opponents, and coaching in a small town.

CM: How did the change in offensive philosophy in 2003 contribute to your team’s success the last two years? Moore: It played a big part. We wanted to change our tempo, so we went to a no-huddle, more open offense. Before the change, our offensive package contained a lot of formations, and we ran a lot of different plays. This offense is much simpler and has fewer plays. Since putting in the new offense, I feel like I wasted 40 years of coaching because what we’re doing now is so much more fun. It’s an exciting offense to run, and we as coaches have been learning right along with the players.

Since we don’t huddle, we’ve got more time to come up with plays than most people think. We all know when to talk, and we all know when to listen. We don’t try to put on a clinic between each play. What has made your program so popular with students and the community? A lot of it is the way our new administration has embraced our program. They’ve

worked hard to make sure that Saturdays here are an event. It’s a fun place to play and a fun place to watch a ballgame. No matter what the weather is like, the stadium is packed and it’s so loud you can’t hear yourself think on the sideline. As we were walking off the field after winning a home playoff game last season, the other team’s quarterback said

You don’t have a designated offensive coordinator. Why not? I’ve never had one. It goes back to when I was at Nebraska under Coach Osborne— we didn’t have one then. I like it because it lets every offensive coach feel more important. It brings out the best in them because they all know that their responsibilities and input are crucial to our success. Who calls the plays? We have five or six offensive coaches who are all hooked up on headsets. Our quarterbacks coach will make the initial call and our offensive line coach might say, ‘No, no, we want to run …’ Then our running backs coach might chime in. In that mix of discussions we come up with a play, but I usually make the final decision. It’s not as gobble-wobble as I make it sound because we’ve already talked about what we want to run in certain situations. What are the keys to making that system work during games?

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Quarterback Armanti Edwards threw for 2,251 yards and ran for 1,153 more while helping Appalachian State University to its second straight NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) title.

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Q&A to me, ‘Coach, this is a heck of a place to play.’ That was a great compliment to our school, our students, and everybody who supports us. How important is having a positive public presence, especially in a small town like Boone? We run the whole gamut of engagements. Last year, I spoke at preschools and also to groups of 2,000 to 3,000 people in Charlotte. I don’t think of it as work—it’s what I’m here for and I enjoy it. I like to talk about our team, I like to talk about our school, and I like to talk about our town. It’s been a lot of fun to do those things, and I believe I’m doing it for a great school and a great community. We’ve got that small mountain town feel. You can go to church, Wal-Mart, or a service station and people are talking about our players. That’s fun. I like that I have a little bit to do with it. It’s a great atmosphere to coach in and to live in. What do you tell your players about off-the-field behavior?

Because we’re in a small town, anywhere our guys go, like the mall or a restaurant, everybody knows who they are. I tell them, “You never know who’s watching you or who’s listening to what you say.” Consequently, our players are pretty good role models.

football—it can be about a girlfriend, mom and dad, car trouble, or anything else. What did you learn as an assistant coach that sticks with you today? Hayden Fry was an innovator who wasn’t afraid to take chances. He was ahead of his

“Because we’re in a small town, anywhere our guys go, like the mall or a restaurant, everybody knows who they are. I tell them, ‘You never know who’s watching you or who’s listening to what you say.’ Consequently, our players are pretty good role models.” How have you cultivated a family atmosphere in your program? I was told a long time ago that if you have a good football program, your kids will hang around the facility and around the coaches. I keep a big ol’ basket of candy in my office and whether I’m in there or not, they can come in and get themselves a little Snickers bar. They know that door is always open, and they know we can talk about anything. It doesn’t have to be

time, and I try to follow that lead. Under Coach Osborne, I really learned about professionalism. It was fun to watch him work and always do things the right way. I also picked up my approach to using walk-ons at Nebraska. We had an offensive line coach who told me, “You’ll never hear a Nebraska coach say, ‘That kid will never play.’” I’ve always remembered that. We’ve got guys playing here now

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Q&A who wouldn’t have been given a shot by most people two or three years ago. Last year, Zach Johnson was a senior walk-on receiver for us. He caught six balls for 110 yards in the national championship game. He was here for three years before his talent began to surface. If I hadn’t been around Tom all those years at Nebraska, I don’t think I would have had the patience to allow that to happen. What is your approach to walk-ons? If a guy comes in and works hard, he’ll surface as a player at some position. Generally, it begins by earning a spot on special teams, then before you know it, he’s splitting time with a position player. Next thing you know, he’s out there as a starter. For instance, our center is as good as any in the country and he’s 5foot-10. He was a walk-on who came in as a fullback. We didn’t need a fullback in our offense, so one day we tried him at center and it clicked. What’s your advice for young coaches looking to climb the coaching ladder? Number one, they have to know what they want to do. Number two, they have to be tireless workers. We don’t watch the

clock here—we are all people who will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Our guys are smart, hard working, and they care about our players. Those are the traits I look for in an assistant coach. Do you ever think about giving I-A another shot? If I hadn’t already been at Texas Tech, North Texas, Nebraska, and Arkansas, I might want to. But we’ve got great kids and a terrific staff here. We’ve been together a long time, and we don’t see much turnover. There’s a lot of harmony and the entire staff pulls for one another. What’s your philosophy on scheduling I-A opponents? We want one on the schedule every year, and we’d like to play them early. We only want to play one per year because it’s hard to compete numbers-wise. Some players get beat up and the next thing you know you’ve got guys missing two or three big ballgames. However, two years ago we faced two—LSU and Kansas. The schedule got re-worked, and we ended up playing LSU late in the season. Even though we lost, I

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think keeping the score close gave us a big boost going into the next ballgame and helped jump-start our championship run. Are the bigger schools shying away from playing you now? A little bit, and I understand why. There were times they were beating down our door to play us, but they seem a little reluctant to schedule us now because everybody needs six wins to qualify for a bowl game, and they really can’t afford to play a I-AA team that has the potential to beat them. It makes scheduling a lot more difficult, but we take it as a compliment. What do you want your players to remember you for? That’s something we talk about a lot here. I’m always asking our players, “What do you want to be remembered for?” I want to be remembered as a role model, and I want every player to walk away saying, “They were fair to me, and I got coached as hard as I could be coached. They got as much out of me as they could.” It’s sad when a kid’s eligibility is completed and he thinks, “I probably could have been a little better.”

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AGAINST THE GRAIN

IF IMITATION REALLY IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY, THEN FOOTBALL COACHES ARE A MOST SINCERE LOT. There are few secrets on the football field, so if a strategy works for one team, countless other teams inevitably follow suit. However, there are coaches who have found success by taking less traveled roads. These coaches buck the prevailing trends and eschew common offensive or defensive schemes. Coaches who have won by defying Some choose to use a lesserknown scheme because they point out how to succeed believe it best fits the skills and talents of their players. Others do so for the strategic advantage that This can mean running anything from comes with being unconventional. a wide-open passing attack like the one Whatever their motivation, they have Head Coach Mike Leach has developed found success by not being the same as at Texas Tech University, to old-school everyone else. ground-oriented offenses like the WingSome of these unconventional systems T or Double Wing. date back to the days of leather helmets, The first step to choosing a contrarwhile others are as new as officials using ian scheme is determining what everyinstant replay. Regardless of the age of one else is doing so you can shift the their systems, these coaches have found opposite way. For example, defenses that the benefits of being contrary can be geared toward stopping common sets substantial. As with most things in footlike the One-Back or Power-I, often ball, these rewards do not always come struggle to adjust when they encounter easily. But by doing the proper planning, a new formation. getting players to buy in, and sticking to “If you look from team to team, you’ll your guns, a contrary approach can be a find there’s a certain line split used by winning one. most offensive lines,” says John Reed, a former high school coach and author of Making The Switch a book on the Single Wing offense. “If Although some coaches have a phileveryone else is using two-foot line splits, osophical attachment to a particular offense or defense, in many cases the Nate Dougherty is an Assistant Editor at main goal of using a contrarian system Coaching Management. He can be reached at: nd@MomentumMedia.com. is to be different than everyone else.

COACHING MANAGEMENT

conventional wisdom while being different.

Thanks in part to Texas Tech’s unconventional wide-open offense, which sometimes leaves no one in the backfield, quarterback Graham Harrell threw for 4,555 yards and 38 touchdowns last season.

PICTURE MANN/MICHAEL STRONG

COVER STORY

we design a defense that takes advantage of our best players.” Not all contrarian offenses and defenses are relics of the past. Some schemes, like the Double Wing, can be learned by watching how-to videos created by coaches. And chances are there’s a coach in your area willing to show you how to get the scheme up and running, as well as how to avoid common mistakes. At Willamette University, Head Coach Mark Speckman often gets questions from coaches looking to run a variation of his Fly offense. “The more you can keep it Though Speckman used to closely simple and do a handful of guard the trade secrets of his energetic, motion-centered offense, he things with a high level of more open, even teaching execution, the more success- isit atnow clinics. ful you’ll be ... I’ve learned Regardless of what system you choose, Speckman warns that a it’s best to introduce the few film sessions or practice visits core concepts and not go are rarely enough to understand into a lot of the details at the nuances of a complicated offensive or defensive scheme. “A first. Once the kids have little bit of knowledge can be those basic concepts down dangerous,” he says. “There’s a coach I’ve known a long time pat, you can augment that who has sat in on a lot of my clinknowledge base and introics. One day he told me, ‘This is duce more advanced aspects the third time I’ve listened to you teach the Fly offense, and I think of the defense.” I finally got it.’ This offense takes some time to learn and somefalling out of favor, old coaching books times coaches think they can pick it up are one of the best sources for informa- after watching a couple of practices, but tion. Reed has found a treasure trove of eventually they learn it takes more of a knowledge waiting in libraries and used commitment.” Leach also suggests hitting the books book stores, which are an excellent starting point for a coach looking to use a and talking to coaches who use a particular system, but adds a caveat. “Read as much retro system. Some coaches, like Western Illinois you can, but don’t accept everything at University Defensive Coordinator face value,” he says. “What works for one Thomas Casey, look within, searching coach might not work for your team. It’s for an atypical scheme that will best fit best to actually watch someone else practheir players, rather than just trying to ticing and running the scheme, and draw be different. Casey’s unit runs a 3-3-5 information from them firsthand.” As uncommon schemes pick up adherdefense which places a priority on speed and athletic ability rather than size. For ents, the pool of knowledge increases. At teams lacking the prototypical hulking the University of New Mexico, Head defensive linemen, the formation offers Coach Rocky Long uses a 3-3-5 defense a chance to put their 11 best defenders he learned as an assistant to Joe Lee Dunn in the early 1980s. Because so on the field, regardless of size. “When I coached high school foot- few college teams used this formation ball, I’d hear great things about a when he began, Long didn’t have many defense and want to try it, but as I’ve opportunities to talk shop with other matured I’ve found it’s more important coaches. But as it’s become more poputo have a system that fits our athletes,” lar, he’s found that answering other Casey says. “Trying to find four quality coaches’ questions has actually helped defensive linemen is difficult, so instead him fine tune his system. you want to look into a system that uses either tighter splits or wider splits. If most teams have only one option to take the snap, you want to have three. You want to figure out what your opponents are doing, especially the stronger teams.” Once you’ve identified the prevailing trends, you can explore ways to run counter to them. Because many of the atypical schemes available to choose from were developed decades ago before

COACHING MANAGEMENT

“Ten or 15 years ago, when it was a lot newer, we were more secretive,” Long says. “But now, our staff learns a lot about the system by discussing it with others who are looking into doing something similar. They’ll ask questions we haven’t asked ourselves or remind us of things we did well in the past but have gone away from. That type of exchange among coaches is good for both parties, and it’s good for the game.” A Wing And A Player Once the decision to run a particular system is made, it’s important to remember that installing it requires much more than simply swapping out some pages in your play book. New systems will often requires players to take on new roles. When Bob Bourgette, Head Coach at Kennedy High School in Burien, Wash., switched to the Wing-T in 2002, he knew some personnel changes would be in order. To run the system effectively, Bourgette needed an agile quarterback with great hands who would be able to disguise hand-offs and basically serve as a point guard for the offense—even if that meant using a player who had never played quarterback before. “There are always people who can fill roles for any scheme, but sometimes you have to search hard to find them,” Bourgette says. “Your ideal quarterback might be the guy who was your tight end the year before. This year, we’re moving a wide receiver to quarterback because he’s got great speed and a great knowledge of the game.” For players used to filling traditional roles, some coaxing may be required before they fully grasp how they’ll now fit into a new scheme. For example, Willamette’s Fly offense calls for receivers to go into motion and take a lot of hand-offs, something most of the team’s wide outs did sparingly, if at all, in high school. Speckman says many receivers initially consider themselves too small to run the ball between the tackles, but eventually warm to the idea of becoming dual-threat players. “We had an all-league receiver this year who was strictly a run-and-catch wide receiver in high school,” Speckman says. “When he came here, we told him, ‘We’re going to throw you the ball, but we’re also going to hand it to you.’ Although he really saw himself as a wide receiver, the more we worked with him

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and told him he was just as good as a running back, the better he played. He became a very versatile player for us.” Flexibility is an important trait for coaches to have, even if it means reworking the playbook itself. While players can be coaxed into new roles, it’s up to the coach to identify what each player can and can’t do, and adjust accordingly. “Make some educated guesses about your personnel, then see how those guesses play out during training camp,” Speckman says. “You might discover one aspect of your attack isn’t as good as you had anticipated. For instance, maybe your perimeter can’t be blocked as well because this year’s receiver isn’t as good a blocker as his predecessor. “Sometimes, you have to go to plans B, C, and D,” Speckman adds. “There

have been plenty of times we’ve had to go quite deep for plans based on how our personnel shaped up.” At Texas Tech, Leach’s changes mirror the turnover of players filling each position. “You might have players more adept at doing certain things, so you’ve got to take a look at who you have and what they bring to the table, then tailor your playbook based on that,” Leach says. “We want the ability to attack the whole field and get the ball in everyone’s hands, but if we have a really good option runner one year, we’ll put in more option plays.” In all but the rarest cases, coaches using an off-beat system will have to build their players’ knowledge from the ground up. Since they’ve probably never seen a Wing-T offense or a 3-3-5 defense,

players will be experiencing something unfamiliar. When introducing a new scheme, it’s a good idea to keep things simple, both for the players and the coaches. Though his players often ask to learn the more advanced concepts of the 3-3-5 defense, Casey keeps his foot on the brakes in the early going. “The more you can keep it simple and do a handful of things with a high level of execution, the more successful you’ll be,” Casey says. “I’ve been teaching this package since 1993, and I’ve learned it’s best to introduce the core concepts and not go into a lot of the details at first. Once the kids have those basic concepts down pat, you can augment that knowledge base and introduce more advanced aspects of the defense.”

RECRUITING BATTLES

ne of the common complaints about atypical offensive and defensive approaches is that it hurts recruiting. From the high school side, the fear is that players in these schemes will become pigeon-holed and less attractive to college coaches. Not true, says Bob Bourgette, Head Coach at Kennedy High School in Burien, Wash. Employing a Wing-T offense, Bourgette has sent three running backs and a quarterback to Division I teams in the past five years. “The biggest rap is from people saying, ‘Oh my gosh, you play quarterback at a Wing-T school. You’ll never get recruited,’” Bourgette says. “College coaches are hired to recruit athletes, not schemes. If you’re a good athlete, the college coaches will find you.” On the college level, coaches with non-traditional schemes aren’t handcuffed when it comes to recruiting either. According to John Reed, former high school coach and author of a book on the Single Wing, college coaches with atypical approaches actually create a wider range of recruiting criteria. “If everyone else is running the same offense and defense, they all have to recruit the same kids,” Reed says. “If I’m a college coach who runs some-

COACHING MANAGEMENT

thing different, I can go out and look for kids who are excellent football players but maybe aren’t getting recruited because their size and skill sets don’t match up well with common formations. And a lot of them are guys whose athleticism I wouldn’t otherwise be able to get.” Sometimes the key to countering a player’s concerns about what your school doesn’t do is emphasizing what it does. At Willamette University, Head Coach Mark Speckman’s Fly offense spreads the rushing load among receivers and running backs and is a major change for running backs who are used to getting the bulk of their team’s carries. So Speckman lets his backs know they can still rack up plenty of yardage. “The pitch we give to running backs is, ‘Would you like to average 100 yards a game?’ and they all say yes,” he says. “Then we ask, ‘Do you care if you do that on 30 carries a game or 10?’ and most of the kids say, ‘It would be great to get 100 yards on 10 carries.’ “We do that to get kids to understand and buy into our system, since it’s not the same as anything they’ve seen before,” Speckman adds. “You’re always under the microscope when you’re doing something different, and you have to be able to sell it to the players.”

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COVER STORY

To help players focus on learning the basics, Leach suggests keeping the playbook thin and avoiding the temptation to throw in every play that catches your eye. “The difficulty isn’t in finding plays, it’s in selecting the right ones and narrowing them down to the ones that fit,” Leach says. “It’s tempting to do more and more because there’s so much good stuff out there. But what you really need is a small package that you can execute well.” Working The Plan Even after the unfamiliar becomes routine, the work continues. One of the ironies of running an atypical scheme is that the more success you have with it, the more familiar it becomes. Thus an approach that gains its strength from opponents’ unfamiliarity requires constant adjustments to keep it fresh. As opponents begin to key in on certain plays, it’s time to modify your contrarian approach to make sure it remains that way. “In order to be truly contrarian, after two or three years you have to look at

your approach and modify it a little bit,” Reed says. “It’s like an arms race—as soon as someone invents a tank, someone else comes up with an anti-tank weapon. Good opponents might not respect your scheme the first time around, but in the offseason they’re going to try to find ways to stop it.” As opponents become more familiar with your scheme and learn how to counter it, game-day adjustments also become more important. Anticipating how other teams might counter your approach and having back-up plans ready are important considerations. “You can find out in the first series or two what they want to take away from you,” Speckman says. “Maybe they’re keying on your tailback or focusing on your tackle outside game. So you’ve got to be ready to go to your belly offense and your trap and run inside. It’s a chess game. If they take away one thing, you’ve got to find an opening and come back and attack it.”

While tweaking your game plan is often necessary, it’s important not to go overboard with in-game adjustments. “You need to be constantly tinkering, but if you alter your entire approach,

If a contrarian scheme fails, it’s usually not the result of things going wrong on the field, but more likely because a coach loses his commitment to it in the face of critics. you’re going to lose a lot of games,” Leach says. “If there’s a better way to run a play, you’ll find it. I don’t think making a bunch of wholesale changes is productive for your players or your team.” Staying The Course Critics, of course, are part of the landscape for football coaches. Because very few teams use atypical defensive

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COVER STORY

schemes, Long says those who do typically attract even more skeptics. He usually counters their criticism with a dose of education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some people will assume that if they havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen an idea before there must be something wrong with it,â&#x20AC;? Long says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are great football minds who do things a lot differently, but some people wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe in something until itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful.

According to Reed, if a contrarian scheme fails, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usually not the result of things going wrong on the field, but more likely because a coach loses his commitment to it in the face of critics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You should be wary of pseudo-coachesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the radio guys and boosters who may see the coach as using a dated or desperate approach,â&#x20AC;? Reed says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you run one of these schemes, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to take a few years to get really good at it,

tered his share of nay-sayers who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like his change of paceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;especially parents. He says coaches wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ever silence all critics no matter how well they perform, so they need to grow a thick skin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just tell any parents or other critics this is whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to happen with this offense and this is how weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to execute it,â&#x20AC;? Bourgette says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I let them know we have the same interests in mind and they need to trust me when it

â&#x20AC;&#x153;You should be wary of pseudo-coachesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the radio guys and boosters who may see the coach as using a dated or desperate approach. If you run one of these schemes, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to take a few years to get really good at it, and you will hear some criticism along the way. But the problem typically isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t on the field, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the guts of the coach running it.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the critics truly want to understand what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing, and is not just spouting off for the sake of spouting off, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll try to educate them,â&#x20AC;? Long continues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those who understand the game will see why our approach will work.â&#x20AC;?

and you will hear some criticism along the way. But the problem typically isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t on the field, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the guts of the coach running it.â&#x20AC;? Though his team has had great success with the Wing-T, Bourgette encoun-

comes to making football-related decisions. It may sound abrupt, but you need to tell them off the bat, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is what we do. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had great success doing it, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to continue to have success.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? â&#x2013;

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2UTGERS 5NIVERSITYÂ&#x2C6;0ISCATAWAY .EW *ERSEY Circle No. 120 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Circle No. 121

LEADERSHIP

LESSONS FROM LOSING When losses start piling up, self-doubt is sure to follow. Should you change your approach? How can you keep student-athletes from growing frustrated? Here, a Hall of Fame high school coach offers advice for getting the most out of a losing season.

RICHARDORRSPORTS.COM

BY LEM ELWAY

I DON’T LIKE TO LOSE. I don’t even like to write about losing. But we’ve all been through it—having a losing season that doesn’t turn around no matter what you do. In today’s world, with parents scrutinizing your every move, you can’t just grit your teeth through a bad year. In fact, a sub-par season needs to be handled with as much care—if not more— than a winning season. Losses usually lead to questions and doubts: Should I alter my approach? Set new rules? Change my expectations? How do I keep athletes from getting frustrated? How do I keep them from losing confidence in me? Should I start

playing younger players and looking ahead to next year? How do I respond to the complaints of parents and fans? And how do I make sure I don’t lose my job? Your answers and actions will make a huge difference in how things turn out. Check In With Yourself It is important to realize that losing is not an indictment of your coaching ability. However, the way you react to losing can be. When losses pile up, your

values and leadership will be exposed in a new way. How you respond to adversity will show those around you what you’re really about. That’s why the first step to take when you start losing is to review your coaching philosophy. If you have a written philosophy, re-read it. It will help remind you why you coach, and for most of us, it’s not only about winning. Staying true to your coaching philosophy is paramount to keeping the situation positive.

Lem Elway has coached several sports, including football, at the middle school, high school, and college levels for nearly 30 years and is a member of the Washington State Coaches Hall of Fame. His first book, The Coach’s Administrative Handbook, has recently been published by Coaches Choice.

COACHING MANAGEMENT

LEADERSHIP

to feel negative about your players and evaluate why the team is losing and try to yourself when the losses pile up, and you turn things around. need to fight this every step of the way. Let your athletes and their parents Every word out of your mouth and all know that you are constantly analyzing your body language needs to convey that everything the team does to make whatyou have not lost hope. ever changes are needed. Break down It’s up to you to continue hustling, being enthusiastic, and bringI try to create the feeling that ing energy to practices and games. everyone must learn from each You must be as excited as ever when something good happens other’s mistakes in a construcand present nothing but positive tive manner. I also emphasize encouragement when things are that comments on individual not going right. mistakes are not to be taken Examine your words and your tone of voice. Yelling is not an personally. I try to convey the acceptable way to correct players, idea that figuring out what’s nor is foul language. Be a teacher going wrong and how to change and explain in a confident voice the it is a fun, dynamic process. mistake that was made. Every time you open your mouth, something constructive should come out. every game and figure out what went wrong and what went right. Know what Evaluate Why You’re Losing A key part of getting through a losing your athletes are doing well and what they season is making sure athletes and par- need to improve on. Are there problems ents do not lose confidence in you. The with concentration, technical skills, or best way to ensure this is to continually communication? Have you neglected to teach them something? What will you do in practice to work on those problems? I am a firm believer in the motto, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” and when we’re losing, I ask myself if there is a weak link in our offense or defense. I use statistics and performance analysis to The worst part about a losing season is that it find areas that need improvement. Then, gives people license to question your decisions I work with those athletes to improve their and objectives. I can think of several coaches who posted skills, or I increase the number of athletes continuous winning seasons, had one losing season, and were sudworking at the position so I can make a denly faced with all sorts of questions that led to their firing. change if necessary. Either the athlete gets The key to avoiding the one-bad-season axe is to communicate better or I alter the lineup. with parents and administrators and educate them about what Throughout all these evaluations, I you’re trying to do. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that it is not make sure I am communicating well. only important to mold players, but also their parents, who can be After games, I talk to players about what very vocal if the team begins to lose. caused the team to lose and what we need to do to improve. I post producFor example, I hold a clinic just for parents, where our coaching staff tion sheets on the locker room bulletin presents the fundamentals we are trying to teach in our program board so my athletes can see the facts and explains why we teach techniques the way we do. We periodiof their performance, and I let them cally have pre- and post-event get togethers and dinners for team know that I am evaluating them on their members and families, and I regularly send group e-mails to update hustle, teamwork, and attitude. parents on schedule changes and team notes. When the team is losI also ask them to evaluate themselves ing, I intensify this communication, spending even more time talking to parents about what we are trying to do. using one question: Did you give 100percent effort today? If they can answer During a losing season, it can be tempting to hunker down, avoid yes, then I feel we are achieving our goals. contact, and communicate less than usual. Fighting this urge can Each athlete needs to answer this question earn you a new level of respect from parents and administrators. It for himself, not for me or anyone else. can also help you keep your job. At the same time, I emphasize that we’re all in this together. I try to create the feeling that everyone must learn

Here are three critical areas that will define who you are during a losing season: Consistent Expectations: During a losing season, it can be tempting to lower your standards for player behavior and work ethic. However, your players gain nothing from you lowering your expectations. If you expect them to get to practice 10 minutes early every day when the team is winning, you should continue to do so when they’re losing. If you give out an award in practice every week to the player who works hardest, you should continue doing it, even if it feels like that hard work isn’t paying off. Emotional Control: For both players and coaches, keeping emotions in check becomes more difficult when the losses keep coming. But this is the time when your leadership and maturity are most needed to set an example for your athletes. Take the time to go over your rules on behavior more frequently than usual, and don’t hesitate to quickly call players on any negative actions. Staying Positive: It’s extremely easy

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Circle No. 122

LEADERSHIP

from each other’s mistakes in a constructive manner. I also emphasize that comments on individual mistakes are not to be taken personally. I try to convey the idea that figuring out what’s going wrong and how to change it is a fun, dynamic process. Tough Decisions Once you’ve determined why your team is losing, you may be faced with some difficult decisions. The most

Individual vs. Team: What if there’s one athlete who is trying to play at the next level but the team is hindering him? I still base everything we do on team goals—not on the individual. I let my best players know that for them to get the recognition they’ve worked for, the team must be successful. If they continue to work hard on an individual basis, the team will succeed. The message from the coach must be that both goals are intertwined.

