Women in Football

A woman playing football. How is that for a new idea in the game of football?

This past week I finally had an opportunity to meet some of the incoming freshman football players that I would be coaching this fall as they were doing there weight lifting regimen. Much to my surprise, one of them was female! Through my years as a player, I have seen girls say they want to play and then never follow through, but this particular girl is actually in the weight room working towards becoming a football player. I talked to another coach who said that he has seen this before and that she'll quit before long. For me, I believe that she is serious about doing this, and the only question is whether or not she can take a hit. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. If she makes it past her first hard hit, then we'll know this is for real.

But what about women playing football? Certainly it is physically difficult for women to compete against men but there are always exceptions to the rule. We are always looking for ways to use different players in different situations to give us a competitive advantage. Is there anyway to use this with women on the team? If you're a small school could it be advantageous to have a female track star or basketball center on your team?

Maybe women can't compete, but you won't know unless you let them have a fair shake.

Harrison High School Adds Youth to Staff

William Henry Harrison High School of Harrison, Ohio has a long standing tradition of "Old School" football. They have been running a power I offense since before anyone alive can remember. Through many years and many coaches Harrison has maintained an image of traditional offenses, stapled by a strong run game.
Just recently Harrison hired two recent graduates to help coach their football team. Bryan Berning, 2008 graduate, will be varsity offensive line coach and junior varsity offensive coordinator. Kevin Ferneding, 2007 graduate, will be the freshman running backs coach. Both coaches grew up in Harrison's traditional power I offense, but they also are extremely well educated on New Football Schemes as well.
The Ultimate goal is for Coaches Berning and Ferneding to be able to expand the Wildcat's playbook to include New Football Scheme Plays, and be able to utilize these plays without losing the tradition of power running found at Harrison High School. I am excited to see the Wildcat's offense develop and to see how these two talented young coaches create the perfect marriage between traditional offense, and New Football Schemes.