Why do you coach high school sports?
Educational athletics is a special experience for everyone involved. To be able to impact the young people of Berthoud in a positive way, while sharing the game of football with them, is a privilege that I am humbled to be able to do for a living.
How would your players describe your coaching philosophy?
The players that I work with would describe my philosophy as motivational. It is my daily approach to create vision with our players so that they understand what we are trying to do as a unit and accomplish as a team. I am very conversational with our team, and the player voice in our program is one that carries weight.
What does high school football mean to your community?
High school football in Berthoud means a great deal. We have amazing community support for our program needs, as well as backing for our kids in all seasons of the calendar. When you are lucky enough to be able to coach ball in a town like Berthoud, with the long storied history combined with new cutting edge facilities and modern leadership styles, that is not something to take for granted.
What are you most proud of so far this season?
There are many areas of pride for me when looking at what we have accomplished this season. We had an amazing spring session followed by a rigorous summer of training. We saw some early season success with a nice victory over Thompson Valley and a great homecoming week full of activities for the kids and the community. All that being said, winning our first league title in 17 years is something that anyone who has put time into making this program what it is, can be very proud of.
What has been the key to Berthoud’s huge leap this season?
The players, coaching staff and parent support. We have a large group of upperclassmen that have been devoted to rebuilding this football program for the past few years. Their buy in and determination is the most important aspect to our success. That is helped by the support of their parents, both with operations as well as backing for all aspects of football preparation. Our coaching staff is extremely knowledgeable and hard working, but most importantly they are good teachers. Our coordinators Isaac VanDeWeert (Defense), and Daniel Francis (Offense) are crucial to our success as a team this year, as well as to what we have done to bring Berthoud Football back to prominence.
What is your goal for the remainder of this season?
We are still working on a few goals that we set back in the spring. This week we have a chance to complete an undefeated regular season when we host Steamboat on senior night. Then we will focus our attention on the playoffs. We are excited about the prospect of hosting a game at Max Marr this postseason. Another of our goals all year has been to find some success when the tournament starts next week.