Meet the Coaches: Joe Wieland

Coach Joe Wieland

When Joe Wieland coached the Whitefish Bay High School football team, his team one season featured a senior linebacker who was 5’ 6” and weighed all of 140 pounds. (Hint: Some boys on this season’s 7th grade squad are bigger than that.)
“He lifted weights and became a second-team all-conference linebacker, because he thought he was a tough-guy football player,” Wieland said.
“Every year at high school I had one kid who never started until he became a senior. Those are my success stories. I made a difference with those kids.”
Wieland, who has 22 years of coaching football at every level from 3rd grade through college graduate assistant, is coaching the Junior Blue Dukes 7th grade Blue team this year. He coached the 6th grade squad last season.
He was an all-conference football (RB/DB), baseball (outfielder) and track (sprinter) athlete at Kettle Moraine High School, and an all-conference free safety and track letterman at Carroll College. Wieland coached the WFBHS team for 5 years, compiling 8-3 records his last two seasons.
“I’ve never been the biggest guy on the field,” said Wieland, a math teacher at Whitefish Bay Middle School. “I felt like I worked as hard as I could. I was a tough guy, I played hard.
“I was a kid who could not stand to lose. I hated to lose. I was really fast, I took advantage of my strengths.”
Last season, with a bounty of skilled players to call on, Wieland’s 6th grade team went undefeated. To get more boys more playing experience, the 7th grade is fielding two teams this season, with acknowledged skill players divided comparably between the two teams.
“I feel much more challenged as a coach, day to day in practice,” he said. “I have to make the players better every single day.
“One of our goals is to make our coaches coach better.”
He said he was “ecstatic” with the number of 7th grade boys (about 46) who came out for football this season. “We picked up some football players. Some will have an immediate impact, some an impact two years from now.”

Joe Wieland in his day job as a teacher.

While some players are obviously bigger, faster or stronger than others, Wieland does not believe on giving up on any kid who is making the effort. “Kids will ask me and I will tell them candidly, here’s what you need to do (to improve or to earn a starting spot),” he said. He also said every kid on the team, no matter who he is, has parts of his game he can improve.
Wieland, Grey team coach Jon Bassindale and the assistant coaches are committed to maintaining a unified spirit among 7th grade players while fielding two teams. The two head coaches frequently compare notes on their squads. About 75% of the offensive playbook is the same for both teams, with each team putting in a few plays of its own to take advantage of its players’ distinctive skills.
“We end every practice as a team,” Wieland said. “We are one big team that is going our opposite ways on Saturday and coming back to talk about our victories.

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.”

A Message from the Coaches

A MESSAGE FROM THE COACHES:

BE CAREFUL - With the season upon us, we need the boys to take football as their number 1 priority and limit their other activities that could lead to injuries. We only have 23 players on each team and we need all of them healthy for practice and games. My son, Bailey, is no longer playing Sunday baseball, just as an example. Every player and parent can obviously choose the activities of the players, but we are really looking to making football the number one commitment over the next 8 weeks. When someone gets injured or sick, we do not have many options this year.

SLEEP - School is starting and the boys will need to adjust to a new schedule. Get them to bed early. We are asking that parents do not have Friday night sleep overs. Players should be IN BED by 10:00.

HOMEWORK - Encourage the boys to finish their homework after school and before practice. This would help with them getting home at 8:00, showering, eating and getting to bed .

INJURIES - if your son is injured, a good general rule is ice for 48 hours following the incident. Also, let us know ASAP when a player is injured. There is a difference between PAIN and INJURY. We need players to push through PAIN and rest an INJURY. 

PRACTICE - CHANGE. We are going to continue with practice on Tuesdsay, Wednesday, Thursday. We will start promptly at 5:00 and finish at 7:00. We have found that anything over 2 hours has not been productive this year ( again, age and hormones ).

CONCESSIONS - We encourage you to volunteer to work the concessions OPPOSITE of you sons game. We only have a few home games and this will enable you to watch your son in action instead of working concessions while he is playing.

GAME TIME - Players should be at the field, ready to go, 1 hour before game time. Ask your son his position and when he is playing, which will help you find him on the field. There is still only one ball, and not everyone touches it, but we are trying to make everyone understand that ALL players contribute to a win, or a loss.  As we have said in the past, fair does not mean equal.

Thanks,  Coach Wieland and Coach Bassindale

BLUE, GREY ROSTERS FINALIZED

Coaches Joe Wieland (Blue) and Jon Bassindale (Grey) have finalized the rosters for our two 7th grade teams.

