FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFL
7/18/01
CONTACT:
BRIAN McCARTHY, NFL, 212-450-2069
MCCARTHYB@NFL.COM
STEVE ALIC/MEGHAN POWERS, NFL, 212-450-2000
NFL
AND THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
SALUTE YOUTH AND HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
100 Youth Football Coaches and
Administrators Attend “Football’s Greatest
Weekend”
The road to the Hall of Fame starts at youth football.
With
that truism in mind, the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame will host an
event honoring youth and high school football during Hall of Fame induction
weekend on August 2-5 in Canton, Ohio -- birthplace of pro football. The NFL has invited more than 100 youth and high school
football coaches and other personnel from around the country to participate in
an unprecedented “NFL Salute to Youth Football.”
Last
year, the NFL and the Hall of Fame saluted NFL history when more than 130
current Hall of Famers traveled to northeast Ohio as part of “Football’s
Greatest Reunion.” This year’s
celebration looks to the future by honoring those men and women who coach and
administer the next generation of Hall of Famers.
The NFL and its players union have made a major commitment to investing
in the game through the NFL Youth Football Fund and other programs.
“High
school and youth football are the foundation of our sport and we have made it a
priority to ensure that we properly invest in the future of the game,” said NFL
COMMISSIONER PAUL TAGLIABUE. “This
special weekend is designed to salute those coaches and administrators who are
supporting young football players and inspiring them to excel both on and off
the field.”
More
than 100 individuals investing in youth and high school football will
participate in the events, including 14 former NFL players such as SPEEDY DUNCAN, NESBY GLASGOW
and PETE METZELAARS, who have now
dedicated their lives to coaching youth and high school football.
Legendary
coach DON SHULA and quarterback BOB
GRIESE, both Hall of Fame inductees, are among those who will address the
group during a day-long session of clinics, seminars and roundtable discussions.
The
attendees also will include coaches who have produced recent NFL players, such
as TOMMY REAMON, who coached the
first pick of the 2001 draft, MICHAEL
VICK of the Atlanta Falcons and AARON
BROOKS, the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback during their high school days.
Also
included will be representatives from the nation’s largest youth
organizations, such as American Youth Football, Boys and Girls Club of America,
Jewish Community Center, the National Football Fund, National Recreation and
Park Association, PAL, Pop Warner, and YMCA.
High school football coaches from Japan, Mexico, Canada and Europe and
two female football coaches, including the mother of New York Jets’ SCOTT
FROST and the NFL High School Football Coach of the Year winners from
1995-2000 are participants as well.
Several
NFL dads will be on hand as well. DAVE
BRUNELL (father of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Mark) and SONNY
DETMER (father of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Koy and Cleveland Browns’ Ty)
are both high school football coaches.
The
NFL also will recognize the Play It Smart
program by inviting academic mentors and head coaches from the 28 high school
teams which employ the initiative. This unique program, created by the National
Football Foundation with major funding from the NFL, assists youth and high
school football players with positive personal development, decision-making,
responsibility, maturity issues and leadership skills.
It strengthens their academic and life skills as well as their physical
abilities.
In addition to attending all the
traditional Hall of Fame Weekend festivities, the high school and youth coaches
and administrators will be saluted by Commissioner Tagliabue and other NFL
dignitaries at a special recognition dinner on Saturday night, August 4.
Youth
and high school football also will be featured that weekend in a special
NFL-paid supplement that runs Friday, August 3 in USA
TODAY.
NFL.COM,
the NFL’s official site, and NFLHS.com, the NFL’s newly relaunched high
school site, will cover the events throughout the Hall of Fame weekend.
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The
following is a state by state rundown of expected attendees:
|
Name |
Location |
Notes |
ARIZONA
|
|
|
Mark
Smith
|
Peonia,
AZ |
§
Head Coach at
Glendale High School |
George
Zeller
|
Tucson,
AZ |
§
Head coach at
Cholla High Magnet School |
|
Harvey
Thompson |
Tucson,
AZ |
§
Academic
Coach at Cholla HS |
George
Zeller
|
Tucson,
AZ |
§
Cholla High
Magnet School |
Dallas
Hickman
|
Phoenix,
AZ |
§
Redskins:
1975-81 (LB, DE, Special Teams captain) §
Teacher and
Varsity coach at Sunnyslope HS |
|
Brandon
Alderman |
Glendale,
AZ |
§
Academic
Coach at Glendale HS §
Pursuing PhD.
