Monday night at Fort Herriman Middle School saw a continuation of the excitement that has pervaded the Herriman community since the announcement of the new school and the beginning of the football program. Kam Weihing, Booster Club president and he man responsible for all of the great looking apparel you have seen around, got the night off to an enthusiastic start before giving way to the coaching staff(with coaching assignments to help familiarize you with them), who spoke on the following topics:
Kalisi Uluave (Front 7): Spoke on 4.0 scholar athletes, the importance of academics, and awarded t-shirts to the following young men as part of the inaugural Four-O scholar athlete club
JOSH BIVENSCHRISTIAN GOMEZ
MATT HEISLER
BRADY HENINGER
JORDAN JARVIS
ALEC JOHNSON
JACOB LYBARGER
DAVID RENDA
TISI TUIFUA
JAYDEN ZUNDEL
Jeff Wilson (Offensive Coordinator, OL): Spoke candidly on the issue of playing time and how it is determined. Factors contributing playing time are, in order: 1. Attendance 2. Attitude 3. Effort 4. Ability. Also related the importance of those same traits, and the importance of performing when given an opportunity, for success in life.
Paul Putnam (Quarterbacks): Spoke on procedures for parent communication and the importance of not having discussions with coaches during emotional situations (right after a game, during practice) and setting appointments to meet with coaches instead. Also stressed that coaches will only talk to a parent about their child, not anyone else's child.
Randy Coy (Defense, TBD): Spoke on boundaries, UHSAA policies, and the rule allowing any student who lives in Herriman High boundaries to transfer from any school and be immediately eligible this year.
Eric Drage (Wide Receivers): Spoke on the parent handbook, which details among other things parent behavior in the stands and how what is said at home regarding the program, coaches, and other players/parents does have a positive or negative impact on their child's experience and success. Coach Drage has two boys in the program, so this was an issue that hits close to home with him.
Mikey Jacobsen (Quarterbacks/Offensive Skill): Coach Jacobsen, in his first year as a coach, did a great job speaking on academics. As the youngest member of the staff he was able to easily recall his classroom days form high school, and he addressed proper study habits, classroom behavior, strategies for classroom success, and the expectation for HHS football players to set an academic and behavioral standard for the rest of the school
Ed Mulitalo (Offensive Line): The big man spoke about the many influences that he has had in his life through athletics, and how much impact a coach can have on a young man's life. In particular, while we all strive for and enjoy success on the field, Coach Ed talked about the true measure of success being measured by how many boys we are able to assist in becoming good men.
Trevor Jensen (Offense/Defense Skill): Coach Jensen spoke on proper game-day dress, which consists of the following:
Khaki/tan pants or slacks, no tears, rips, frayed or wrinkled
Belt if loops
White dress shirt, clean, not wrinkled
Herriman FB tie
Clean, matching socks
Good shoes, dress style, no gym/tennis shoes, clean/polished
Well groomed
Finally, Head Coach Larry Wilson got up and spoke about the excitement for the upcoming season, how appreciative he is of the support and enthusiasm of the community, and a reinforcement of many of the things that the assistants had talked about. In particular, he hit once again on the importance of attendance, attitude, and effort. He also went over the calendar with all in attendance, and outlined all of the dates from here until we kick off versus Hillcrest.
