Moderator Rod Freeman, left, leads the discussion football coaches Ralph Potter, Ron Crawford and Joe Rietveld.

Potter, Crawford, Rietveld discuss seasons
By JEROME BOETTCHER
For the Brentwood Home Page
Offense. Defense. Coaching staffs. Injuries. Kickers. Dead periods. College recruiting.
Brentwood’s three high school football coaches spoke candidly about a wide variety of topics on Tuesday night.

 “An Insider’s Guide to the Gridiron” was the monthly Brentwood Home Page Night at the Library’s August program.

Ron Crawford (Brentwood High), Ralph Potter (Brentwood Academy) and Joe Rietveld (Ravenwood) fielded questions from City Commissioner Rod Freeman in front of a small gathering of parents and fans at the Brentwood Library.

Crawford has been a mainstay at BHS for the last 10 years, while Potter has been at BA since 2007. Rietveld is new to the area, hired in April after 13 years as an assistant and head coach in northern Indiana.

All three men, however, have more than 20 years of coaching experience.

“I knew I wanted to be a coach when I was about 14 years old,” Potter said. “I was a little camp counselor, a bunch of kids running around, about 8, 9 years old and we were actually playing soccer. Getting them to play hard and motivating them, getting my energy in them somehow, that really appealed to me.”

Each delved a little into their offensive schemes.

Crawford said to once again expect plenty of triple-option from BHS, but added that the Bruins won’t depend on playing under center all the time. Potter lost his top three running backs to injury or ineligibility before the season started and will build his offense around new quarterback Max Staver. Rietveld is still tinkering with his unit.

“Our offense is going to be diverse,” Rietveld said. “It has to be, because, to be quite honest, we’re not very dominating at any one position. We’re going to have to be balanced.”

Rietveld makes his Ravenwood coaching debut on Friday when the Raptors host Battle Ground Academy. Crawford and BHS defeated Cookeville last Thursday and Potter and BA fell to nationally ranked Trinity out of Louisville, Ky. last Friday.

Potter said the Kentucky team was more prepared physically and had an advantage since it could practice in June. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) requires its member schools to observe a two-week dead period in June, which Potter believes hinders his squad. He also proposed not starting the season until after Labor Day weekend.

“Whatever we did [earlier] in the month of June was gone by the time they got back [in July],” Potter said. “Having a game on Aug. 19 is ridiculous. It is way too early, way too hot, way too humid… With the dead period in the middle of the summer, it just makes it very difficult to train properly.”

Rietveld added a different perspective to the topic, as Indiana didn’t have spring football. But teams were allowed to practice in June.

“I don’t think there is a high number of Division I athletes coming out of Indiana for football so I don’t think opening up the time to play football all year round is going to be the solution,” Rietveld said. “[But] I don’t think two weeks off in the middle of the summer is good. If you stagger those, that is better because then you can come back and have some type of conditioning system and then take some time off right before the season starts.

“I hope when they make rules and regulations they truly look at what is best for the athlete and maybe not is what best for the revenue system,” he added.

Injuries take toll, but part of game
As strength and conditioning departments continue to play bigger roles in the development of high school athletes, the three coaches cautioned parents about overuse. This, Potter said, often leads to injury.

“You have to be careful,” he said. “If your son is playing football for one of us, there has to be communication if you’re going out to get extra things done. It has to be tailored. It has to be supplemental to what we are doing. If not, I think there is a risk of injury.”

All three coaches have watched some of their players undergo devastating injuries. Recently, Crawford had a transfer who sat out a year due to transferring only to injure his knee in the Bruins’ preseason jamboree.

“Your heart just bleeds for kids like that who have done what you have asked them to do,” Crawford said. “Unfortunately it is part of the game and maybe God has another plan for that kind of kid.”

Recruiting’s impact felt by coaches

One of the final, and most popular, topics dealt with college recruiting and how it has evolved in the last 10 years.

“The internet has had such a huge impact – from my perspective – on recruiting,” Potter said. “It has really, really made it a lot less fun for me.”

Parents jumped at the chance to ask the coaches about recruiting services, how involved they were in the process and what college coaches look for.

Both Crawford and Rietveld believe high school coaches play an integral part in the recruiting process, especially at the Division II, Div. III and NAIA levels when college coaches rely on them for an inside view of the athlete’s physical and personal makeup.

Potter, however, said he is not always on the same page with college coaches, especially at the Division I level. At times, he has had good players go overlooked because they didn’t have as much “upside” as another recruit. He said with 7-on-7 football camps during the summer, some high school kids are receiving college scholarships before they even play in a varsity game.

Potter did offer some simple – but important – advice that Freeman reiterated before the night concluded.

“I would encourage you to encourage your sons to enjoy playing the game in high school,” Potter said. “Just enjoy playing the game, get as good as you can get, don’t worry about it – if you are good enough they are going to find you.”