in Sport & Exercise Pathology at Arizona State University |
CALIFORNIA
|
|
|
Ron
Yary
|
Bellflower,
CA |
§
Hall of Fame
inductee was Bellflower HS grad |
|
Bob
Ladoceur |
Concord,
CA |
§
Head coach at
De La Salle HS §
Was the 1995
NFL High School Coach of the Year §
Coached
numerous NFL players |
Lynn
Swann
|
Foster
City, CA |
§
Hall of Fame
inductee was Serra HS grad |
|
Oscar
Gomez |
LA
Area |
§
Academic
Coach at Arroya HS in El Monte |
|
Don
Norford |
Long
Beach, CA |
§
Head Coach at
Poly High §
1996 NFL High
School Coach of the Year §
Has coached
40 NFLers; 20 from Poly High |
|
Paul
Perenon |
Oakland,
CA |
§
Head Coach at
Bishop O’Dowd HS in Oakland, CA §
1999 NFL High
School Football Coach of the Year §
Coached Eric
Bjornson (TE, Raiders) and Tarik Glenn (OT, Colts) in HS |
|
Bob
Johnson |
Mission
Viejo, CA |
§
Father of
Bills quarterback Rob Johnson §
Youth
football camp coach |
|
Steven
Haynes |
San
Diego, CA |
§
Academic
Coach for Play it Smart at Kearny HS §
Receivers’
coach for San Diego Sunfire (WAFL) |
Terry
Lewis
|
San
Francisco, CA |
§
Academic
Coach at South San Francisco High School |
Ben
White
|
San
Francisco, CA |
§
7 years as
head coach at South San Francisco HS §
League Coach
of the Year |
Speedy
Duncan
|
Stockton,
CA |
§
Former player
w/ Chargers, Redskins, Coach at Edison |
|
Orlando
Coons |
Poway,
CA |
§
High school
head coach and Pop Warner Coach |
COLORADO
|
|
|
Steve
Sewell
|
Denver,
CO |
§
Former Denver
Bronco, now Broncos Director of Community Outreach and youth football
coach §
Broncos No. 1
pick out of Oklahoma in 1985. Played through 1992. |
Jim
Turner
|
Edgewater,
CO (Denver suburb) |
§
Play It Smart
Academic Coach at Jefferson HS in Edgewater, CO §
Played 16
years in the AFL and NFL (kicker) §
Helped his
program’s kids raised their GPAs 32% in 1999-2000 school year |
FLORIDA
|
|
|
|
Dave
Brunell |
Jacksonville,
FL |
§
Father of
Jaguars QB, Mark Brunell §
High school
head coach |
|
Jim
Cheyunski |
Jacksonville,
FL |
§
Drafted
by Boston Patriots in 1968, Starting MLB, NFL All-rookie Team, became
the Pats’ defensive captain and the team’s defensive MVP, grew up in
Bridgewater, Mass. §
Buffalo
Bills (’73, 74); defensive captain and starting MLB; Baltimore Colts
(‘75-77); defensive captain and starting MLB §
Just
completed his 8th HS coaching season. Now with Episcopal HS
in Jacksonville as an assistant head coach |
|
Christine
McEntire |
Pahokee,
FL |
§
Academic
Coach for Play it Smart at Pahokee HS §
Graduated
from Pahokee HS in 1991 |
Jack
Youngblood
|
Monticello,
FL |
§
Hall of Fame
inductee was a Jefferson County HS grad |
|
Brad
Hart |
North
Palm Beach, FL |
§
PAL and
National Football Foundation Board member |
|
Richard
Wood |
Tampa,
FL |
§
Head Coach at
Wharton HS §
Law
enforcement officer for Hillsborough County Schools (200+ schools) §
An original
Tampa Bay Buccaneer §
Coached Pro
Football in Europe in 1994 and ’97 §
Worked on
Buccaneers’ Coaching Staff from 1991-94 |
ILLINOIS
|
|
|
Marv
Levy
|
Chicago,
IL |
§
Hall of Fame
inductee was a South Side HS grad |
|
Dan
Goich |
Chicago,
IL |
§
Mt. Carmel
HS, 1969-73 §
DT, NFL with
Detroit, NY Giants §
NFL Youth
Board §
Former head
coach in Nevada last year; currently teaches |
Indiana
|
|
|
Dennis
Pope
|
Indianapolis,
IN |
§
Senior
Director of Football and Baseball for the Collegiate Athletic
Association |
IOWA
|
|
|
|
Carol
Frost |
Shenandoah,
IA |
§
Coached son,
NY Jets FS Scott Frost, in HS when she was the receivers’ coach §
Assists her
husband Larry, who is head coach §
Competed in
1968 Olympics in Discus |
LOUISIANA
|
|
|
Donald
H. Shows
|
West
Monroe, LA |
§
39 years of
coaching experience, 19 head coach and athletic director §
2 National HS
championships §
District
Coach of the Year (13 times) |
MARYLAND
|
|
|
|
Kelley
Bagdasarian |
Baltimore,
MD |
§
Academic
Coach for the Patterson HS Clippers |
Roger
Wrenn
|
Baltimore,
MD |
§
Head Coach at
Patterson HS |
|
Massachusetts
|
|
|
|
John
McCarthy |
Brookline,
MA |
§
Academic/Life
Skills Coach for Play It Smart at Madison Park HS §
Life Skills
presenter at NFL Coaching Academy |
Nick
Buoniconti
|
Springfield,
MA |
§
Hall of Fame
inductee was a Cathedral HS grad |
MICHIGAN
|
|
|
Albert
Fracassa
|
Detroit,
MI |
§
Head Coach at
Brother Rice HS in Detroit §
A living
legend in Detroit HS football lore; Has coached 41 years –
304-90-7—and still going strong §
Has coached
at Brother Rice since 1969, earning 10 Catholic League Championships §
1997 NFL HS
Coach of the Year |
Tom
Watkins
|
Detroit,
MI |
§
Detroit HB
1962-67 §
Played
1961-68, Cleveland to start, Pittsburgh to finish §
Current HS
coach |
Mississippi
|
|
|
Jackie
Slater
|
Jackson,
MS |
§
Hall of Fame
inductee was a Wingfield HS grad |
MISSOURI
|
|
§
|
Ryonnel
Jackson
|
St.
Louis, MO |
§
Play It Smart
Academic Coach at University City HS in St. Louis §
Recommended
to take the post by Wash U. Head Football Coach Larry Kindbom |
|
Lafayette
Gatewood |
St.
Louis, MO |
§
Head coach at
University City High School §
1983 graduate
of University City HS |
NEW
JERSEY
|
|
|
Bob
Casciola
|
Morristown,
NJ |
§
President,
National Fooball Foundation and College Hall of Fame §
Former coach
at Princeton University |
Chris
Casamento
|
New
Brunswick, NJ |
§
Head Coach at
New Brunswick HS |
Laurie
Ben-Ami
|
New
Brunswick, NJ |
§
Academic
Coach at Springfield HS of Science & Technology |
NEW
YORK
|
|
|
Brent
T. Steuerwald
|
Albany,
NY |
§
Play it Smart
Head Coach §
Chapter
President of National Football Foundation §
Speaker at
coaching clinics nationally |
Stephanie
English
|
Bronx,
NY |
§
Academic
Coach at Christopher Columbus HS in the Bronx §
Pursuing
doctorate degree at NYU in counseling psychology; also has a BS in
Nursing and Masters in mental health nursing |
Kenneth
Davis
|
Buffalo,
NY |
§
HS coach at
Bishop Dunn, TEXAS §
Former RB,
Bills, Packers (coming) |
Mike
Camardese
|
Brooklyn,
NY |
§
Canarsie HS
head coach |
Tommy
Slavato
|
Brooklyn,
NY |
§
Head Coach at
South Shore HS |
Robert
Tisch
|
New
York, NY |
§
Owner, New
York Giants §
Founder, Take
the Field |
Wylia
Slade
|
Westbury,
NY |
§
Assistant
Head Varsity Coach at Westbury, HS §
Founder/Coach
of the semi-pro women’s team, the New York Panthers §
Dream is to
someday be a special teams coach in the NFL |
NORTH
CAROLINA
|
|
|
Pete
Metzelaars
|
Charlotte,
NC |
§
TE, Bills,
Panthers, Lions, Seattle §
Coach at
Charlotte Christian |
Dan
Gould
|
Greensboro,
NC |
§
PhD. with UNC
Greensboro §
Author of the
Coaching Academy Handbook |
OHIO
|
|
|
Barbara
J. Walker
|
Cincinnati,
OH |
§
Sports
Psychologist in Cincinnati §
Expert in
exercise and Sport Psychology §
Competitive
tri-athlete – ran Boston Marathon and Ironman Australia §
Member of
Board of Directors of the Ohio/Northern Ky. WS Foundation chapter |
|
Gerry
Rardin |
Cleveland,
OH |
§
HS Coach at