If young people can be held accountable and accept responsibility for their part in a loss, they are learning a wonderful life lesson. If they can say, “I wasn’t giving 100-percent effort today” or “I botched the play,” they can figure out how to change their attitude or skills to help make sure it doesn’t happen again. important thing is for you to be able to justify your actions in whatever you do, because sometimes, you’ll need to make tough decisions. Here are some big questions that can arise:

I also remind athletes that if they want to play at the next level, college recruiters watch everything they do. If they see an athlete only trying to impress the recruiter and not being a team player,

Circle No. 123

that will not make a good impression. Sitting Seniors: What if you decide that a senior on the team is a weak link? I always convey to seniors that they should be the strongest members of the team, but if they aren’t the best at their position, they should expect no favors. If an underclassman begins to play better than a senior, I will not hesitate to start the younger athlete. However, I always have factual information to support my decision and I often make it a gradual transition. I’ve also learned that, during these changes, it is critical for a coach to protect younger players from an older player’s abuse. This can be an emotional time for a senior and his parents, who are faced with losing their role and stature on the team. This should never be underestimated, and the coach must communicate well and offer compassion and understanding. When Players Quit: Some players are not able to deal with losing and may decide to quit the team during the season. As a coach, be ready to deal with

LEADERSHIP

that possibility. Be aware some will go quietly, while others will make a scene. Some might also direct their animosity toward you. In this situation, always take the high road in your reaction. It is imperative that your team is ready to regroup quickly and move on with the players who have decided to remain. If possible, I try to talk to every kid who quits to find out why. I think about their reason and if I, as a coach, feel I did something to make them quit, I try to change that part of my coaching. If the reasons for quitting come down to simply not having the right attitude, I wish them the best and tell them I’m glad they were part of the program. Make It A Learning Experience We’ve all heard the saying, “You can learn more from losing than winning,” but the operative word there is can— this learning doesn’t happen automatically. You need to seize the teachable moments of losing. To start, I always ask my players how they want to be remembered when they

leave high school. Do they want to be the athlete who fought through adversity, or the athlete who helped bring the team down? I explain that one’s true character comes out during tough times, and if they can hold their heads high while losing, they’ll know how to hold their heads high when they experience adversity in their adult lives. If they can hold onto a “never give up” attitude in sports, they will go far in anything they choose to do. We also talk about how losing can bring us together or tear us apart. One season I started with seven seniors who had minimal varsity experience from the previous year. Over the season the players developed togetherness and support for each other, and the team won the league championship. The energy created by hard work fueled everything. Communication is key to the learning process. I make sure there are times when athletes can voice their frustrations, either one-on-one with me or in a group. They need to be able to express themselves, and I let them know they can talk to me to let off steam. At the same time,

they know that they will be held accountable for what they say to the whole team. What do I do when an individual athlete or an entire team has endured a particularly dismal outing? I believe it is good for athletes to face the reality of “being down,” especially when their performance has helped create the situation. If young people can be held accountable and accept responsibility for their part in a loss, they are learning a wonderful life lesson. If they can say, “I wasn’t giving 100-percent effort today” or “I botched the play,” they can figure out how to change their attitude or skills to help make sure it doesn’t happen again. Through it all, I always try to teach the ultimate lesson—that sports are fun, no matter what the score is. I always want to accentuate the positives and show interest in the present. We laugh and joke every day. Win or lose, you need to keep true to your philosophy and your role as a mentor of young people. ■ Versions of this article have appeared in other editions of Coaching Management.

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Circle No. 124 Circle No. 125

results

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

GAIN WITHOUT PAIN JAY CONNER MD/BC MEDIA RELATIONS

BY VERN GAMBETTA

Hard work is the bedrock of any successful strength-training program. But pushing players to lift until it hurts can do far more harm than good.

ometime in the 1500s, English poet Robert Herrick used the phrase “no pain, no gain” in his writings. He was conveying the idea that if you don’t work really hard at something, you won’t benefit from it—a good, noble phrase from a well-respected poet of his day. Ben Franklin and, a little closer to home, Adlai Stevenson, also used the maxim with success. They, too, were promoting the value of hard work. More recently, “no pain, no gain” has been connected with athletics. Today’s coaches motivate their athletes with the phrase and it has become the mantra of the hard-working team. The problem is that coaches and players can take the phrase too literally. For

many athletes today, experiencing pain is linked to working out. They approach the weight stack with the assumption that a little hurt is what will get them to the next level. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. For sure, proper training in the weightroom or on the field demands that players be pushed to their limits. And there is no doubt that a good coach can get players to accomplish things beyond what they ever thought possible. But achieving this does not Vern Gambetta is the President of Gambetta Sports Training Systems in Sarasota, Fla., and a frequent contributor to Coaching Management. His daily thoughts on training athletes can be viewed on his blog at: www. functionalpathtraining.blogspot.com.

COACHING MANAGEMENT

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

mean you have to inflict pain. In fact, pain is a red flag that something is wrong with the workout. Why Not Push It? The main reason not to push your players to their threshold of pain is that it won’t help them achieve their strength and conditioning goals. To make gains in the weightroom, it’s critical to follow a progression. An athlete should not move to a higher weight until he has mastered the weight he is at. If an athlete has pain,

his body is struggling to adapt and needs rest. If you push more weight on a body in pain, it will lead to more pain and no adaptation. It may even eventually lead to injury. It is important to understand the various stimuli that cause an adaptive response to strength training and how they correspond to your specific goals. If the goal is to build mass, then volume is the stimulus. If the goal is to train the muscles to aid in performing specific tasks, then intensity is the primary

stimulus. To make gains, it is necessary to achieve a certain stimulus threshold. This threshold is dependent on the individual and the objective of the training. In addition, some workouts should be very difficult and others should almost seem easy. This ebb and flow of challenge intensity is essential for proper adaptation. The question I always ask coaches when I am teaching at a clinic is: Are you making your players better, or are you making them tired? If you are just making them tired, I suggest you reconsider your approach. You need to continually keep the big picture in mind: achieving the training objective entails more than just pushing to pain at every workout. Another reason not to push your athletes to their very limit is that it can wear them out at a time when you need them fresh. It is important to remember that the weightroom is only one facet of a player’s preparation. If you expect them to peak in the weightroom, what will they have left for practice? And, more importantly, what will they have left when the game reaches the fourth quarter? I don’t know about you, but I want my players tough on gameday. That should be the goal of training. A thoroughly conditioned athlete who is supremely confident in his preparation will be mentally and physically tough. But an athlete can only go to the well so many times before it will begin to run dry. Push a “no pain, no gain” message in the weightroom, and you risk depleting that well and leaving the athlete with nothing in the tank for competition. Know The Line The obvious question, then, is: What is the line between working hard and overdoing it during weightroom workouts? I tell my athletes they are like finely tuned race cars. To stay in top shape, they must work with high energy and push themselves. But just like race cars, they cannot be at the red line all the time or there will be a breakdown. The test of work done in the weightroom is soreness. There is good soreness and bad soreness. Good soreness is soreness in the muscles involved in a particular movement, such as the glutes in squatting. If the glutes are sore after a heavy squatting session, that is good. However, if there is soreness in the joints, that is not good. For example, if

Circle No. 126

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STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

the knees are sore after squatting, that is a bad sign. It often means the training is being performed incorrectly. In addition, soreness that persists is a red flag. The inability to recover for the next workout often indicates that the athlete is at red line all the time, or the workload was excessive. Soreness should dissipate after a good thorough warmup the next day. An unexpected performance plateau is another sign that an athlete is doing too much. During a time when performance should be rising, a plateau or decline indicates that there is a problem. The athlete may very well be pushing too hard. Holding Them Back Even if your workouts have the proper progression and you’re asking your athletes about any soreness they are experiencing, you need to be on the lookout for those players who take the “no pain, no gain” mantra literally. There will always be

athletes who want to go past their limits every day, and they need to be reined in. As coaches we are teachers, and it is our job to show our athletes how to train. I certainly do not want to discourage an athlete from working hard in the weightroom—or anywhere for that matter—but I feel I must teach them that training is more than feeling the burn. It’s sometimes hard for a young athlete to think about the big picture, so I try to make it very clear where they are going and outline the steps they must take to get there. The first thing I explain is that training is cumulative. Progress is not made through one heavy max session in the weightroom, but through the cumulative effect of many sessions over a period of weeks and months. I also talk about how workouts in the weightroom correlate to their performance. I tell them why and how a certain lift will help them on the field, and why overdoing it will hurt their performance. If they are very

Here’s one more good reason not to push players to the point of pain during their workouts: It can result in injury. And injuries that may have been preventable can lead to lawsuits. Two years ago, Scott Koffman, a former pitcher at Brigham Young University, filed a $9.2 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the school and one of its strength and conditioning coaches, claiming a weight-training injury ended his hopes of playing professionally. The suit said the pitcher suffered three herniated disks in September 2001 after being forced by the coach to lift too much weight. While performing an elevated leg press, Koffman says that he tried removing some weight from the press and was stopped by an assistant strength and conditioning coach who called him a vulgar name, added another 100 pounds, and ordered him to lift. The lawsuit indicated that Koffman suffered the injury on the first repetition he attempted. Although Koffman participated in 16 games during the season following the injury, he says the pain eventually became too severe to continue his career. He claims it also affected his ability to study, causing his grades to drop. Once drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, Koffman says he is no longer able to be even moderately active and that he will be affected physically and financially for the rest of his life. In February 2005, BYU and Koffman settled out of court, though terms were not disclosed. School officials claim they provided Koffman with adequate medical care, although they have not commented on the strength coach’s actions. — R.J. Anderson

LE GA L LY S PE A K I N G Circle No. 127 KandK_CM1504.indd 1

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STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

driven on a daily basis, I ask them to put that effort into performing their lifts with concentration and intensity—making their technique perfect and exploding at exactly the right moment. Another part of the solution is giving athletes strength and conditioning goals—the more individualized, the better. This provides direction and purpose to the training. It helps the athlete see each workout not as a one-time heroic effort, but as part of the big picture. It is also important to provide a lot of feedback, especially for the very driven athlete who has formerly worked with a “no pain, no gain” coach. For this athlete, the hurt that comes from training may be seen as a form of feedback. If it hurts, they think that’s good, and it gives them the incentive to keep going. This is not an easy athlete to work with because in their eyes you are taking away the opportunity to get better. The solution is to provide this person with a lot of feedback and motivate them in different ways. Also, they must not be allowed any leeway in their workouts.

Testing is a great way to provide feedback to all your players and show them they are achieving gain without pain. The tests should be carefully chosen to accurately reflect what is going on in training at the present time. Young, developing athletes, especially, want to see tangible progress. Testing reinforces the positive effects of proper training. Some day-to-day solutions include providing close supervision and structuring the training away from big lifts. I have seen too many athletes get caught up in the moment and try lifts they had no business attempting. It should be clear what the protocol is every day, and coaches should circulate around the weightroom to ensure that athletes aren’t trying to do more than what is prescribed. I know some coaches who make a conscious effort to downplay any competition over who can lift the most weight, and that tends to work well. Others have had success by de-emphasizing one-rep maximums. Instead, they use three-rep maximums and project a one-rep max off of that. This can help

reduce an athlete’s temptation to try to lift too much at once. Not A Punishment Part of the problem with the “no pain, no gain” mentality is that it leads coaches and athletes to think: More is better and the more weight someone lifts the better, regardless of the technique (or lack thereof). In addition, some coaches use workouts as punishment. If someone isn’t listening, they do 100 push-ups. But training is not punishment, and it should not be thought of as such. It is an opportunity to get better. If we can shift our thinking in these two areas—realizing that more is not always better and ensuring that training has a specific purpose—then the “no pain, no gain” school of thought will have a lot less credibility. And our players will, ultimately, make the most gains. ■ Versions of this article have appeared in other editions of Coaching Management, as well as our sister publication, Training & Conditioning.

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7HY IS ATTENTION TO DETAIL SO IMPORTANT IN STRENGTH COACHING )T S EASY TO FOCUS ON THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXERCISES YOU WANT ATHLETES TO DO "UT IT SHOULD BE JUST AS IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON HOW ATHLETES ARE PERFORMING THE EXERCISES 4HE lRST PRIORITY IS OBVIOUSLY THAT THEY RE WORKING OUT SAFELY SO THEY WON T INJURE THEMSELVES BUT THAT S NOT ALL )F A MOVEMENT OR LIFT ISN T DONE PROPERLY THE ATHLETE ISN T GOING TO SEE THE RESULTS OR EXPERIENCE THE BENElTS OF THEIR HARD WORK #AN YOU GIVE SOME EXAMPLES ! BIG PART OF MAXIMIZING SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS IN A WORKOUT IS KEEPING ATHLETES FROM BEING TOO LOAD CONSCIOUS 4HEY CAN T FOCUS ONLY ON LIFTING 8 NUMBER OF POUNDS THOUGH MANY WANT TO APPROACH THE WEIGHTROOM THAT WAY 4HAT S WHEN THE STRENGTH COACH NEEDS TO STEP IN AND SAY h)F YOU WANT TO DO THE LIFT SAFELY AND WORK THE RIGHT MUSCLE GROUPS WITHOUT COMPENSATING OR INTEGRATING OTHER MUSCU LAR STRUCTURES INTO THE MOVEMENT LET S lRST FOCUS ON PROPER TECHNIQUE AT A LOWER WEIGHT /NCE YOU VE GOT THAT WE CAN ADD MORE v )T S ALSO IMPORTANT TO KEEP IT SIMPLE ATHLETES IN THE WEIGHTROOM CAN ONLY RETAIN SO MUCH INFORMATION DAY TO DAY ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY RE BALANCING STRENGTH TRAINING WITH ACADEMICS AND THEIR SPORT )N OUR PROGRAM ATHLETES WORK ON THE SAME BASIC EXERCISES EVERY YEAR THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREER DURING PRESEASON IN SEASON AND OFF SEASON 4HE BIGGEST hBANG FOR OUR BUCKv COMES FROM THE MOVE MENTS THEIR BODIES HAVE LEARNED TO DO AND GROWN COMFORT ABLE WITH AND THAT S WHEN WE CAN BE MOST PROGRESSIVE IN TERMS OF THE WEIGHT LOAD (OW DO YOU TEACH ATHLETES THE lNE POINTS OF PERFORMING A LIFT PROPERLY 4HE lRST THING WE DO IS IDENTIFY THE MUSCLES OR THE BODY AREA WE RE TARGETING WITH THE EXERCISE 7E DON T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED IF WE RE TEACHING A LAT PULLDOWN WE SAY WHICH MUSCLE GROUPS WE RE TRYING TO OVERLOAD AND EXACTLY WHERE

