If your son has played recreational sports in Whitefish Bay before joining the Junior Blue Dukes 5th grade team this year, he -- and probably you, too -- know some of the dads who are coaching the team. Misters Kortebein, James, Hummer, Hess, Fisher, Bassindale and Alt have been active sports dads in our community.
But head coach Mike Sanders is a new face to most of us. And to many of the boys, he will be the first man they will know simply as a coach, not as their own or a friend's father.
Mike and his wife Elizabeth moved to Whitefish Bay in 2006 from their former home in Grand Rapids, Mich. When he started to settle in the neighborhood, he looked up Whitefish Bay High School coach Jim Tietjen, who eventually connected him up with the Junior Blue Dukes program. During the 2007 youth football season, he worked as an assistant coach with the 5th grade team, mostly on the offensive side of the ball.
His formal football playing days didn't begin until his junior year in high school, because his mother insisted he earn perfect grades in school before he could suit up. Mike has described himself as an "undersized" right guard for his high school team; being an undersized offensive lineman ought to make him feel right at home in the Bay. (And, if we're looking for good coaching omens, remember that Vince Lombardi was an undersized offensive guard, too.)
Mike went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. But Badger fans, rest easy. He concentrated on academics there, not football, graduating cum laude with majors in political science and history. Parallel to his studies, he gained a lot of experience working with kids through the YMCA and other programs.
The most challenging aspect of coaching football with 10-year-old boys is "how much you have to break it down to a kid's level," he said.
Mike is considerably younger than most of his assistant coaches, who are bright, experienced and -- dare we say it -- alpha males. He describes himself as learning from that situation, too (and bringing that learning into his day job in sales for Steelcase). He tries to make sure each assistant coach has a voice in the program and gets heard.
Each assistant coach, Mike said, has a sphere of influence: offense line for Steve Hummer, defensive line for Doug James, receivers for Joe Fisher, running backs for Jon Bassindale, special teams for Dan Hess, QBs for Kurt Alt and defense/linebackers for Mark Kortebein. But they also overlap and share responsibilities.
Parents may have heard talk in practices about the team being broken up into blue and white squads. But after much observation and consideration, the coach said he has had to modify the ideal plan of a perfectly equal number of snaps for each kid. "I don't have enough big kids," he said. And even in this age group, a team needs the big kids on the line to protect the little kids. As the coach explains, this year's team has a core of about 8 boys big enough to play offensive and defensive line. He will then have groups of running backs and receivers that he will shuttle in and out.
Is it hard to motivate boys this age playing offensive line who know they won't be carrying the ball? The carrot he holds in front of them is the permission, rarely given to 10-year-old boys, to "knock someone on the butt." In this setting, between these lines and under these rules, you can be a bully and go pick on someone, Mike tells his linemen.
If you've ever attended a football practice at any level, you know that football coaches are a fraternity of yellers, in part simply to get the attention of rowdy boys. But some parents may be relieved to hear that Coach Sanders does not condone coaches swearing at this level. "I will never allow anyone to use profanity with 10-year-old boys," he said.
His primary goal for this year does not involve the number of wins. He wants to make each boy understand that everyone on the team is equally important, and that the camaraderie of the group is what matters. He wants to see these Junior Blue Dukes celebrate together and pick each other up in difficult moments. He believes that is more important than winning or even playing well.
A few XXXs and OOOs
For parents and friends new to football, here are a few words and terms that might be helpful in watching the games and talking with your sons.
The Junior Blue Dukes' base defense this year is the Eagle defense, the coach explained. It starts with 5 boys on the defensive line -- a nose tackle, defensive tackles on either side and defensive ends likewise. Beyond them are two linebackers (nicknamed mike and will LBs), right and left cornerbacks positioned about 5 years back, and two safeties (nicknamed fox and duke).
The team's base offense is a Full House offense, named for its setup of three evenly spaced running backs on the same line behind the quarterback. Anchored by the center (he's the one who yells "Huddle, Huddle" to begin each huddle), the offensive line also includes right and left guards, right and left tackles. The split end and tight end are receivers lined up outside the tackles, but for the team's many running plays, they're blockers, too.