Walsh Jesuit in Cuyahoga Falls, OH §
NFL High
School Football Coach of the Year for 2000 (nominated by Mike Vrabel,
LB, New England Patriots) §
In 22 years,
25% of his players have gone on to play college football §
Nine state
playoff appearances, two Ohio HS titles §
Named Coach
of the Year by Fox 8 & ABC Channel 5 in 1999 |
|
LaLisa
Anthony |
Canton/Akron,
OH |
§
Academic
Coach at Akron Buchtel HS in Akron §
Board member
of Second Glance, Inc (home for young African-American girls) §
Current
president of Canton Midget Football League |
|
Joe
Galat |
College
Corner, OH |
§
President,
American Youth Football §
Former
player/coach at Miami University (OH) §
In the NFL,
coached the New York Giants and the Houston Oilers.
In the CFL, he was GM/coach of the British Columbia Lions and GM
of Montreal. §
Coached at
Yale University, Miami University, University of Kentucky, and
Youngstown State University |
|
PENNSYLVANIA |
|
|
|
Boris
Oden |
Allentown,
PA |
§
Academic
Coach at William Allen HS §
Just finished
his second year of coaching football and track at the school §
Received B.S.
and M.S. at Penn State §
Played
football at PSU from ’92-95. |
|
Kevin
Ronalds |
Allentown,
PA |
§
Head coach at
William Allen HS §
Coached
Denver LB John Mobley |
|
John
Warner |
Landhorne,
PA |
§
President,
Pop Warner |
|
Clifton
Hubbard |
Philadelphia,
PA |
§
Head coach at
Roxborough HS §
President of
the Philadelphia Public League Coaches Assoc. |
|
Devin
Riley |
Philadelphia,
PA |
§
Academic
Coach for Play it Smart at Roxborough HS |
|
Kathleen
O’Brien |
Philadelphia,
PA |
§
Academic
Coach for Play it Smart at Ben Franklin HS §
CHAMPS Life
Skills Coordinator at Drexel University |
|
Chuck
Klausing |
Pittsburgh,
PA |
§
Coached on
the high school, collegiate and international level (Switzerland,
Austria and Italy) for total of 48 years §
Local chapter
leader for the National Football Foundation |
|
Dan
Rooney |
Pittsburgh,
PA |
§
Owner,
Pittsburgh Steelers |
|
Mike
Munchak |
Scranton,
PA |
§
Hall of Fame
inductee was a Scranton HS grad |
Tennessee
|
|
|
|
Orestes
“Ore” Pumariega |
Knoxville,
TN |
§
Academic
Coach at Fulton, HS and Austin-East HS §
First-generation
American from Cuba |
TEXAS
|
|
|
|
Kenneth
Davis |
Dallas,
TX |
§
HS coach at
Bishop Dunn §
Former RB,
Bills, Packers |
|
Sonny
Detmer |
San
Antonio, TX |
§
Head Football
Coach for a number of Texas high schools §
Dedicated 30
years of his life to high school football §
Coached sons
Ty and Koy §
Numerous
“Coach of the Year” awards |
|
VERMONT |
|
|
|
Paul
Frenette |
Winooski,
VT |
§
HS Football
Coach and administrator at Winooski HS since 1977 §
Coach at the
school since 1983 §
Has appeared
in five state championships, won two (’92, ‘93) §
Teacher at
Winooski HS since 1977 |
|
Jim
Carter |
Winooski,
VT |
§
Academic
Coach at Winooski HS |
VIRGINIA
|
|
|
|
Riki
Ellison |
Arlington,
VA |
§
Former head
coach at TC Williams High School. Currently volunteers with the football
team §
LB for the
San Francisco 49ers (1983-’88) and LA Raiders (1990-92) |
|
Rodney
Lamont Berry |
Richmond,
VA |
§
George Wythe
HS, head coach |
|
Sydney
Brodeur |
Richmond
VA |
§
George Wythe
HS, academic coach |
|
Richard
McFee |
Richmond,
VA |
§
Huguenot HS
Coach §
Attended
draft with David Terrell of the Bears, McFee’s 6th player
in 13 years to go to NFL §
5 NFLers, 149
football schloarships §
115-32 since
1988 |
|
Tommy
Reamon |
Warwick,
Va. |
§
Warwick High