THE ATHLETE SHOULD FEEL THE MOST TENSION 4HEN WE START FROM THE GROUND UP )F THE EXERCISE IS DONE IN A STANDING POSITION WE TALK ABOUT POS TURE KEEPING SOFT KNEES LOCKING IN THE ABDOMINALS RETRACT ING THE SHOULDER BLADES AND MAINTAINING STABILITY )T S NOT JUST hSTAND UP AND PRESS THE BAR OVER YOUR HEAD v $URING LIFTS HOW DO YOU REINFORCE PROPER FORM AND CORRECT ANY FAULTS 7E DEVELOP TEACHING CUES FOR OUR ATHLETES ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS ) DON T THINK THERE S A SINGLE SET OF CUES THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE AND WHAT YOU TELL ONE ATHLETE MIGHT NOT MAKE SENSE TO ANOTHER )T S IMPORTANT TO TRY DIFFERENT WAYS TO COMMUNICATE AND lND WHAT WORKS BEST FOR EACH PERSON &OR EXAMPLE ONE OF THE CORE EXERCISES WE TEACH ATHLETES EARLY ON IS CALLED THE FRONT BRIDGE SOME PROGRAMS CALL IT THE PLANK THE ATHLETE IS ON THEIR ELBOWS AND TOES AND THEY hLOCK INv SO THAT EVERYTHING IS TIGHT )N THE WEIGHTROOM IF WE RE WORKING ON A SQUAT OR ANY OTHER EXERCISE THAT REQUIRES TIGHTENING UP THE ABDOMINALS ) LL USE THE CUE h) WANT FRONT BRIDGE ABS v 2IGHT AWAY THE ATHLETE KNOWS WHAT ) M TALKING ABOUT "UT MAYBE ANOTHER ATHLETE DOESN T RELATE TO THAT CUE 3O ) LL SAY TO HIM h2IGHT BEFORE YOU SQUAT ) WANT YOU TO TIGHTEN UP LIKE YOU KNOW ) M ABOUT TO PUNCH YOU IN THE STOMACH v .ATURALLY HE S GOING TO TIGHTEN UP HIS ABDOMINALS 4HE CUE HELPS HIM SET UP THE PROPER BODY STRUCTURE IN THIS CASE TIGHTNESS IN THE CORE AND HE KEEPS THAT IN MIND WHEN PERFORMING THE SQUAT )T S IMPORTANT TO KEEP CUES SIMPLE AND USE THEM CONSISTENT LY )F YOU RE HANDS ON ALWAYS OBSERVING ATHLETES WON T LET FORM POSTURE OR OTHER DETAILS SLIP OVER THE COURSE OF WEEKS AND MONTHS DOING THE SAME LIFTS 3OMETIMES THE MOMENT YOU STOP COACHING A LIFT IS THE MOMENT AN ATHLETE WILL STOP DOING IT RIGHT !ND ONCE THEY ADOPT A BAD HABIT DURING AN EXERCISE IT CAN TAKE TWICE AS LONG TO CORRECT IT

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Circle No. 130

HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONS

TIEING UP A TITLE In his first season as Head Coach at an 11-year-old school, J.W. Kenton used Windsor knots to help his players prepare for the biggest game of their lives.

BY ABIGAIL FUNK

COACHING MANAGEMENT

HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONS

MANUEL S. HENRIQUES (3)

The week before a state championship game, you might expect to find a team preparing by watching film or thumbing through playbooks an hour before practice. But it was a different picture at King Kekaulike High School in Pukalani, Hawai’i, in the days leading up to the Hawai’i High School Athletic Association Division II State Championship. Instead, Head Coach J.W. Kenton would show up at the field to find his team sitting in small groups fumbling with Windsor knots. “When you dress up in Hawai’i it’s tradition to wear an Aloha shirt,” Kenton, a University of Florida graduate, explains. “Even adults don’t wear ties. But I wanted the athletes to understand that we were going over to Oahu to take care of business, so I taught them—and the coaching staff—how to tie a tie. It’s not normal for them to be at practice an hour early, so it was amazing when we showed up and found them sitting on the grass and in the stands helping each other.” Kenton told his team that if they had the knot tying down by Wednesday, they wouldn’t have to wear them to the game that weekend. But the seniors told him during the week that they were ready to take care of business and wanted to wear the ties anyway. “That diversion of focusing on something besides football helped reduce some of the pressure building that week,” Kenton says. “It helped immensely.” The pressure of the postseason was certainly new to a football program and school only 11 years old. King Kekaulike High finished with just four wins the previous season, and 2006 was Kenton’s first year as head coach. To top it off, no neighbor island team had made it to the championship game before. “Because this program is so young, there was no tradition of being in championships,” Kenton says. “There aren’t a lot of alumni, and we’re still developing pride in the program.” Kenton is happy to say that King Kekaulike now has an abundance of pride. The day the team left for the game, the principal released the whole

school for a special send off. A wide sidewalk that extends through the middle of campus was lined with hundreds of students and the entire faculty and staff. Led by Kenton, the 52 necktie-clad players marched down the sidewalk single file through a softly clapping human tunnel. “I turned around at the end of that sidewalk and saw that nearly every player had tears in his eyes, and then all of I sudden I had tears in mine as well,” Kenton recalls. “At that moment I felt like I had done my job. They bought into the system and had emotion for what we were doing. Win or lose, it didn’t matter. That was the greatest moment of the year.” Inside Aloha Stadium, King Kekaulike took care of business in efficient fashion, beating previously undefeated Kauai High School, 33-20. Kenton says his defense struggled all year, allowing 20 and sometimes 30 points in a win, which put pressure on the offense to win games. But in the state championship game, that all changed. Less than two minutes after kickoff, the King Kekaulike defense forced two turnovers, returning both for touchdowns, and they were off to a 14-0 lead. Kauai got on the board in the first quarter, but King Kekaulike’s 20 firstquarter points set the tone for the rest of the game. To Kenton’s delight, his defense forced four more turnovers. “Our offense was used to being the main attraction, but our defense showed up and really played their hearts out,” Kenton says. “I told myself that we didn’t have to show any razzle dazzle, just manage the game, run the clock, and win.” In its semifinal game the week before, however, it was a razzle dazzle play that ultimately won the game. Down by five points with seconds on the clock, Kenton called a team-favorite double-handoff run-pass option they had used earlier in the season. The first two handoffs went smoothly, but the pitch to quarterback Shelton Bangasan bounced off his helmet as he eyed an open receiver downfield. “You could feel all the energy in the stadium just die when the ball hit the ground,” Kenton says. “It was all happening five yards from me. I felt like I could have reached out and touched the ball.”

School: King Kekaulike High School, Pukalani, Hawai’i Head Coach: J.W. Kenton 2006 Season: 8-3-1, Hawai’i High School Athletic Association Division II State Champions Notes: King Kekaulike handed Kauai its only loss of the season in the championship game… 2006 marked the first time a team from the island of Maui reached the state championship game … In the state semifinals, the Na Ali’i pulled out a wild 38-37 win against defending state champion Iolani as time expired.

Varsity Assistant Coaches: Brandon Nagata, Chad Hashimoto, Chris Porter, Dick Gaskell, Herbert Kalama, James Hapakuka, Joey Tamayose, Ka’eo Ripani, Kepa Sarduy, Mark Makimoto, Peter Ralph, Michelle Kaho’ohanohano

A calm Bangasan turned and ran a few yards to the ball, but his momentum caused him to kick it back even further. Still surprisingly calm, Bangasan nonchalantly walked to the ball, picked it up, took one step to the left, and fired it to an open receiver in the end zone before being flattened by a defender. Kenton says it was like watching a movie as the ball was caught with no time left on the clock. That one-point semifinal win helped create a solid mindset leading into the state championship game. “People were asking me if we were a team of destiny,” Kenton says. “I downplayed that idea, but we definitely walked around with an enormous amount of confidence because we did something special. We felt invincible.” Abigail Funk is an Assistant Editor at Coaching Management. She can be reached at: afunk@MomentumMedia.com.

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Circle No. 131

HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP SOLUTIONS

Dulles High School, TX Winning League Record, 2006 Need: Dulles High School needed a way to better organize its football special teams during games. Solution: The Huddle Zone™ special teams mat gives special teams players a specific location at which to huddle and call plays before going into the game, eliminating costly penalties and lost time-outs. Its tough industrial matrix fabric is cleat-proof, and the entire edge is internally chainweighted to make it wind-proof and easy to install without stakes. It lays over sideline tur f protectors, and can easily travel with your team to away games.

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Stephen-Argyle High School, MN Minnesota Nine-Man Champion, 2003-2006 Need: Head Football Coach Mark Kroulik wanted to find a receiver glove that provided warmth and grip to assist his players in the cold Minnesota weather during their playoff run.

Don Bosco Preparatory High School, NJ Non-Public Group 4 State Champion Need: Don Bosco Prep needed a field with consistent playability characteristics to help the school’s young athletes develop championship-caliber skills.

Solution: Kroulik found his answer with Cutters winterized receiver gloves. The gloves provided superior warmth and grip in the cold, wet weather and helped StephenArgyle make it all the way to a fourth consecutive championship.

Solution: The FieldTurf system replicates a good natural grass surface but offers the durability and cost benefits of a synthetic field. FieldTurf is a safe alternative that results in a documented reduction in sports injuries. Widely praised by coaches, players, and field owners, FieldTurf is the industry’s premier turf product designed to simulate the characteristics of good natural grass.

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FieldTurf Tarkett 800-724-2969 Fax: 514-340-9374 www.fieldturftarkett.com Circle No. 502

Check out AthleticBid.com to contact these companies

Heritage Hills High School, IN 3A State Champion, 2000; Runner-Up, 2004 Need: Heritage Hills needed a punting and kicking cage that would help the football team reach a new level of success. Solution: Athletic Director Jay Burch turned to M.A.S.A. and got a great price on the company’s Punting & Kicking Cage. “M.A.S.A. has ver y impressive customer ser vice with cutting-edge products,” Burch says. “Not only have they helped us in our football program, but we also count on M.A.S.A. to help us with all our other sports equipment needs.”

M.A.S.A. 800-264-4519 Fax: 812-634-2036 www.masa.com Circle No. 503

Douglas S. Freeman High School, VA Eight District Titles in Program History Need: Douglas S. Freeman was constructing a new strength center. Strength Coach Jim Roney wanted a rack and platform system that would allow multiple student-athletes to work out at one time. Solution: Coach Roney chose the Power Lift 6-Post Rack with a Lever Action bench and Olympic lifting platforms. “Power Lift worked with us on designing racks that would work for our facility,” Roney says. “Everyone, male and female, uses the Power Lift racks—from our senior football players to our freshman tennis players.”

Power Lift 800-872-1543 Fax: 515-386-3220 www.power-lift.com Circle No. 504

West Monroe High School, LA 5A State Champion, 2005 Need: Head Coach Don Shows was looking for equipment that would develop his players’ explosiveness, quickness, endurance, and vertical jump. Solution: Coach Shows chose the Bear, the Attacker, the Dominator, and the HighStepper from Powernetics. “Powernetics is the core of our training program,” says Shows. “It has made a major contribution to our success.”

Powernetics 800-829-2928 Fax: 936-594-6625 www.powernetics.com Circle No. 505 COACHING MANAGEMENT

HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP SOLUTIONS

Timpview High School, UT State Champion, 2006 Need: Timpview Head Coach Louis Wong needed a high-performance synthetic field at an affordable price. Solution: Pro Fields came to the aid of Coach Wong and his team with the allinclusive G3 package. This new monofilament turf system features a two-tone blend to better simulate real grass. Pro Fields also installed a deluxe drainage system at no extra cost. Now, thanks to Pro Fields, Timpview has an elite playing surface—and the Utah state title.

Pro Fields, a Pro Look Sports subsidiary 888-KIK-GRASS Fax: 801-377-4427 www.profields.com Circle No. 506

The Bolles School, FL Undefeated Season, State Champion, 2006 Need: Athletic Director Matt Morris needed a field that was versatile and safe enough for an athletic department that had been named “best overall athletic program” by the Florida High School Athletic Association. Solution: The new ProGrass surface at Bolles provides a safe, durable, high-quality practice and playing environment for the j.v. and varsity football, girls’ and boys’ soccer, and boys’ lacrosse teams. The field is also the site of activities such as Bolles summer camps and the San Marco-San Jose Relay for Life.

ProGrass, LLC 866-270-6003 Fax: 412-391-2270 www.prograssturf.com Circle No. 507

Lumen Christi Catholic High School, MI Winner of Four State Championships Need: Withington Community Stadium needed a new sports lighting system to replace an aging one that was creating excessive glare in the surrounding neighborhood. Solution: Qualite’s Pro Series 45V fixtures effectively controlled the spill light. This football field is considered a showcase facility in Michigan, and as the host site for several regional playoff games every year, it has played a significant role in Lumen Christi’s run of four state championships.

