Post by mainstream180 on Jan 15, 2009 1:36:45 GMT -6
Coaches,
Firstly I sincerely must apologize for what must seem like a ridiculously lengthy post and must thank you if you take the time to read it!!!
Secondly to give you guys more of an idea as to why I’m asking about how willing many of you are to accept a coach as voluntary member/ potentially full time member of your coaching team I figure it would be best to give you a brief idea as to who I am and where I’m coming from with such a question.
I’m currently a 21 year old college student at the University of Auckland in New Zealand (NZ). I have one more semester before I graduate with a degree in business majoring in information systems and marketing (surprisingly young I know).
For those of you unfamiliar with New Zealand, it is a small country on the other side of the world in the Pacific Ocean, well known for Its international rugby team the ‘All Blacks’ and for being the country that the Lord Of the Rings trilogy was filmed in.
In NZ three sports feature predominately in the public domain, these are: Rugby, Cricket and Netball. In New Zealand American Football is virtually non-existent. There are a few amateur clubs scattered around the country (football is not played at high schools or colleges here), but playing for them can require one to travel a lengthy distance and unfortunately often games and practices are not regularly scheduled or always scheduled at the most convenient times for most people. The NFL a few years back tried to start up football in New Zealand, they even went as far as to send over retired professional players as coaches to youth level programs. However because of the lack of media attention, the lack of resources available, the price of equipment (when factoring in shipping and the exchange rate) and because professional and even American college games are never screened in NZ, much to the NFL’s dismay the sport really never did catch on with most kiwis preferring to stick with good old fashioned rugby. Thus in all honesty the pee wee leagues in the US probably garner more attention from the public and other coaches than the football clubs here.
However that has not deterred my interest in the sport. I started watching following football back in 2006 and it has been very much an on and off affair because my first love has always been basketball. More recently though for a variety of reasons as far as my interests go football has surpassed basketball and I dare say it has become an obsession of mine.
Unfortunately though having grown up in a country devoid of the sport and never having played it formally (and as I have aforementioned, games aren’t screened here) it has been quite the challenge learning the all the X and O’s of the game, especially when in general I have only access to the highlights of most games and not the full games themselves. Nevertheless that said, being not one to just give up I have amassed a small library of past games that I love reviewing and adding new copies of games too.
More importantly though,I have recently completed both levels 1 & 2 of USA Football’s coaching (www.usafootball.com) and ASEP’s Coaching Football Technical and Tactical Skills Course (www.asep.com/courseInfo/purchase_courseinfo.cfm?courseID=34&format=&orgLetter=ALL&orgID=0). At present I’m now considering Drake University’s Distance learning program: Football Coaching 401 (www.drake.edu/edex/distance/coaching/EDEX_271_Football_Coaching.php)
So as you might have been able to tell from the studying that I have done so far it has always been a dream of mine to coach a sport, in the past I thought that sport would be basketball, however as I’ve grown as a young man, I’ve also grown to appreciate the many nuances of football and the direct influences that coaches of the sport have on their teams. Furthermore, it has always been a dream of mine to coach at a competitive level, in particular the division 1 college level. It’s a dream that I readily admit is quite farfetched and is more than probably one that I will never have the chance to live.
That said upon graduation I’ve decided that I would love to work in the US and possibly relocate permanently (depending on my experience) and as stupid as it might sound, one of the primary reasons for doing so it because I want to at least try and fulfill some aspect of my coaching dream. I intend on getting a job with my degree (for financial reasons) but I want to volunteer all my spare time to coaching. Specifically I would being aiming if possible for the 5A level of high school which is why I feel it’s important to ask many of you who are coaches whether they would take on someone like me as a volunteer OR EVEN POSSIBLY hire someone like me as an actual staff member given my aforementioned knowledge regarding the sport and hopefully obvious drive to excel given the limitations I’ve faced regarding it?
Lastly Thanks once again for reading! I can’t thank you enough for your time coaches and I hope to hear your comments soon!
Firstly I sincerely must apologize for what must seem like a ridiculously lengthy post and must thank you if you take the time to read it!!!
Secondly to give you guys more of an idea as to why I’m asking about how willing many of you are to accept a coach as voluntary member/ potentially full time member of your coaching team I figure it would be best to give you a brief idea as to who I am and where I’m coming from with such a question.
I’m currently a 21 year old college student at the University of Auckland in New Zealand (NZ). I have one more semester before I graduate with a degree in business majoring in information systems and marketing (surprisingly young I know).
For those of you unfamiliar with New Zealand, it is a small country on the other side of the world in the Pacific Ocean, well known for Its international rugby team the ‘All Blacks’ and for being the country that the Lord Of the Rings trilogy was filmed in.
In NZ three sports feature predominately in the public domain, these are: Rugby, Cricket and Netball. In New Zealand American Football is virtually non-existent. There are a few amateur clubs scattered around the country (football is not played at high schools or colleges here), but playing for them can require one to travel a lengthy distance and unfortunately often games and practices are not regularly scheduled or always scheduled at the most convenient times for most people. The NFL a few years back tried to start up football in New Zealand, they even went as far as to send over retired professional players as coaches to youth level programs. However because of the lack of media attention, the lack of resources available, the price of equipment (when factoring in shipping and the exchange rate) and because professional and even American college games are never screened in NZ, much to the NFL’s dismay the sport really never did catch on with most kiwis preferring to stick with good old fashioned rugby. Thus in all honesty the pee wee leagues in the US probably garner more attention from the public and other coaches than the football clubs here.
However that has not deterred my interest in the sport. I started watching following football back in 2006 and it has been very much an on and off affair because my first love has always been basketball. More recently though for a variety of reasons as far as my interests go football has surpassed basketball and I dare say it has become an obsession of mine.
Unfortunately though having grown up in a country devoid of the sport and never having played it formally (and as I have aforementioned, games aren’t screened here) it has been quite the challenge learning the all the X and O’s of the game, especially when in general I have only access to the highlights of most games and not the full games themselves. Nevertheless that said, being not one to just give up I have amassed a small library of past games that I love reviewing and adding new copies of games too.
More importantly though,I have recently completed both levels 1 & 2 of USA Football’s coaching (www.usafootball.com) and ASEP’s Coaching Football Technical and Tactical Skills Course (www.asep.com/courseInfo/purchase_courseinfo.cfm?courseID=34&format=&orgLetter=ALL&orgID=0). At present I’m now considering Drake University’s Distance learning program: Football Coaching 401 (www.drake.edu/edex/distance/coaching/EDEX_271_Football_Coaching.php)
So as you might have been able to tell from the studying that I have done so far it has always been a dream of mine to coach a sport, in the past I thought that sport would be basketball, however as I’ve grown as a young man, I’ve also grown to appreciate the many nuances of football and the direct influences that coaches of the sport have on their teams. Furthermore, it has always been a dream of mine to coach at a competitive level, in particular the division 1 college level. It’s a dream that I readily admit is quite farfetched and is more than probably one that I will never have the chance to live.
That said upon graduation I’ve decided that I would love to work in the US and possibly relocate permanently (depending on my experience) and as stupid as it might sound, one of the primary reasons for doing so it because I want to at least try and fulfill some aspect of my coaching dream. I intend on getting a job with my degree (for financial reasons) but I want to volunteer all my spare time to coaching. Specifically I would being aiming if possible for the 5A level of high school which is why I feel it’s important to ask many of you who are coaches whether they would take on someone like me as a volunteer OR EVEN POSSIBLY hire someone like me as an actual staff member given my aforementioned knowledge regarding the sport and hopefully obvious drive to excel given the limitations I’ve faced regarding it?
Lastly Thanks once again for reading! I can’t thank you enough for your time coaches and I hope to hear your comments soon!