School Head Football Coach §
Coached Aaron
Brooks (Saints) and Michael Vick (Falcons) at Ferguson HS in Newport
News, Va. §
Coached
Kwamie Lassiter (Cardinals) at Menchville HS in Newport News, Va. §
Former World
League player §
Actor and
producer from ’79-86; acted in “North Dallas Forty” |
WASHINGTON
|
|
|
Art
Kuehn
|
Duvall,
WA |
§
Head Football
Coach at Cedarcrest High School §
Played for
Seahawks from 1976-198 §
Began
coaching at Cedarcrest in 1992; has been head coach since 1993 §
Pursuing
masters degree in Educational Administration |
|
Gary
Wright |
Seattle,
WA |
§
Seahawks
executive §
Steve
Largent’s presenter at Hall of Fame |
|
Nesby
Glasgow |
Seattle,
WA |
§
NFL DB/KR/PR,
79-92 with Baltimore, Indianapolis and Seattle 88-92 |
Barbara
Hedges
|
Seattle,
WA |
§
Director of
Athletics at the University of Washington §
National
Football Foundation Board member |
Ron
Howard
|
Seattle,
WA |
§
HS Football
Coach and Educator at at Aki Kurose Middle School §
Oakland,
Calif. native; 2-yr. all-state football player at Pasco HS (’67-‘70) §
Graduated
from Seattle University in 1974 §
Played for
Cowboys 1974-75, played in SB X vs. Pittsburgh §
An original
Seattle Seahawk, caught their first game-winning catch in ’76 §
Was
ironworker for 10 years, health problems led him into teaching §
Vice
Principal, PE & Health Teacher, coaches football, basketball and
track |
WASHINGTON,
DC
|
|
|
Kathy
Spangler
|
Washington,
DC |
§
Director of
the National Programs for the National Recreation and Park Association §
Serves on the
steering committee for implementing the President’s Report on
Promoting Better Health for Young People through Physical Activity and
Sports |
International:
|
Name |
Country |
Notes |
Steffan
Breuer
|
Dusseldorf,
Germany |
|
Mitch
Chuvalo
|
Toronto,
Canada |
§
Son of
legendary boxer George Chuvalo §
Coach at
Western Technical High in W. Toronto §
Named
Canada’s HS football couch of the year in 2000 by NFL/CFL committee |
|
Hirai
Hidetsgu |
Kyoto,
Japan |
|
|
Leopoldo
Vazquez Mellado |
Mexico |
|
|
Paul-Vincent
Miraval |
Canada/France |
§
Football Ambassador in France
§
Head Coach of
France’s Jr. National Football Assoc. §
Head Coach
from ’94-00 for Aix en Provence Argonautes (D-I French League) §
Has a
relationship with Sam Rutigliano – former Cleveland Browns Head Coach §
In five years
of coaching, he went 56-5 and has helped football grow in France (3
consecutive undefeated seasons) |
The
former NFL players who will be in Canton as active youth and high school coaches
are:
Jim
Cheyunski
|
New
England Patriots |
Kenneth
Davis
|
Buffalo
Bills and Green Bay Packers |
Speedy
Duncan
|
San
Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins |
Riki
Eilison
|
San
Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders |
Nesby
Glasgow
|
Baltimore
Colts, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks |
Dan
Goich*
|
Detroit
Lions, New York Giants |
Dallas
Hickman
|
Washington
Redskins |
|
Ron
Howard |
Seattle
Seahawks |
|
Art
Kuehn |
Seattle
Seahawks |
|
Peter
Metzelaars |
Buffalo
Bills, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks |
|
Steve
Sewell* |
Denver
Broncos |
|
Tommy
Reamon |
Kansas
City Chiefs |
|
Tom
Watkins |
Cleveland
Browns, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers |
|
Richard
Wood |
Tampa
Bay Buccaneers |
* serves in an administrative capacity
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