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


TURNING AROUND A LOSING PROGRAM

© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

By Chad Hanson, Head Coach, Eleva-Strum High School (WI)

Chad Hanson is the head coach at Eleva-Strum High School in Wisconsin. Three years ago he was hired to improve the school’s football fortunes. In the previous three years prior to his arrival, the team won a total of five games.

* What were the issues with the Eleva-Strum football program before you arrived? What was the culture like?

- The situation that I walked into at Eleva-Strum was a unique one. The program was one of the top small school programs in the state of Wisconsin from 2002-2008. During that time they made the playoffs every year, played in 4 state semifinal games, and 2 state championships. In 2006 the program finished second and in 2007 they won the state championship.

Two years later, for whatever reason, the wheels fell off. In 2010 it hit rock bottom with a 0-9 season. From 2009-2011 the football team won a total of 5 games. I am not exactly sure what happened but when I got the job it seemed as though there was a lack of accountability. There was a lack of accountability in the classroom, a lack of accountability in offseason training and a lack of accountability during the season.


During my first season, 2012, we had to forfeit our first JV game due to grade problems. The off season program was basically non-existent and there were numerous kids walking around the school who had played in middle school and quit at some point during their freshmen or sophomore year.  

* When you became head coach, what were your priorities? What were the critical issues in re-starting the program?  

- My priority was not in the results on the football field. It was and is the results in the classroom, community, at home and in athletics in general. If we take care of business in all of these areas, the wins will come on the football field. Stealing a line from Nick Saban, ‘it is about the process.’ My coaching staff and I have spent time working with the players year round to mold them into exceptional students, community members, family members and all around athletes.  Our process is built around a series of team building blocks. The team building blocks have developed a culture that expects and demands success in the classroom, community, at home, in athletics in general and finally on the football field.


Academics are a year round focus for our players and staff. My coaching staff and I check grades on a daily basis both during the season and during the offseason. I am in constant contact with the players about their performance in the classroom. This contact is both to help the struggling players and also to praise the students who are having success in the classroom. When I first arrived at Eleva-Strum the players did not want to talk about their academic performance and would often lie about it in order to try and cover up their failures in the classroom. Today, it is not uncommon for players to stop by my classroom during lunch to ask for help understanding a concept or to share a grade that they had just earned on a test or project.

The Cardinal Football team spends a lot of time working in the community during both the season and offseason. Below is a list of the activities that we do annually to help build strong community/family members.

-       Work at the community festivals doing a variety of tasks from garbage patrol to riding on the annual Cardinal Football Nation parade float

-       Annual Chili Feed Fundraiser

-       Tackling Cancer game to raise money for cancer research

-       Work with elementary students throughout the school year

-       Family picnic during first week of practice 


I am blessed to have the head basketball coach serving on my coaching staff. We are both working together to promote that the kids play football, basketball and one of our spring sports as well. By doing this we are building all around athletes that can succeed in any sport. Weight room attendance has drastically improved since my first week in the weight room in July of 2012. During my first week of supervision, I saw no kids. I promote the weight room not just as something needed to be successful in football but also in all other sports. 

My coaching staff and I are now three years into implementing the process at Eleva-Strum. While the process did not create instant success, it has allowed us to turn this once storied football program around in three years. Over the course of the last three years we went from 3-5 to 2-7 to 6-3. The process guided the Cardinal Football team to our first Dairyland Conference Championship since 2007 and first playoff appearance since 2008.

* How did you assemble your staff and what did you look for in hiring assistant coaches? How was the support of the administration when you started?


My coaching staff was basically in place when I got hired. I have carried over two of my three high school assistants. One area of need was coaches for our middle school program. For the longest time, Eleva-Strum was blessed to have a couple of community members who provided consistency in the middle school program. These individuals have since retired from coaching. This presented a problem as it has been difficult to find long-term solutions. To address this problem, I had to think outside the box. I have built a pretty strong relationship with the Education Department at a nearby university (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) and for the last two years I have supported a student teacher that in turn has served as a middle school football coach.

After my first season, I built a list of things that needed to be addressed in order for the football program to turn around. This comprehensive list included a wide variety of items from leadership development to updating equipment to taking the football team to the state championship games in Madison to see the results of hard work. For the most part, the administration has been open to my ideas and allowed me to implement the needed changes.  

* What did you do to change the culture of the program?  

Ultimately, we simply made it part of the community again. Now it isn't a case of just the football coaches having expectations for the players and team. Now coaches, parents and community members all have similar expectations. Thanks to the power of social media, we now communicate with the parents and community on a daily basis through Facebook and Twitter. The Cardinal Football Nation is now part of the community year round and not just during the football season. 


* In your view, what were the reasons for the renewed interest in the football program? You went from 33 kids to nearly 60 - what were the reasons for the increase in numbers?

To increase the numbers I have worked very hard at making the football team more than just a football team. Whether it is during the season or the offseason, we are more than just a group of kids that lift weights and play football. Don’t get me wrong - we do plenty of offseason training and playing football. During the season we do a variety of things to try and make our football games community events.


When I arrived at Eleva-Strum we simply had homecoming. Now each home game is a special night (homecoming, youth night, tackling cancer, chicken-barbecue tailgate party, etc.). The players really take pride in our tackling cancer game, which we started two years ago. Leading up to the game and during the game the coaches, players and parents work together to raise money which we donate at the local Making Strides Breast Cancer walk. The players then get to wear a pink jersey on the field to symbolize the fight against cancer.

During the offseason we continue to do events and activities. We have an annual chili feed during either a boys or girls basketball game to raise money to update our equipment. Mentoring is also an important part of our offseason. I take kids to our district elementary schools to do a variety of activities with the elementary students. Our two biggest events include teaming up with the third grade classes to make Christmas cards for the elderly and taking a pie in the face as a culminating event for Read Across America month. Also, each April we have an athletic training and leadership clinic and in June we have a float in the local community festival.






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