Qualite Sports Lighting 800-933-9741 Fax: 517-439-1194 www.qualite.com Circle No. 508

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HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP SOLUTIONS

Rockford High School, MI Division Champion, 2005 Need: Head Football Coach Ralph Munger needed a safe and efficient way to train championship-caliber blockers and tacklers. Solution: Munger’s players train with a sevenman Mod Sled, a 20’ Trap Chute with boards, a one-man Pop Up Tackle Sled, Scout Pop-Up Dummies, an Open Field Tackle machine, and lots of Agiles and Standup Dummies, all from Rogers Athletic. “Rogers Athletic products reinforce proper technique in areas like footwork and placement of the head and shoulders,” Munger says. “The quality is outstanding, and the design is well-researched and very userfriendly. Also, the service from Rogers is phenomenal—if you have any problem whatsoever, the company takes care of it immediately.”

Rogers Athletic Co. 800-248-0270 Fax: 888-549-9659 www.rogersathletic.com Circle No. 509

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Fruitland High School, ID Class 3A Champion, 2006 Need: NFL lineman Jordan Gross wanted a first-class weight training facility for his alma mater. He wanted to purchase the best equipment for the available space, and customize each piece to incorporate the school’s color scheme and logo.

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Solution: The sales/production team at Samson Equipment worked directly with Gross on every aspect of the job—from floor layouts and paint/upholstery choices to price quotations on specific pieces of equipment. Samson produced custom Double Sided Power Racks and Combination Benches with custom paint jobs and embroidered logos, as well as dumbbells, a custom Samson Pillar Station, Glute Ham Benches, and Leg Extension/Leg Curl machines. Samson even provided rubber flooring that matched the unique color scheme at Fruitland.

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Samson Weight Training Equipment 800-472-6766 Fax: 505-523-2100 www.samsonequipment.com Circle No. 510

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40 Gal. Power Model John Glenn High School, IN Semi-State Runner-Up, 2004; Sectional Champion, 2001 Need: John Glenn’s football program needed a renovated equipment storage room that would offer better organization, access, and security. Solution: “The GearBoss™ storage system helps with equipment inventory,” says Athletic Director Justin Bogunia. “Rather than digging through boxes, it’s easy to roll the carts aside to see what you have.” Bogunia also enjoys having the flexibility to configure each cart to best suit the football team’s needs. “Protecting our school’s sizable investment in athletic equipment is another benefit,” he says, adding that the amount his program has spent on equipment far exceeds the cost of the GearBoss carts.

Wenger Corp. 800-4-WENGER Fax: 507-455-4258 www.wengercorp.com Circle No. 511

Beckman High School, CA New Football Program Started Season 5-0 Need: Beckman’s coach needed a kicking net for place-kickers to use during practice and on the sidelines. Solution: “The kicking net from Wizard Sports Equipment is top-of-the-line,” says Coach Bohn. “It’s easy to set up and transport, and the carrying case is convenient for taking it along on road trips. The advantage of Wizard products is that you always get quality athletic equipment at good prices, and the service is great.”

Wizard Sports Equipment 888-964-5425 Fax: 714-974-1852 www.wizardsports.com Circle No. 512

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Power Lift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Powernetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC Pro Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3 Professional Turf Products . . . . . . . 28 ProGrass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Qualite Sports Lighting . . . . . . . . . . 19 Reebok . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Rogers Athletic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Samson Weight Equipment . . . . . . . 38 Sportexe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC Sprinturf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Stromgren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 TuffStuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Turface Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Ultimate Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Under Armour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Village Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 WaterBoy Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 WeatherBeater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Wizard Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Xvest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

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50 COACHING MANAGEMENT

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Powernetics (Bulldog/Attacker) . . . . . . 62 Powernetics (championship solution) . . . 47 Powernetics (Power Trainer). . . . . . . . . 62 Pro Fields (championship solution) . . . . 48 Pro Fields (turf) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Pro Look Sports (coach’s gear) . . . . . . 66 Pro Look Sports (uniforms) . . . . . . . . . 66 Professional Turf Products . . . . . . . 56 Profile Products (Field & Fairway Emerald) . 57 Profile Products (Keep America Playing) . . . 57 ProGrass (championship solution) . . . . . 48 ProGrass (turf) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Qualite Sports Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Qualite Sports Lighting (championship sol.) . 48 Qualite Sports Lighting (lighting systems) . . 57 Reebok (cleats) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Reebok (training apparel) . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Rogers Athletic (Brute Rack system) . . . 63 Rogers Athletic (championship solution) . 49 Rogers Athletic (Monster Arms) . . . . . . . 63 Samson (championship solution) . . . . . . 49 Samson (Pillar Station) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Samson (Platform with Logo). . . . . . . . . 57 Southern Bleacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Sportexe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Sprinturf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Stromgren (Compression Shirt). . . . . . . 67 Stromgren (Model 329 Ankle Support). . 67 TuffStuff (XXL-930 power rack) . . . . . . . 63 TuffStuff (XXL-950 power rack/platform) . 63 Ultimate Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Under Armour (Skill Girdle) . . . . . . . . . 66 Under Armour (UA Demolition Mid) . . . 66 Village Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 WaterBoy Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 WeatherBeater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Wenger (championship solution) . . . . . . 49 Wenger Corp. (Sport Cart) . . . . . . . . . 57 Wenger (TranSport cart) . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Wizard Sports (+3 Kicking Shoe) . . . . . . 67 Wizard Sports (championship solution) . . 49 Xvest (Don Chu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Xvest (TurboBells) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Case Study

Football Turf and Track Protection with Aer-Flo’s Jeff Mondor Aer-Flo® is a leading manufacturer of sports cover products that solve problems for high school, college, and professional teams. The company’s products offer quality materials and workmanship, and they’re designed with safety and utility in mind.

Jeff Mondor, the National Sales Manager at Aer-Flo, develops sales and new product programs for the company.

Why is Aer-Flo’s new Bench Zone™ tarp so different from all the others? Instead of copying competitors for new products, we listen to the needs of coaches, athletic directors, and groundskeepers. MRSA is a growing concern for athletic programs, so we wanted to make a sideline turf protector with a material that does not absorb sweat, spit, blood, sports drinks, or water—all of which can be found in football bench areas. We rejected the felt-like fabric used in most bench tarps because it absorbs and holds liquids, is nearly impossible to clean, and gets heavy when wet. Rolled up in storage, the absorbent material becomes a breeding ground for microorganisms. We found a new type of vinyl-polyester matrix fabric that does not absorb liquids, yet is totally cleat- and spike-resistant. Grounds crews say it’s lighter and cleans off easily with spray from a water hose. Our new Bench Zone sideline protector solves all the problems of felt-like fabric tarps. What major college and NFL teams use the Bench Zone?

Aer-Flo, Inc. 4455 18th St. E Bradenton, FL 34203 800-823-7356 www.aerflo.com

We introduced this product last August, just before football season and too late for most teams. I called 15 college teams, and four bought our new Bench Zone sideline protectors—Texas A&M, Ohio State University, the University of Georgia, and Purdue University. After the season, each one said its protectors performed perfectly and were showing no signs of wear. The most cited benefits were lighter weight, ease of cleaning, and superior turf protection. We sent samples to the NFL home office for evaluation, and Bench Zone received

NFL approval in only one week. The first game was only a week away, and the Kansas City Chiefs were the only NFL team needing a new tarp. Their experience mirrored that of the college teams. We expect several more NFL teams will soon have Bench Zone protectors. What about sidelines close to a track? Many football fields are surrounded by a track. The soft composite materials used in modern track surfaces can be damaged by teams and individuals crossing over the track. Many schools use heavy rubber or carpeting to protect their tracks—materials that cause moisture damage and are hard to install and remove. We make CrossOver Zone™ track protectors with selfdraining geotextile material to cushion and protect against cleats, shoes, and wheels. We add vinyl edging with a steel chain in it, so it’s virtually windproof and easy to install and remove. What does your company offer to help football coaches? We recently introduced the Bench Zone TRACK protector for this situation. It’s similar to Cross-Over Zone in construction, only much larger. Self-ballasting chain edging keeps it down without stakes or staples, and it’s dependable for any track surface. What other football products does Aer-Flo offer? Our new Huddle Zone™ special teams mat gives special teams units a place to organize and call plays. It helps reduce penalties and lost timeouts, plus it folds up for away games. A steel chain in the edge hem keeps it stationary in high winds, and the material is the same cleat-proof matrix used in our Bench Zone Protector. How do you market your football products? We are proud to sell through the best sports equipment dealers. Prospective customers can request a catalog by calling us or by visiting our Web site.

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Guide to Synthetic Turf

FieldTurf Tarkett

ProGrass, LLC

Sportexe

www.fieldturftarkett.com 800-724-2969

www.prograssturf.com 866-270-6003

www.sportexe.com 866-935-7100

See ad on page 17 Circle No. 513

An ongoing, long-term testing program has proven that FieldTurf is safer than many other turf systems and equal to, if not better than, natural grass in the most critical aspects of player safety. No other company can make such a claim. In addition, FieldTurf is widely known for enhancing the aesthetics of campuses worldwide—the durable characteristics of this player-friendly turf system allow the field to remain in pristine condition 24/7 with very little maintenance required.

See ad on page 35 Circle No. 514

ProGrass engineers each of its tur f systems to play like natural grass. ProGrass systems are designed for optimum per formance, offering athletes a safe, top-notch competitive experience. The company takes great pride in making sure the installation process always goes smoothly—each ProGrass field is installed by certified ProGrass installers. The quality of the installation helps create an aesthetically pleasing result.

See ad inside front cover Circle No. 515

Sportexe is truly a technological leader in the synthetic turf industry. Using Sportexe turf, Ottawa’s Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park received the first FIFA 2-Star recommendation in the CONCACAF—the highest ranking available. Sportexe has an accreditation program to guarantee professional installation and a research and development department whose products have been recently showcased in Forbes Magazine, ESPN the Magazine, and NPR’s Marketplace.

Background: In addition to its worldrenowned FieldTurf brand, FieldTurf Tarkett offers a comprehensive line of athletic surface products, including basketball, volleyball, and gymnasium flooring; squash and racquetball courts; floor protection and covering systems; weightroom flooring; indoor and outdoor running tracks; and a complete range of tennis and golf surfaces.

Background: In 1997, members of the ProGrass management team were involved in the first sale and installation of a synthetic surface with infill technology. Since then, they have been involved in over 300 sports field projects—everything from high school fields, small and large college stadiums, and government projects to the NFL, private indoor facilities, golf domes, and numerous custom-built facilities.

Background: With more than 18 years of synthetic turf experience, Sportexe has become synonymous with innovation and quality. Sportexe offers unparalleled service, installation, and performance, and its turf is more attractive and durable than natural grass. The company offers sport-specific synthetic turf systems designed for the exacting requirements of many of the world’s top sporting activities.

Recent Installations:

Riverside-Brookfield High School, IL Shorewood High School, WA Bothell High School, WA St. Genevieve High School, CA Weequahic High School, NJ Catonsville High School, MD

52 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Bolles High School, FL Palm Bay High School, FL Mars High School, PA California University, PA Immaculate Catholic High School, CT Sandlot Tampa, FL

San Francisco 49ers New Orleans Saints Louisiana State University University of Alabama University of California-Davis Middle Tennessee State University

Guide to Synthetic Turf

On the Web... Pro Fields

Sprinturf

www.profields.com 888-KIK-GRASS

www.sprinturf.com 877-686-8873

See ad on page 46 Circle No. 516

See ad on page 25 Circle No. 517

FieldTurf Tarkett www.fieldturftarkett.com Site includes: Customer testimonials Facility profiles Homepage media center Company background Special features: Video clips of customer testimonials Technical information video clips

Pro Fields www.profields.com

Pro Fields cares about not only the function and performance of an athletic field, but also the visual appeal. The company installs fields that looks like natural grass—not an off-color door mat. Two-tone fibers contribute to a natural appearance, so your field looks and feels like perfectly manicured grass. Pro Fields’ monofilament fibers are extremely supple, which means fewer abrasions to athletes’ skin. This softness also means increased longevity and less matting over time. The G3 turf system has been subjected to rigorous testing from independent research facilities, including Isasport Research Lab, and has passed all FIFA 1- and 2-Star tests. G3 excels in all sports field applications. Your athletes will love G3 turf because it will not tear up their skin like some other surfaces. They will be able to play year-round, in all weather, with consistent footing because of G3’s outstanding drainage system. Pro Fields is confident that its fields will exceed even the highest expectations and give your athletes a reliable playing surface that reduces the risk of injury and helps them perform at their very best. It’s a better turf product at a better price. Background: Pro Look Sports entered the team apparel marketplace 11 years ago with a better custom uniform at a better price. The company saw an opportunity to do the same for the turf industry with G3 turf. Along with co-creator Sports Fields, the Pro Fields brand was created as a subsidiary of Pro Look Sports.

Sprinturf’s patented 100-percent rubber infill system has proven to be very similar to pristine natural turf and has the added benefit of superior playability. Recent studies have determined that 100-percent rubber infill systems have a G-Max level--the industry’s accepted test of turf hardness and quality--most similar to natural grass. With the resiliency of Sprinturf’s Ultrablade(TM) fibers, you know you’re getting a field that’s safe and durable. The Ultrablade family of fibers, coupled with Sprinturf’s all-rubber infill, allows the blades to mimic the look and feel of natural grass. The fibers significantly reduce the directionality associated with traditional synthetic turf systems. The combination of appearance and performance has made Sprinturf the choice of many premier facilities worldwide. Background: As a leading Americanowned manufacturer and installer of synthetic turf systems, Sprinturf creates top-quality fields. The company’s patented technology delivers a safe, highly durable product with natural grass-like performance. Through its premium product quality, safety, patented systems, and customer service, Sprinturf is one of the world’s premier synthetic turf companies. Recent Installations: UCLA Hoover High School, AL College Football Hall of Fame, IN LaSalle University, PA Beverly Hills High School, CA St. Brigid’s, Ireland

Site includes: Product description and composite breakdown Downloadable literature Outside links to drainage company partnerships Project gallery Special features: Information on free Pro Look team uniforms and turf packages

ProGrass, LLC www.prograssturf.com Site includes: Detailed product specs Customer testimonials Animated Flash introduction Special features: Downloadable video demo

Sportexe www.sportexe.com Site includes Product information on synthetic turf systems Profiles, testimonials, and images of facilities Turf industry news and Sportexe press releases Information on Sportexe University Special features: Register for “turFYI” newsletters Turf questionnaire for immediate response from Sportexe

Sprinturf www.sprinturf.com Site includes: Numerous customer testimonials Company history Fiber, base, and drainage specs Warranty information Special features: Time-lapse evolution of a synthetic field installation “Sprinturf Newsstand” (latest news releases)

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Case Study

Samson Equipment Gives Arkansas State Its Dream Weightroom John Arce, Director of Strength and Conditioning at Arkansas State University, was given the opportunity to help develop a unique training facility for ASU athletes. Coach Arce was looking for an equipment company that could help design and manufacture a unique training station. This training station would accommodate multiple

athletes per forming the same or different exercises on both ends of a power rack. Coach Arce chose Samson Equipment, and today, Arkansas State’s athletes are benefiting from this partnership.

Samson Weight Training Equipment P.O. Box 353 Fairacres, NM 88033 800-472-6766 Fax: 505-523-2100 sales@samsonequipment.com www.samsonequipment.com

54 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Once he had decided on a basic design plan, Coach Arce contacted Samson Equipment to go over his needs. He had worked with Samson Equipment on numerous projects before this, and had always experienced great success. Once Coach Arce explained what he was looking for, the team at Samson Equipment drew up a model of what each station would look like, including each unit’s specific height, width, and depth. These drawings were

sent to Coach Arce for his review, and once they were approved, Samson Equipment began producing a total of seven of these custom stations, along with various other standard Samson Equipment products, such as DBs, DB racks, and a unique Samson Pillar System. Also, a number of proposed layouts were prepared to scale for Coach Arce’s approval. These layouts helped illustrate exactly how his weight training facility would look, and provided a blueprint for Samson Equipment when it came time to install the room. Once production was complete, a team member from Samson Equipment flew out to Arkansas State with the shipment to help coordinate the installation with Coach Arce and the football staff. Each unit was assembled and placed in the specific location designated in the layout that Coach Arce had agreed to. Each member of the football staff had a set of tools, and they had been prepped by Coach Arce beforehand about what the installation process would entail. Installation began around 7:00 a.m., and was finished by around 2:00 p.m. the same day. Once everything was completed, Coach Arce was left with a weight training facility built exactly to his unique specifications. “I want to thank Samson Equipment for their professionalism in meeting our equipment needs here at Arkansas State University,” Coach Arce says. “Dave and Scott were extremely helpful and a pleasure to work with. The excellent design, craftsmanship, and installation of our rack training systems have played a major part in maximizing the physical development of our athletes. These rack systems have allowed us to increase the exercise selection in our weight training program, helped us to get the most out of our NCAA-mandated training time, and enhanced our athletes’ training efficiency.”

NEW Product Launch Naked Glove Unique features: • The first palmless football glove • Made with C-TACK Performance Grip Material for unparalleled grip where players really need it— in the fingers Beneﬁts for the user: • Eliminates material bunching, tenting, or “trampolining” • Perspiration evaporates rapidly to improve heat dissipation, reduce moisture buildup, and ensure that the gloves won’t shift during play

Cutters Gloves 800-821-0231 www.cuttersgloves.com Circle No. 518

Textured Plank

Z-Cool Shoulder Pads Unique features: • Antibacterial foam system • 35 percent lighter • Better body cooling • Better impact absorption Beneﬁts for the user: • Enhances players’ performance due to less weight and better cooling features

Gear 2000, Ltd. 785-625-6060 www.gear2000.com Circle No. 519

Drive Sled

Unique features: • Rough surface decreases the likelihood of falls • Excellent hardness and mar resistance

Unique features: • Made with heavy-duty 12-gauge steel • Cleverly designed rear handles let you drive the sled from two different heights • Multiple plate storage stations for overload strength training

Beneﬁts for the user: • Provides a consistent texture and appearance • The ideal coating for exterior walkways

Beneﬁts for the user: • Allows for evenly balanced push/pull exercises • Olympic plates may be added to achieve greater resistance • Heavy-duty harness lets you comfortably handle heavy loads

Southern Bleacher Co. 800-433-0912 www.southernbleacher.com

Perform Better 800-556-7464 www.performbetter.com

Circle No. 520

Circle No. 521

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Football Facility Equipment Aer-Flo, Inc. 800-823-7356 www.aerflo.com The Cross-Over Zone™ track protector from Aer-Flo resists and cushions against steel-tipped cleats. Its breathable polypropylene fabric allows rain to drain through while protecting modern track surfaces from crossing traffic. A steel chain inserted in the edging keeps the protector in place without stakes or staples, even in windy conditions. The entire edge and chain are wrapped in white or gold vinyl for durability and safety. The Cross-Over Zone is 7.5 or 15 feet wide and 30, 40, or 50 feet long. Custom sizes are also available. This product is easy to install, remove, and store. Circle No. 522 Aer-Flo’s Bench Zone™ sideline turf protector is made of industrial-grade vinyl-coated polyester open-mesh fabric that allows sunlight and rain to get through but prevents steeltipped cleats from penetrating the surface. It does not retain water and double in weight like some other non-woven sideline protectors. Standard sizes are 15’ W x 50’, 75’, 100’, 125’, or 150’ L, and custom sizes are available as well. The Bench Zone is offered in a variety of colors, can be digitally imprinted in multiple colors, and has grommets spaced every three feet around the edges. It is easy to install, remove, and store, and is shipped directly from the manufacturer. Circle No. 523 Aluminum Athletic Equipment (AAE) 800-523-5471 www.aaesports.com The Donkey has a long list of uses: It’s a scorer’s table, observation center, video station, broadcast booth, coach’s station, penalty bench (optional), and additional onfield storage unit (optional). No matter the sport—track, lacrosse,

56 COACHING MANAGEMENT

soccer, field hockey, baseball, or tennis—everyone can benefit from what the Donkey has to offer. It’s fully portable, easy to move, features lockable wheels, and affords protection from wind, weather, and sun. Constructed of durable aluminum, it stands nearly 11 feet high and comfortably seats six people. Circle No. 524 AAE manufactures and sells numerous styles of BallStopper systems—high ones, low ones, units with offset posts, straight posts, small netting, large netting—but each serves the same function: to prevent balls from escaping the field of play. They’re perfect for fields surrounded by parking lots, residential areas, or steep embankments. BallStopper systems are especially useful for adjoining fields because they prevent ball interference during simultaneous games and practices. Circle No. 525 WeatherBeater® by Colorado Lining 888-546-4641 www.weather-beater.com WeatherBeater’s football sideline mats protect your high-impact areas while allowing air and moisture to pass through. The lightweight, UV-stabilized material has stitched web strapping and reinforced grommets around the perimeter. The mats come in a variety of colors and are protected by a one-year warranty. Logo printing is available. Contact Colorado Lining to learn more. Circle No. 526 Fair-Play Scoreboards 800-247-0265 www.fair-play.com The impressive FB-8132TKH-4 is a 32-foot-wide football scoreboard from Fair-Play featuring a 30-inch clock and electronic team names, which make a big statement about your program. This scoreboard is also available with a four- or five-digit game clock, as well as optional caption conversion kits for multi-sport facilities. Fair-Play’s foot-

ball line continues to keep coaches, players, and fans in mind while helping to lead the industry to new heights. Catch the spirit of Fair-Play at the company’s Web site. Circle No. 527 Outdoor full-matrix scoreboards from Fair-Play are an ideal choice for facilities that host multiple sports or multiple home teams in one sport, such as football or soccer. Different from traditional scoreboards, full-matrix units offer the versatility of a message display with virtually unlimited scoring and timing options. Display digital advertising signage with the touch of a button, and incorporate team and sponsor logos, text, graphics, and animations on the same scoreboard. Full-matrix units feature a 56 x 184 pixel pitch. Circle No. 528 M.A.S.A., Inc. 800-264-4519 www.masa.com www.sportsadvantage.com M.A.S.A. carries a large selection of economical sideline turf protectors that come in two grades of durability to meet any budget. All the company’s protectors are constructed using a durable, breathable polypropylene that will stand up to cleat traffic and protect your turf. All tarps are light gray in color and feature brass grommets every three feet along the edges. They’re now available with optional lettering and logos to make your field stand out. Custom sizes and shapes are available. For more information, call today or visit the company online. Circle No. 529 Professional Turf Products 866-726-3326 www.proturfproducts.com Tur f Armor Trax Tarps can help you increase the longevity of your running track, natural grass field, or synthetic

Football Facility Equipment tur f sur face. The tarps “breathe,” so they will not create mildew on your running track or kill your grass. You can even have your tarp customized with your school’s logo. Go online today to learn more about all of Professional Tur f Products’ solutions for facility management. Circle No. 530 Profile Products, LLC 800-207-6457 www.profileproducts.com Knowledge is power. Knowing how to manage your athletic fields allows you to keep them safer and more playable. The Keep America Playing tour is designed to educate everyone from professional turf managers to parent volunteers about the importance of wellkept athletic fields and how to attain them. The tour can help you develop and maintain fields that keep America playing. To learn more and find out how to get involved, visit www.KeepAmericaPlaying.com. Circle No. 531 Field & Fairway Emerald from Profile Products, the maker of Turface, is a porous ceramic soil amendment specially designed for turf. Applied as a topdressing, it prevents slippery, wet conditions and extensive wear and tear. Poured directly onto muddy, wet areas, it instantly absorbs excess water, making the surface dry, safe, and playable. Its emerald color disguises worn areas until new turf grows back. Circle No. 532 Qualite Sports Lighting, Inc. 800-933-9741 www.qualite.com Qualite Sports Lighting’s systems incorporate some of the most efficient IESNAsanctioned fixtures in the industry. The fixtures are pre-set specifically for your field to provide

optimum, uniform light and create a safe, enjoyable environment for players and fans. With superb spill light control, lowcost installation, and one of the best 10year warranties in the business, Qualite’s systems are a must see. Circle No. 533 Qualite’s factory-wired, pre-aimed, preassembled lighting systems allow for easy on-site assembly and reduced installation costs. Choose the Gold Series, ProSeries™, or International—each one offers unique characteristics to solve a facility’s specific lighting needs, and all systems are backed by one of the best 10-year warranties in the business. These systems provide excellent spill light control with optimum field lighting. Standard remote ballasts are used for all these systems, and the patented MDS allows you to conduct important safety tests from the ground with the power turned off. Circle No. 534 Samson Weight Training Equipment 800-472-6766 www.samsonequipment.com The new Samson Rubber Platform with Custom Logo is yet another way Samson Equipment proves itself to be a leader in heavy duty, custom weight training equipment. This new platform features a custom color logo, is available in a variety of sizes, and can be added to any of Samson Equipment’s power rack systems. The platform requires less maintenance than a typical wood platform, so it lasts longer while providing a sharp logo image that has to be seen to be believed. Check out Samson Equipment’s Web site for examples, or call the company to learn more. Circle No. 535 Wenger Corp. 800-493-6437 www.wengercorp.com The Sport Cart can complement a larger GearBoss™ equipment storage system or function as a stand-alone solution. Its compact size is ideal for smaller storage spaces or sports with less equipment. Heavy-duty swivel cast-

ers provide easy mobility, and the Sport Cart will fit through most doorways and onto most elevators. The shelves and garment bars adjust in one-inch increments to fit many GearBoss accessories. Grille ends and optional closure kits are available in school colors. Circle No. 536 The TranSport Cart from Wenger Corp. is ideal for moving athletic gear around a facility, out to the field, or when on the road. It easily hauls up to 1,000 pounds over uneven terrain. When not carrying gear, the TranSport Cart quickly transforms into a sturdy multipurpose table. It can be pulled manually or towed behind vehicles such as Gators or golf carts. Four 10-inch pneumatic wheels offer easy mobility and feature rugged outdoor tire tread. An optional mesh wrap quickly snaps on to secure more than 36 cubic feet of cargo. Circle No. 537 Ultimate Athletics, Inc. 561-626-6735 www.athleticpaint.com Krylon® Line-Up® paints set a standard for quality and convenience in the tur f management industr y. LineUp® is sold in both five-gallon pails and 18ounce aerosol cans with the new universal tip that will fit all striping machines on the market. Line-Up® paints are formulated for sharp, bright lines that will not harm the grass or wash away in the rain. They come with a nonclogging spray tip, are VOC compliant, and are free of lead hazards. Circle No. 538

Your source for fundraising tips, support, and suppliers:

www.fundraisingforsports.com

COACHING MANAGEMENT

Calling Cards Here is what these companies are most known for...

