AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Letter From The Publisher

by: John Gallup
Editor and Publisher
© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

Moving up the Coaching Ladder
 
Part of the fun of being with an organization that has chronicled the successes of football coaches for over 15 years is following the careers of coaches that we featured in AFM years ago. It’s great to see a coach like Gary Patterson, for example, who we put on our “Hot List” of up-and-coming coaches in 2004, achieve such great success at TCU and become AFM’s FBS Coach of the Year in 2011.
 

   While we’ve worked with hundreds of coaches over the years, Bill Blankenship’s story is different, and that’s why it’s so compelling. AFM profiled Blankenship in our June 2003 issue (pictured) after he had won the first of what would be three Oklahoma 6A state championships at Tulsa’s Union High School. The former QB at the University of Tulsa would achieve a 154-26 record at Union and became widely recognized as one of the top high school coaches in the country.
 

   So why would he abruptly resign from Union after another championship season in 2005? Especially without having another job lined up.
  

  You’ll get the answer starting on page 18 and find out how Blankenship went from high school legend to unemployed to college assistant to FBS head coach in a little over five years. He’s not the first coach to go from high school to D-I college coaching, but with his record at Union and experience as an assistant at Tulsa, we think he could be one of the best.
 
The Results Are In

Every year, we survey AFM subscribers to learn more about who you are and how you feel about the magazine. We recently completed our 2011 survey and you might be interested in knowing that the “average” AFM reader is a 40-year-old high school head coach or assistant coach who’s been coaching over 15 years and reading AFM for over 10 years. You spend an average of two hours reading each issue and most of you keep your copies for future reference. AFM is by far your favorite coaching magazine and 98.5% of you plan on renewing your subscription. For that, we thank you!
   

The most interesting part of the survey is where we ask for your suggestions about what you’d like to see in future issues of AFM. We get hundreds of comments, we read every one and we incorporate your ideas into our editorial planning. This month’s issue is a good example. Many of you asked for more drills, especially position-specific drills, and in this issue we’re delivering running back drills, tackling drills and drills for your entire 11-man defensive unit. We hope they will be a positive addition to your pre-season practices.

    Thank you to the 600-plus coaches who participated in our reader survey. The information you provide is valuable and will help us continue making AFM your most valuable coaching resource.

Beating the Heat

In our continuing effort to help you prepare your team for a successful 2011 season, in this issue we have articles about managing expectations of your team – both high and low, keys to successful pre-season practices and strength and speed training tips that will help get your players ready for the challenges that lay ahead.

    One of those challenges is dealing with the oppressive August heat that most of us around the country experience. Practicing during the hottest days of the year is not just uncomfortable but, as every coach should know, it also presents potentially dangerous conditions for athletes that are not acclimated to the heat. AFM got together with the National Athletic Trainers Association to give coaches guidelines for beating the August heat and provide critical information about types of heat illness, how to recognize their signs and what to do if you have an athlete in trouble. Safer football is better football, and we urge all coaches to learn everything they can about dealing with heat illness.

We hope you have safe pre-season practices that set your team up for a successful 2011 season.

                            John Gallup
                            Editor & Publisher







NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved