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HEAD FOOTBALL COACH QUESTIONNAIRE

Please answer the questions that follow as completely as possible to give us a picture of you andyour coaching background:

1.

Who has been the greatest influence in your coaching career? Please explain why.Mike Moore. Coach Moore was my college football coach for 3 years, and I had the opportunity to be a studentassistant under him for 1 year. Coach Moore had the ability to communicate will all of the athletes we had with

many different backgrounds. He carried himself in a way that showed he always had confidence in any

situation our team was put in. He would discipline us when it was needed, but would also listen to us when we

needed someone to talk to. He definitely knew the ins and outs of the game of football, and I was able to learn

a great deal about football and being a good coach from him.

2. What do you consider to be your greatest attribute or strength as a coach?I am a very competitive person. It does not matter what I am coaching, I want to win. I am not a win at all cost

type of guy however, I do understand and I believe that winning should be done the right way. I cannot stand

cheating, I believe in making good moral decisions, and I believe in being able to answer for the decisions that

you have made. You must be disciplined enough to handle the tough times while still doing the right things. It is

very easy to give in, but you have to be able to hold yourself to higher standards than the people who take theeasy way out.

3. What do you consider is your greatest success to this point in your coaching career?This past season I was the JV offensive Coordinator. The varsity offense we were running just was not working

with our JV athletes. I was able to redesign our JV offense before our last game, still using most of the same

principles of our previous offense, and lead our team to a win in our final JV game of the season. I dont deem

it as a success because we won. I feel it was success because I was able to use the things in place already and

remodel them to fit the kids in the system. I feel you have to be able to do this in whatever system you are in,

and this shows I was successful in doing this.

4. Describe a situation or incident related to your coaching career that has been adisappointment to you.A couple seasons ago our coaching staff was planning for the upcoming season and we came upon someinformation from a team that never punted and always onside kicked, and had a lot of success with it. We

looked into the statistics and though about how we had 4 downs to go 10 yards, and how we would only be

giving up between 10-15 yards on kickoffs and decided we were going to implement this. After 2 weeks into

the season we reevaluated our plan and realized that it wasnt going to work for us. The disappointing part of

the situation was after we had decided we were going to start punting, the decision was taken out of the

coaching staffs hands. The administration told us the day before our week 3 game that we Had to punt on

Friday. We had already made the decision but the fact that we had been told by our administration on what we

had to do in our up coming game and what our strategy had to be was a disappointment. We had planned this,

we looked into it, we reevaluated it and we saw that it wasnt working, but even if we had decided to stick with

it, the decision would have been taken out of our hands. That is the disappointing part that we were not allowed

to coach the team ourselves, make our own decision and change what needed changed, the decision was made

for us.

5. How do you define success as a coach?The easy way to define success as a coach is by counting your wins on Friday nights, but that is not what being

a coach is about. Being a coach is about molding and shaping a group of teenagers and getting them ready for

life. When seniors in your program are done, you have to ask yourself what I have done to get them ready for

their future. Have I taught them to be responsible? Have I taught them to be accountable? Have I shown them

how to lead? If the only thing you taught them was to win on Friday or it doesnt matter, then you have failed in

my eyes as a coach. We have the ability to reach so many young men who may not have a great home life. We

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can show them what hard work, dedication, and responsibility can do for you in the game of football, and

learning those traits will also pay off for them in the game of life.

6. Describe a specific instance in your coaching career that would describe number 5. In our 2007 season we went 1-8. Our starting quarterback obviously did not have a ton of success that year. He

was offered the ability to keep playing football at an NAIA school in Iowa and is currently a junior. He did and

still does love the game of football with our without success. He learned the traits needed to be successfulwhile he was in high school and took them with him to college. He has specifically told his parents that he

wants to be like Coach Westhoff. He is majoring in Physical Education and he wants to coach. If he had not

learned the things he did in high school he probably would have given up on football, which would have been

the easiest thing to do after his senior season, and would probably be majoring in something else. I view that as

success that a former student athlete wants to be like you, continue their football career, and get the education to

come back and hopefully be able to change the lives of his future students.

7. Please describe your coaching style.I am an intense person. I want things to be done right. If they are not done right we will do them again until we

get it right. To be this way you have to be detail oriented, and are able to take in a lot of things at one time.

Being this way may cost you time in your practices, but I feel it is better to be great at a few things than to be

average at a lot of things.

8. Explain how you get student-athletes out for football. What is your approach to getathletes to buy-in to your football program?First of all I will communicate with all prospective football players. Through that communication I will give an

open invitation to summer team camp. I would like them to try that first, that way they have a base of our

program before the season starts in August. Through camp, summer strength and conditioning, and the

beginning of school, I will start to form relationships with the athletes. In these relationships they will see that I

am and will be honest with them even when it is hard to be. They will see that I respect each and every one of

them and their abilities. They will see that I do have expectations that will push them, and push them hard but

the expectations wont be so outrageous that they cannot be achieved. Lastly I will be dedicated to the program

and the athletes, because if I am not dedicated and do not put in as much as I am asking them to they will never

buy in to the program.

9. What are things you do to encourage parents to be on board but yet not becomeintrusive in your program?I want to communicate with parents. I want to understand where they are coming for and encourage them to be

able to speak with me, but at the same time there are proper times to communicate, and proper procedures to

follow. Right after a game is not the correct time to speak with a coach about playing time.

10.What is your philosophy regarding 9th graders and the high school football program?9th graders are a must have for a successful program. Their role can be that of many different things. IF, and

that is a big if, they are physically and mentally ready they may be able to find time on the varsity field. In most

cases they need to be somewhat sheltered from athletes at the Junior/Senior level because they are not mature

enough to hold their own against those athletes. They need to be allowed to learn the game, and also given the

opportunity to grow physically and mentally before hitting the varsity field.

11.How have you promoted summer and off-season weights and conditioning?The best ways I have used to promote summer and off-season are to use incentives. I have held an end of

summer cook out, in which the athletes or team of athletes with the best percentage of attendance gets steaks,

and the others get hamburgers.

Another way was to give the athletes with 90% or higher attendance a T shirt.

The last is one I have not personally done, but would want to implement. A points system is set up with 100

total points. Each workout is worth a number of points, and each practice throughout the summer is worth a

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certain number. Each day of summer team camp also has a value. Through these points that the athletes earn,

they have a total score. The athlete will not receive their helmet decal until they have achieved 90 points. They

will have the ability to make up points, but ultimately everyone in the stands can see who has worked in the

offseason to earn that decal, to earn that part of the team.

12.Wamego is a 4A school. What do you need in this time of limited resources and budgetreductions taking place in Kansas public schools to produce a successful footballprogram?The first thing I need is support. Support from the administration, support through my coaching staff, and

support through the community. I understand that is some cases you have to earn support, and I expect to do

that.

The next thing needed is consistency. Consistency comes in many different ways, but in a successful program

there are not many things that are changing. There is not a carousel of coaches, and systems are not constantly

changing. At times things may be tweaked, but the main cogs remain the same.

Ultimately there is no one thing that will guarantee a successful program. There may be times that you cannot

get that piece of equipment or that new software program. You have to be able to handle that and understand

how to work around those challenges. It may take more work, and it may not be easy, but sometimes the easy

way is not the successful way.