Accept “No Substitutions” for quality sports products. www.adamsusa.com

Protecting America’s finest athletes since 1992. www.gear2000.com

An excellent strength-enhancing, power-producing conditioning tool. www.thexvest.com

A leading manufacturer of innovative pain-reducing sports medicine products. www.cho-pat.com

A leading provider of sports and recreation coverage. www.kandkinsurance.com

Athletic satisfaction surveys provide phenomenal feedback about your athletic programs. www.lifetrack-services.com

Winning taste...Championship results. www.cytosport.com

Elite performance training equipment since 1970. www.nautilus.com

Offering some of the largest mats in the industry to simplify installation and minimize seams. www.rubbermats.com

Daktronics is a world-leading designer and manufacturer of scoreboards and displays. www.daktronics.com

Building equipment for football champions for 35 years. www.rogersathletic.com

Suppliers of quality tools and resources for more than 30 years. www.optp.com/ad

Dedicated to manufacturing grandstands and bleachers for more than 40 years. www.edstands.com

Supplier of functional exercise equipment for rehabilitation and athletic training. www.totalgym.com

Toro provides reliable, productive, and versatile turf management equipment. www.toro.com

Fair-Play designs and manufactures quality scoreboards, message centers, and accessories. www.fair-play.com

Manufacturer of some of the world’s finest portable beverage dispensers. www.wisstechenterprises.com

Tough Tarps...No Bull www.westernindustries.com

58 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Strength & Conditioning Aids Austin Plastics & Supply 800-290-1025 www.athleticrecordboards.com

Humane Mfg. Co., LLC 800-369-6263 www.humanemfg.com

Jump Stretch, Inc. 800-344-3539 www.jumpstretch.com

Athletic record boards are effective tools for motivating your athletes to do their best. Visit Austin Plastics’ Web site to view examples of footballrelated boards, such as offseason strength and conditioning record boards, player-of-the-week boards, goal boards, and football record boards. Engraved record nameplates are available, or you can print your own using perforated card stock supplied by the company. Custom boards are also available. Circle No. 539

Rubber mats and flooring provide excellent protection for your equipment as well as the floor beneath it. Humane

Don’t Ice that Ankle Sprain! is the new book co-written by Jump Stretch founder Coach Dick Hartzell and Dr. Michael Shimmel. It details a technique for treating ankle sprains that gets the athlete up and running significantly faster than traditional methods. The technique utilizes four FlexBands® (three mini and one average). The book is available as an eBook, and the print version is due out in March. Circle No. 541

Loktuff mats are totally non-absorbent and provide a vibration/noise barrier as well as dust reduction. With a tensile strength of up to 1,000 psi and a durometer rating of 63, Humane mats are stronger and softer than many traditional mats—so let the company be the “foundation of your success.” Circle No. 540

Factory Direct Wholesale Pricing!

Protect Your Field!

Baseball Holders start at 79 cents! Football Holders start at $8.95 Basketball Holders start at $9.95

Light

Preserve those cherished memories

1 Year Warranty

BallQube display cases for game memorabilia give you more for your money. The solid wood base has a mirror bottom and a rich mahogany ﬁnish with room for a plaque. Maximum UV protection standard in most sizes. Inset top and rubber feet helps prevent display from sliding. The GS Football, Basketball and Baseball cases feature a clear Ball Cradle.

Weight & Easy to Manage

Custom Logo Printing

raise money A great way to c department: for your athleti balls in BallQubes! d Sell team-signe

Field Protection!

w w w . W e a t h e r - B e a t e r. c o m (800)543-1470 Made in the USA www.ballqube.com www.sportsqube.com

Celebrating 20 years as the Leader in the manufacturing of Display Cases World Wide!

28043 FM 1485 East, New Caney, TX 77357 888.546.4641

MEMORABILIA NOT INCLUDED

Circle No. 135

ballqube-quarter4C-v3.indd 1

Circle No. 136 ColoradoLining_CM1504.indd 1 7/20/06 10:10:58 AM

COACHING MANAGEMENT 59 3/5/07 1:10:41 PM

Strength & Conditioning Aids Hammer Strength 800-634-8637 www.hammerstrength.com One of Hammer Strength’s most popular pieces of equipment, the Jammer, is part of the innovative Ground Base product line. This highly versatile machine is ideal for athletes who want to train explosive movements. To maximize athletic performance, users train with their feet on the ground, promoting total-body stabilization and better balance that transfers to movements on the playing field. In the standing position, the athlete’s body is able to respond naturally to the exertion of exercise and to gravity, spurring strengthening of the corresponding muscle groups and enhancing coordination. Circle No. 542

The Hammer Strength Olympic HeavyDuty line—including the new Combo Rack, 6’ x 8’ platform, and wood inserts—offers a comprehensive selection of performance-enhancing training products. Tough and rugged, the space-efficient Combo Rack lets two athletes train simultaneously. This highquality lifting platform features full subfloor framing, a finished oak surface, and rubber impact mats. Hammer Strength’s Combo Rack, platform, and inserts offer performance that’s hard to beat. Call toll-free or visit Hammer Strength online to learn more. Circle No. 543 NSCA 800-815-6826 www.nsca-lift.org The Training for Football video from the National Strength and Conditioning

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Association presents a detailed sequence of exercises and drills for teaching the clean, jerk, and snatch. It features step-wise progressions that give coaches the capacity to train athletes of varying ability levels. Key points for ensuring proper execution of the exercises are demonstrated, allowing coaches to confidently incorporate these explosive exercises into their training programs. The item number for this video is V-SS-0030. Circle No. 544 The NSCA’s Quick Series Guide to Strength and Conditioning for Football is a handheld guide with 24 laminated pages that teach the fundamentals of proper strength training and conditioning

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Strength & Conditioning Aids for football players. It includes sections on how to train safely; how to design your own program; flexibility exercises; power exercises; abdominal training; cardiovascular training; and sample programs. The item number for this product is QS-1004. To order, call the NSCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product department. Circle No. 545 Power Lift 800-872-1543 www.power-lift.com Power Liftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 6 Post Modular Power Rack is a unique lifting rack that provides enough space for three lifters to perform upper-body, lowerbody, and Olympic lifts at the same time. The design allows ample spotting space for all three lifting stations. Standard features include two pairs of Rhino Hook bar catches, one dual-grip chin-up handle, two pairs of safety spot bars, weight storage, and bumper plate storage. Optional attachments include Lever Action benches, Olympic lifting platforms, rack dip attachments, technique trays, rotating chin-up handles, and rack step-up platforms. Unique vibration-dampening mounts are placed between the racks to reduce vibration from one rack to the next. Circle No. 546

Power Systems 800-321-6975 www.power-systems.com Develop the powerful upper body and core needed to outmuscle the competition with the Power Systems Power RopeBall. Perfect for swinging, chopping, and rotational

drills, it is made of synthetic rubber with a 36-inch rope handle that allows the ball to rebound. An improved design features washers positioned on either side of the ball to prevent the rope from sliding through during high-impact exercises. The balls range from two to 12 pounds and are color-coded by weight. An instructional manual and DVD are also available. Circle No. 548

The Performance Training Station is the latest rack and platform design to be offered by Power Lift. It features a nine-foot power rack, a multi-angle dumbbell bench, an Olympic lifting platform with extension, and a 10-foot, 600-pound adjustable cable column. Standard features of the Performance Training Station include weight storage, band attachments, rotating chin-up handles, cable column attachment storage, dual vertical bar storage, Rhino Hook bar catches, safety spot bars, and a rack dip attachment. Circle No. 547 Circle No. 139 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Strength & Conditioning Aids Power Systems 800-321-6975 www.power-systems.com

Powernetics 800-829-2928 www.powernetics.com

Everything’s going retro, even exercise equipment. In today’s high-tech world, the newest and hottest training tool on the market is one of the oldest: the cast iron kettlebell. The Russians used them to train the Red Army and their worldrenowned power lifters, and now, Power Systems has brought kettlebells back to satisfy the training and conditioning needs of today’s power-hungry athletes. Create an intense, total-body cardiovascular workout that incorporates swings, snatches, lifts, and clean and jerks while developing strength, power, endurance, and dynamic flexibility. Power Systems kettlebells are available in weights from 10 pounds to 100 pounds. Circle No. 549

Powernetics offers many products for the strength-training needs of your players, including the Bulldog and the Attacker. The Bulldog isolates the hamstrings and glutes without putting stress on the knees and back. It also offers an explosive hack jump exercise that develops power in the hamstrings, glutes, and quads—all from one exercise. The Attacker allows the athlete to fire and roll his hips while moving up and out into a full hand separation. Because of the intense movement, power is developed from the feet through the hands. Circle No. 550 Powernetics offers the Power Trainer, which for more than 10 years has made

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the power clean a safe exercise for athletes from junior high to the collegiate level. The Power Trainer enables an athlete to not only do cleans safely, but also to reverse the clean. The unit can be used to perform seven different exercises: the clean, reverse clean, deadlift, lift jump, high row, bench press, and shoulder press. The Power Trainer has proven over the years to be among the safest and most effective tools used to perform the power clean. Circle No. 551

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Strength & Conditioning Aids Rogers Athletic Co. 800-457-5337 www.rogersathletic.com Rogers Athletic, known for football training equipment, has applied its years of expertise in athletic skills training to strength and conditioning equipment with the introduction of the Brute Rack system. This system, equipped with Monster Arms, provides your athletes with a closed-chain freeweight training experience. The Brute Rack system’s workstation enables athletes to perform multiple exercises that typically require four to six exercisespecific machines. Call Rogers Athletic toll-free for more information. Circle No. 552 With an unrestricted range of motion, Monster Arms for the Brute Rack help athletes develop specific muscle groups. Monster Arms allow players to enhance both power and skill using freeweights with the added safety of predetermined starting and stopping points. Circle No. 553 Samson Weight Training Equipment 800-472-6766 www.samsonequipment.com The Samson Pillar Station is one of the most versatile units on the market today. You can place virtually any of Samson Equipment’s excellent selectorized or plate-loaded machines onto one of these four-sided units. Give your athletes the ability to work out on multiple machines while keeping them in close

proximity to one another for easy transitions. The Pillar Station’s design also saves floor space. Check out Samson Equipment’s Web site or call the company to discuss your program’s specific needs. Circle No. 554 MAXX by Shoot-A-Way 800-294-4654 www.maxxfootball.com This off-season, while your opponents are simply lifting, you can be putting the intensity of football into your workouts. MAXX is a rubber man with a lifelike feel, a durable weight machine, and a state ofthe-art computer all in one. The LED board gives players instant feedback on their speed off the ball and the power of their punch while they work to increase strength and perfect football technique. Circle No. 555 Xvest 800-697-5658 www.thexvest.com Adjustable Xvest TurboBells are a new product from the maker of Xvest. They replace a room full of dumbbells and are engineered so the weights can be adjusted from five pounds to 60 pounds in just seconds, giving athletes complete control of their workout. The economical Xvest TurboBells have large easy-grip rubberized handles and come with a specially designed stand. The manufacturer is offering them at an introductory price of $349, plus free shipping—saving you more than $270. Circle No. 556 “I have found the Xvest to be an excellent tool for providing overloads in plyometrics, strength training, conditioning, and rehabilitation programs. The fit and adaptability are excellent. The

Xvest allows freedom of movement and doesn’t interfere with any of the agility, bounding, or running programs that I write for a wide variety of athletes, both collegiate and professional. The Xvest has proven itself in my programs. Thank you for all your efforts and help in improving my capability as a strength and conditioning specialist.” —Donald A. Chu, Ph.D., PT, ATC, CSCS, author of Jumping Into Plyometrics Circle No. 557 TuffStuff Fitness Equipment 800-961-9377 www.tuffstuff.net The XXL-930 power rack, recognized by strength and conditioning coaches worldwide, is ideal for both novice and elite training programs. Its modular design allows customization for specific training regimens and space requirements. The rack features 3” x 3” commercial steel frames, stainless steel Olympic plate holders and bar catches (standard), and an adjustable high-impact safety bar spotter. Multiple chin-up bar options and technique trays are available. Circle No. 558 The XXL-950 Olympic power rack and platform system by Tuff Stuff Fitness Equipment is built for heavy daily use in any environment. It features a 6’ x 8’ triple-layer premium plywood base with a final top layer of 3/4-inch clearcoated hardwood with a 3/4-inch protective hightraction rubber mat. The retainer frame is made of solid threeinch powder coated 12-gauge steel. Stainless steel Olympic plate holders and bar catches are standard. Circle No. 559

COACHING MANAGEMENT

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Injury Prevention Adams USA 800-251-6857 www.adamsusa.com Bac-Shield is a bacteria inhibitor that disrupts the growth of odor-causing bacteria and fungi. Athletic facilities, equipment, apparel, towels, and playing surfaces can be excellent host environments for bacteria, fungi, mold, and mildew. Bac-Shield “fills the gap” and makes your hygiene program more effective by inhibiting the reproduction of harmful microbes between cleanings and disinfections. The active ingredient in Bac-Shield, chitosan, has a long history of safe and effective applications. Use Bac-Shield for laundry, locker rooms, athletic surfaces, mats, and practically any place bacteria can be present. It is available in pint, gallon, and five-gallon sizes. Circle No. 560 Cho-Pat 800-221-1601 www.cho-pat.com Cho-Pat’s newest product, the Bicep/ Triceps Cuff, affords protection from overuse injuries for individuals performing repetitive lifting activities such as weight training. This patent-pending device applies dynamic circumference pressure to the upper and lower portions of the bicep and triceps muscles, particularly at the tendon attachments. This action spreads out the stress and direct pull on the muscle attachments, which helps reduce the likelihood of developing bicipital or tricipital tendonitis or tendonosis. Contact Cho-Pat toll-free or visit the company’s Web site for more information. Circle No. 561 Cramer Products, Inc. 800-345-2231 www.cramersportsmed.com Cramer Co-Stretch non-adhesive stretch tape is an innovative choice

that beats traditional stretching and self-adhering tape. It has excellent tensile strength, tears clean, and features a “no-slip” grip, making it superior to many traditional tapes. It’s excellent for use as an anchor for tape applications or compression bandages. It contours easily to the body, allowing you to effortlessly wrap any appendage. Circle No. 562 Cramer’s AS1 ankle brace combines the support of a heel-lock strapping system with excellent value when compared to other ankle braces. The brace is constructed with an 840D nylon shell, with a soft neoprene liner for comfort and feel. Non-stretch straps lock the heel in place, and steel spring stays on each side of the brace provide additional support. Circle No. 563 Waterboy Sports, Inc. 888-442-6269 www.waterboysports.com Waterboy Sports offers an extensive line of fans, misters, tents, and hydration units that are designed to meet the price ranges and specific needs of the athletic training community. Visit the company online to see its complete product line. All Waterboy Sports products are built to withstand the punishment of constant use and any abuse an angry athlete can exhibit. Call today to find out more about how Waterboy Sports can provide your team’s hydration and climate-control solutions. Circle No. 564

Testimonial

Fair-Play Provides the Crown Jewel for a New Stadium The number one thing to keep in mind when purchasing a scoreboard for a new facility is appearance. A good-looking scoreboard should go hand in hand

with a new stadium. Chambersburg (Pa.) Area High School Athletic Director Don Folmar wanted a perfect fit for his school’s new football field, and he found it with Fair-Play Scoreboards. “We built a brand new stadium with a new track and a turf field,” Folmar says. “I think the scoreboard is the focal point of it all. Our old scoreboard had been donated, and it only had very basic information—the time and the score. Our Fair-Play scoreboard has been a great addition. “The large message center has been unbelievable,” he continues. “The graphics you can put up on the message center are awesome and add a lot to the game experience. We really enjoy the ability to announce upcoming events. We use it for soccer as well. We sold the sponsorship spaces at the bottom of the scoreboard and were able to generate $160,000 in revenue.”