BLUE
Head Coach: Joe Wieland
Coaches: Mark Kortebein, Kurt Alt, Joe Fisher, Dan Hess, Scott Siebert
Manager: John Brewster (coordinates volunteers and other duties)
Players: Will Alt, Jake Brewster, Charlie Cohen, Patrick Collins, Anthony Enea, Josiah Erving, Jake Fisher, Brandon Haughey, Danny Hess, Carter Heston, Andrew James, Cullen Kieper, Connor Kimple, Macklin Kortebein, Peter Kubly, Alec Lindfors, Evan Miller, Johnny Misey, Connor Nethen, Anthony Pogorelc, Paul Presberg, Chris Siebert, Bailey Wieland, Paul Wilson.

GREY
Head Coach: Jon Bassindale
Coaches: Steve Hummer, John Friesch, Matt Trussoni, Jeff Frank
Manager: Jim Higgins
Players: Van Bassindale, Matt Bernstein, Elie Ben Bordow, Brooks Burton, Zach Casey, Clay Daley, Jonathan Downs, Cooper Fergus, Justin Fisher, Seamus Floyd, Jack Friesch, Russell Grevious, Brijhan Hackney, John Heebink, Nick Higgins, Ryan Hummer, Scott Rojahn, Jesse Sanford, Tony Schultz, Dreyel Taylor, Mason Trussoni, Zachary Turner, Teddy Weber.

Video: From the 8-28 scrimmages

Coach Jon Bassindale and fellow coaches Steve Hummer, John Friesch and Matt Trussoni took a squad to scene Greendale for 4 scrimmages Saturday morning. Here's a look at one of the scrimmages, from two different camera points of view:

jbd7-bassindale-8-28-2010-scrimmage-game-2 from Jim Higgins on Vimeo.


2010-08-28 Scrimmage - Greendale from Jim Higgins on Vimeo.

The high-altitude view is courtesy of John Brewster and his patented BrewCam.

Coach Bassindale speaks: Saturday scrimmage details

From Coach Bassindale:

We need the following players for this Saturday’s scrimmages (Aug. 28) in Greendale .

Not Greenfield, Not Glendale, but GREENDALE….at the High School.

(I am emphasizing the location as I always mix these up and did so in my earlier communication.)

We want to be in Greendale no later than 8:30AM as we start our first session promptly at 9. We will meet at Lydell at 7:50Am and leave no later than 8AM.

If your son needs a ride please make sure he is to Lydell by 7:50AM.

We are taking about half our team so expect more playing time than last weekend.

The boys will be playing almost non-stop for over 2 hours so make sure they are well hydrated and well rested.

Have them bring a bag with two water bottles and a snack bar if they want.

Nethen

Taylor

Trusoni

Daley

Downs

Friesch

Fisher (Justin)

Bernstein

Presburg

Weber

Floyd

Hummer

Bassindale

Schultz

Casey

Higgins

Rojahn

Kimple

Sanford

Kieper

 

Coach Bassindale

Cell: (414) 336-6195

1 .	Take the ramp onto I-43 S	12.5 mi
2.	Take exit 8A to merge onto WI-36 S/W Loomis Rd	2.5 mi
3.	Turn right at Southway Way Destination will be on the left	0.4 mi

Destination: 6801 Southway Way Greendale, WI 53129

Game Story: Junior Blue Dukes 38, Nicolet 0

Led by a suffocating defense, and fueled by big plays on both sides of the line of scrimmage, the Junior Blue Dukes rolled to a 38-0 victory over Nicolet Sept. 12 at Nicolet High School Field.
The Blue Dukes overcame an early turnover to take the lead on Macklin Kortebein's 35-yard fumble return. In the second quarter, the Blue Dukes racked up touchdowns on a Bailey Weiland run and TD passes from Jake Fisher to Zach Casey and Anthony Enea. In the second half, Casey scored on a long run and Van Bassindale zoomed to the house after deftly stripping a Nicolet back of the ball.
Fisher and Bassindale tailed the two successful extra points in the game.
Nicolet tried to run to the outside on the Blue Dukes, but the swarming defense would have nothing of it. According to coach Jon Bassindale's preliminary tally, at least 14 Blue Dukes players were in on tackles. One of the tackling highlights occurred when Jonathan Downs introduced himself to a Nicolet ball carrier with a pad-crunching hit that knocked him flat.
Blue Dukes stalwart Ryan Hummer was banged up and had to leave the game, but Ryan and his dad Steve reported he will be practicing fully Wednesday and expects to play in Saturday's home game against Homestead.
Coach Joe Wieland encouraged players to enjoy the victory but also to remember that Homestead, our next opponent, isn't reading our press clippings.
The Homestead game begins at noon Saturday, Sept. 19, at lovely Lubar Stadium in Whitefish Bay.

Scrimmage: Coaching Them Up

Photo by Karen W. Higgins