Meet the Coaches: Jon Bassindale

Coaches Joe Wieland (left) and Jon Bassindale

(At the suggestion of Coach Wieland, I’m writing a series of pieces about the men who are coaching our boys this season.)
Jon Bassindale defies at least one stereotype of the youth football coach: He does not yell very much. 

That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t correct mistakes in practice, or get exasperated by the antics and miniscule attention spans of some hormonally-charged 7th graders. But rather than scold, he prefers to instruct and organize boys in a sport that he both takes seriously and loves passionately.

“I have had both good coaches as well as some really bad coaches in my time, so I have a lot to model myself after,” he said.

With the 7th grade moving to two teams this season for more boys to gain playing experience, Bassindale, who coached running backs and linebackers last season, was eager to step up to the second head coaching spot alongside Joe Wieland.

“I love football... it’s the ultimate team sport!
Football requires all 11 players on the field to coordinate their efforts in order to create an advantage over the other team. If one player misses an assignment, the whole play can collapse.”

Bassindale played high school football at Racine Case in 1975-’77 as a running back and cornerback, where he earned all-conference and all-county honors. He played college football at Dartmouth as a running back and member of the kickoff and kick coverage teams.

One of his signature experiences as a player started, unexpectedly, with a demotion. He had missed a Dartmouth varsity game to attend his brother’s wedding. When he returned to campus, he found he had been demoted to the JV team for the next game.

“I had a ton of fun in that game,” he said. “It kind of refocused me.” It reminded him of how much fun football could be, no matter where a person is playing.

“This season,” Bassindale said, “is about trying to make our 7th grade class even stronger as a team by developing more players capable of taking it to the next level.”

“So much of what we accomplish this year,” he continued, “will take place in practice and not on the field on Saturdays.

“Many of my best football memories come from the time spent with my football buddies on the practice field.”

Bassindale, Joe Wieland and the assistant coaches had many discussions before dividing the 7th graders into two comparable teams.

“We have 22-23 boys on the grey squad, and at this point only half of our starting 11 would be starters on a combined team,” Bassindale said.

“That means the other half will get significant playing time in a starting role, where they have the opportunity to get even better.”

While it doesn’t hurt to have size, speed and strength, Bassindale said what he most looks for in players is “the things that kids can control... their effort, their attitude, and their respect.

If the player shows up and gives 100%, is willing to learn and try new things, is focused on improving, and is respectful of their coaches/teammates and competition, they will accomplish a lot.”

At least for the first game, he said, he would go with his best 11 on offense and best 11 on defense. Knowing that means some of the same players on both sides, probably another 5 or 6 boys will also play regularly.

As Coach Wieland has also said, he will be fair to boys based on their skills, mastery of the plays and effort they put into practice, but playing time will not be distributed equally.
“Everyone has the same opportunity to prove themselves ready for playing time,” he said.

“Success here would be having some of our second 11 become part of our starting 11 before season’s end.”