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Berks County high school football will have some new head coaches pacing the gridiron this fall. HSSTM asked four rookie head coaches “With your new position as head coach, how are you and your team preparing for the season ahead?"
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Berks County high school football will have some new head coaches pacing the gridiron this fall. HSSTM asked four rookie head coaches “With your new position as head coach, how are you and your team preparing for the season ahead?"
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Coach Tom Wapinsky
New head football coach – Fleetwood High School
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“We accomplished a lot of football in 8 days (during spring ball week), both my staff and the kids, the progress has been amazing. I am very impressed with all that I have seen. Defensively, we could line up tomorrow and play a game, and I am not talking just a plain vanilla look. Our turnout for all team events, work-outs and our fundraising campaign has also been very well participated. My coaching staff is very excited about what is happening here at Fleetwood, and this staff has deep roots in the Berks IC. We recently concluded football signups within the districts and we are plus 45 varsity/jv, plus 60 junior high. Believe it or not, we still have room for growth. There is certainly a buzz in our community: new stadium, new uniform look, new staff, solid administration support, and more importantly, we have a lot of new athletes participating in football this year, with more to come. We are excited.”
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Coach Ben McKnight
New head football coach – Kutztown High School
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“Here at Kutztown, we are preparing for the upcoming season in different ways. First, we have established our C.A.P (Cougar Academic Program). This program allows the coaching staff to monitor our athletes’ grades throughout the year. Second, our players have volunteered for community service. We have helped the Kutztown Manor (elderly home) run their activities programs. We participated in the re-opening of the Weis market, and lastly, we volunteered and helped the PTO of Greenwich Elementary school run their yearly carnival. We want our players to reach their highest potential in ALL areas of their lives. Since December, our players have been participating in the Cougar weight training and conditioning program three days a week and they are committed to the program. The coaching staff is establishing positive relationships with our players and positively reinforcing our motto, “Team comes first in everything we do together.”
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Coach Preston McKnight
New head football coach – Reading High School
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“We are preparing our players on three levels; physical strength, mental strength, and emotional strength. On the coaching staff at Reading, we have a certified speed trainer as well as a certified strength coach. Our strength program has been specifically developed to support all athletes, not just football specific. Our strength and speed program is developed on creating explosion. We will also be instituting a mandatory study hall and tutoring session during the first period of the school day. In order to create an emotional support system for our players, each player has a direct connection to his position coach. The player can call on his position coach 24/7. We feel it is essential to provide players with a service program that goes beyond the playing field.”
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Tom Wolf
New head football coach – Twin Valley High School
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“We have been hard at work here in Twin Valley preparing for the 2008 season. Starting in January, we have worked out three times a week, following the strength and agility program that has been designed and implemented by our strength and conditioning coach, Brad Burrows. After each of these sessions, we have conducted sessions in the class room and on the practice field, introducing the basic offense, defense, and special teams’ philosophies we will use. In March, we held a week long skills and drills camp to evaluate the talent we had. In May, we held a two week spring camp, installing components of our defense, special teams, and offense. This summer we plan to continue with our three-days-a-week strength and agility program and further implement our offense, defense, and special teams. We plan on participating in a number of 7-on-7 passing scrimmages and we will be attending a team camp, as well.”
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