Fair-Play Scoreboards 1700 Delaware Ave. Des Moines, IA 50317 800-247-0265 sales@fair-play.com www.fair-play.com COACHING MANAGEMENT

Uniforms & Apparel Eagle Sportswear, Inc. 877-323-2453 www.eaglecanada.com Eagle Sportswear manufactures moisture-wicking and antibacterial protective undergear for athletes in contact sports. ProBack II is a lightweight compression rib shirt used by professional athletes for the prevention and rehabilitation of injuries. A front Velcro™ belt allows players to adjust front and back pads. ProBack II is available in black and white in adult sizes. For more information, call Eagle Sportswear or visit the company online. Circle No. 565 Pro Look Sports 800-776-5665 www.prolooksports.com Pro Look’s football uniforms offer the newest in stretch-fit materials, including stretch mesh that makes your players virtually unstoppable. As one of the first companies to offer soft tackle twill, Pro Look now brings you a stretch tackle twill that conforms to the jersey, as well as selfmaterial stretch belts. Pro Look’s “One Price Promise” includes fully customizable uniforms in the newest high-tech designs—you get unlimited embroidery, unlimited tackle twill, and unlimited design options. Circle No. 566 Pro Look now offers a selection of coach’s gear and travel gear. Choose wind breakers, coach’s shorts, and high-tech polos in your school’s

66 COACHING MANAGEMENT

Team Equipment colors. All of Pro Look’s coach’s gear is custom embroidered at unbeatable prices. Bags with embroidered logos and other travel gear are also available in a variety of colors. Circle No. 567 Under Armour 410-468-2512 www.underarmour.com Under Armour storms into the season with the UA Demolition Mid—providing the ultimate on-field advantage for the power player. It’s a speed-inspired

shoe, engineered to combine lightweight, agile performance with maximum stability. Under Armour’s patented moisture-wicking uppers, ultra-supportive integrated strap system, and progressive-traction cleat formation round out one of the most advanced football cleats on the market. Detachable and molded cleat models will be in stores this June. Circle No. 568 The Skill Girdle from Under Armour combines lightweight, malleable padding for the hips with a removable tail pad and two interior thigh pockets built on the pattern of UA’s best-selling football girdle. This girdle combines HeatGear fabric for durable and lightweight performance, an articulated mesh crotch panel with a cup pocket, and a secure two-inch waistband—all with Under Armour’s signature compression fit. The Skill Girdle is available in sizes S through XXXL. The pads are graded according to size, and the girdle is made of 82-percent nylour/18-percent elastane. Circle No. 569

Adams USA 800-251-6857 www.adamsusa.com The A4 Elite helmet shell with the A3 fit system produces one of the lightest, most comfortable helmets on the market today. It’s designed for high school, college, and professional teams. Low cost and great fit make this helmet a winner, and you’ll never have to replace or adjust an air-liner. Check out this helmet at your local sporting goods dealer. Circle No. 570 Cutters Gloves 800-821-0231 www.cuttersgloves.com Cutters Gloves has introduced Cutters GreatCatch, the only football training device that teaches athletes how to

properly catch a football by putting all the focus on their fingertips. Using the palms and heels of the hands causes bobbles and drops—with Cutters GreatCatch, the fingertips do all the work for proper catching technique. The results speak for themselves—softer, more reliable hands, better fingertip control, and fewer bobbles and drops. Circle No. 571 The 197 Triple Playmaker Wrist Coach is made with C-PRENE™, Cutters Gloves’ exclusive “fits like a glove” technology, for optimal comfort and fit. It includes three windows for easy reference, allowing you to store over 60 plays at once, and is available in black, white, gray, and 11 team colors. Visit the downloads section of Cutters’ Web site for free blank playcard templates. The site

Team Equipment also offers additional product information and a dealer locator. Circle No. 572 Gear 2000, Ltd. 785-625-6060 www.gear2000.com Z-Cool shoulder pads are 35 percent lighter. They feature antibacterial foam padding that eliminates odor buildup by not absorbing moisture from perspiration. The lighter weight and cooling design features of Z-Cool shoulder pads contribute to enhanced performance on the field. Z-Cool shoulder pads are used by all-pro players, top-50 NCAA Division I college programs, and high school state champions. Circle No. 573 Z-Cool compression girdles from Gear 2000 have moisture-wicking hip and tail pads sewn into them. The hip pads are strategically placed to protect the iliac crest (top of the pelvis). Scientific studies indicate that compression garments enhance muscle stability and increase athletic performance by as much as 12 percent. The fabric in Z-Cool compression girdles is moisture-wicking 75-percent nylon/25percent lycra or spandex for cooler performance. Circle No. 574 Reebok 888-898-9028 www.reebok.com Rbk NFL 4 Speed III SD2 cleats feature NFL-tested upper materials and the unique TPU Speed outsole design. They feature a Play Dry lining that wicks moisture away from the foot

to keep the athlete cool and comfortable. Some of the world’s top football players, including Steve Smith of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, wear the 4 Speed III SD2 cleats to take their game to the next level. Visit Reebok’s Web site to learn more. Circle No. 575 Reebok’s Speedwick training apparel is made with antimicrobial yarns that prevent odor by inhibiting the growth of bacteria. Less bacteria and less smell means longer-lasting apparel. For coaches, Reebok offers clothing featuring Play Dry moisture-management fabrics. A unique base layer moves moisture and accelerates evaporation for enhanced ventilation and a cooler, dryer feel. Coaches won’t get worn out by the heat of the game with Play Dry. Circle No. 576 Stromgren Supports 800-527-1988 www.stromgren.com Stromgren’s 1291 Padded Protective Performance Compression Shirt combines compression and moisture management with perforated EVA foam padding. It’s lightweight and comfortable, and provides the athlete with additional torso and AC joint protection. The 1291 also offers sleek, formfitting protection for the rib and kidney area with torso and cut-out clavicle shoulder padding. Ask for it at your local team sporting goods dealer or visit Stromgren online. Circle No. 577 Stromgren’s 329 Heel-Lock Ankle Support offers excellent injur y prevention for the ankle. Permanently attached heel-lock straps help control severe eversion and inversion of the ankle complex. This device emulates the effects of a professionally taped ankle and gives top-notch support. The

level of support stays the same over time, and the Spandex sock applies comfortable and even compression to the entire foot complex. The 329 fits either the left or right ankle. Visit Stromgren’s Web site to learn more. Circle No. 578 Village Sports 888-5-SPORT-5 villagesports@tds.net Village Sports is a privately held company located in southern Alabama. Ever since opening in 1984, it has been owned and operated by the founding family. In 1991, it established itself as a true team dealer. Located in a rural area, the company’s overhead remains low and the staff gives you personal attention, but as a member of the largest buying syndicate in the U.S., Village Sports has extensive buying power. The company’s service, prices, and delivery are second to none. Circle No. 579 Wizard Sports Equipment 888-964-5425 www.wizardkicking.com Since 1984, Wizard Kicking has been manufacturing and designing quality football kicking products, including football holders, tees, kicking nets, snapping targets, and much more. Make sure to check out Wizard’s newly designed football kicking and punting shoe: the +3 Kicking Shoe. It gives your kicker or punter that extra level of confidence. Wizard Kicking also stocks the popular Spotbilt Square-Toe Kicking Shoe. Circle No. 580

COACHING MANAGEMENT

More Products BallQube, Inc. 800-543-1470 www.ballqube.com When you have a collectible sports item, you want to preserve its appearance, keep any autographs intact, and display it for all to see. BallQube has an entire line of sports display cases just for you. Whether you want to put your item on a shelf or hang it on a wall, you’ll find the right UVprotected sports memorabilia case for the job. BallQube cases will look great in your home, office, or athletic department display area. Visit the company’s Web site today to learn more. Circle No. 581 eFundraising.com 866-235-9660 www.eFundraising.com New dry-mix cookie dough from eFundraising has a low minimum order, is

Catalog Showcase Performance Analysis 704-202-0416 www.perf-analysis.com Polymer shoulder pad inserts from Performance Analysis fit into most football shoulder pads on the market today. These pads utilize impact-dissipating visco-elastic polymer padding and memory foam. This combination of superior materials provides increased shoulder protection while still being lightweight. The pads are strategically scalloped for AC protection and isolation. They are designed to protect both injured and healthy players. Velcro™ provisions are included for easy installation into most any pad system. These shoulder pad inserts can be purchased through Sports Health by calling 800-323-1305. Circle No. 585

easy to store and deliver, and requires no refrigeration, making it a convenient fundraiser. It’s an ideal product for teams looking to cash in on the selling power of cookie dough without the expense and hassle of frozen products. Cookie dough is an easy way to raise profits of up to 50 percent, and with new dr y-mix dough, it’s easier than ever. Circle No. 582 K&K Insurance 800-426-2889 www.kandkinsurance.com Protect your organization with K&K’s insurance programs for sports camps, clinics, teams, leagues, associations, and events. K&K offers coverage for both amateur and professional activities, with plans designed specifically for the

Optimal Nutrition Systems 800-817-9808 www.onsperformance.com Critical Reload™ is a great-tasting, quick-dissolving recovery shake that complies with all collegiate athletic association supplement rules. It’s fortified with complex carbohydrates and whey proteins to meet the nutritional needs of athletes. Critical Reload is an effective choice for facilitating muscle protein synthesis (growth and recovery) while optimizing and replenishing glycogen (energy) stores. Contact Optimal Nutrition Systems today to learn about team discount pricing. Circle No. 584

Web News Learn All About Z-Cool Shoulder Pads Online Visit the Gear 2000 Web site to see the company’s shoulder pads—in particular, the innovative Z-Cool equipment, which includes shoulder pads and performance apparel for varsity and youth players. Z-Cool shoulder pads are 35 percent lighter and offer better body cooling and impact absorption to help enhance performance. Antibacterial foam padding reduces perspiration and odor buildup. The interior highimpact poly arch design is vented to allow free air circulation and cooling.

www.gear2000.com Need Quality Equipment? Check Out Rogers Athletic Go online to see why winning teams turn to Rogers Athletic. The company’s userfriendly Web site directs you to all types of training equipment—for offense, defense, youth players, and even strength training. Also, for a limited time, see how you can get a Lev Sled in a custom color. You can also request a free training DVD and a Rogers Athletic catalog at the site.

www.rogersathletic.com Daktronics Scores Big on the Web The Daktronics Web site offers a wealth of product information. Full-color images and technical specifications are available for electronic scoreboards, message centers, and video displays in the Products section. The Customer Solutions section has additional information on how Daktronics customers use their systems, along with more pictures. One of the most popular areas of the site is the Photo Gallery, which contains thousands of photos of installed scoreboards and displays. Visitors can search by product type or geographical location. The Latest News section offers news about projects going back several years. Use the Contact Us link in the upper right-hand corner to request additional information from Daktronics.

www.daktronics.com 68 COACHING MANAGEMENT

sports industry. Sign up with the leader in sports, leisure, and entertainment insurance today—K&K’s credit card plan makes payment easy. Visit the company’s Web site for more information. Circle No. 583

Attacker

The Attacker Radiates power from the feet out the hands in a rep per second exercise. The hips uncoil into a full hand separation. Football coaches will tell you the Attacker simulates the line of play like no other machine. The Attacker has a sports specific carry over to the field.

Patented

The Dominator develops all the major muscles in the upper and lower torsos including the connectors and stabilizers in the hip area. The Dominator Radiates Power from your feet up through your hands in one continuous line. In this explosive torque and turn exercise your athletes will dominate on the field of play.

Dominator

Patented

Over 200째 rotation in the torque & turn exercise

Visit our NEW website for more information about The Super Cat and our entire line of equipment at www.powernetics.com.

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Hey, Coach– What are your players wearing? Cutters Outperforms

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