June 4th, 2021 | Josh Adelman
Last week Soldiers to Sidelines completed its first Football Coaching Certification Seminar of the year. This was the largest class of new coaches that we have certified since our inception in 2014. Class FB 01-21 had 75 new Soldier Coaches complete certification out of 92 that showed up. There were veterans and service members with a wide array of experience in attendance.
Gregory Parker, a USMC veteran had this to say about his experience: “Having an opportunity to be around Veterans that want to help others for all the right reasons helped me. The instruction is something I wish I had prior to taking on this profession.”
The Virtual Football Coaching Certification Seminar required a large commitment of time and effort. There were over 13 hours of instruction, mostly in the evenings during the weeknights and one-morning session on Sunday. Prospective coaches were also challenged with several hours of homework assignments between sessions.
Ron Rivera speaking to the Soldier Coaches going through Class FB 01-21.
Instruction was delivered by an all-star cast of coaches to include:
Ron Rivera – Head Coach – Washington Football Team
Bob Stoops – Former Head Coach – Oklahoma Sooners
Pat Fitzgerald – Head Coach – Northwestern University
Tony Coaxum – Head Coach – Bluefield State University
Ben Kotwika – Former Special Teams Coach – Atlanta Falcons
Scott Peters – Ast. Offensive Line Coach – Cleveland Browns
Rob Ambrose – Head Coach – Towson University
Eric Sanders – Inside Linebackers Coach – Stanford University
Tim Lester – Head Coach – Western Michigan University
Scott Wooster – Offensive Line Coach – Grand Valley State
Marques Hagans – WR Coach – University of Virginia
Andre Powell – RB Coach – University of Pittsburgh
Reno Ferri – Inside WR/TE Coach – Syracuse University
Tom Masella – Head Coach – Wagner College
Blake Williams – Former Defensive Assistant – New York Jets
RB Green – Defensive Backs Coach – United States Naval Academy
STS Director of Football Del Smith put together an amazing curriculum for these new Soldier Coaches. Whether it was a highly engaging tackling clinic, to how to break down film and draw play cards, there were tons of nuggets to take away.
US Army officer Dan Patterson had this to say about his experience: “Soldiers to Sidelines is excellent. As a military officer looking at the future transition from the military, I will rely heavily on Soldiers to Sidelines to increase my ability to transition into a career of continued service to our nation’s youth.”
Many thanks to the Randy Walker Legacy Foundation for sponsoring this event, without your support we wouldn’t be able to bring these great programs to our veterans and service members.
We are excited to see the impact that these new coaches go on to have in their communities, congratulations to all of the new Soldier Coaches!
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