In-Between Week & Guest Coaches

The season is winding down, that’s for sure. It’s now a fine line between staying sharp for the playoffs and resting the cumulative battered bones, bruised skin and tattered muscles that come after 8 games. We would like to believe that our approach early in the season, of starting later than almost everyone else, is going to pay off now with relatively fresher legs and fewer chronic injuries that will affect our performance. Only time will tell.

As I promised last week, here is a quick rundown of the guest coaches that are coming in to our camp in November. This isn’t a final list, as I’m waiting for final confirmation from one coach, and we may be asking another prominent coach to join us as well. But here are four of them:

Coach Lori (Lo) Locust, from Pennsylvania: “Coach Lo” is one of the finest defensive line coaches I’ve ever seen or worked with. She is simply outstanding in her ability to communicate what she wants to her players and the passion with which she does it. Not only has she coached for the Keystone Assault, but is currently coaching for a high school team and for the Central Penn Piranhas – one of the finest men’s semi-pro teams in he country. She is definitely someone you’ll want to learn from!

Coach Billy Hughes Jr., from Texas: Coach Hughes is an offensive line coach that I’ve wanted to work with since 2012, when we faced each other across the sidelines in the American Conference championship. Although we do a lot of the same things, we get there in different ways, and that’s why I’m excited he’s going to come out. He’s learned his craft from some of the best around – he played at the University of Oklahoma and then continued his career with the San Francisco 49’ers. He’s got a great love for the game that comes through in his teaching. The offensive line will be in for a treat!

Coach Angel Rivera III, also from Texas: Coach Rivera is another one I got to meet during the 2012 season and immediately knew he was someone who had knowledge that needed to be passed on. He played defensive back at Texas A&M under legendary coach RC Slocum and continued his career in the pass-happy Arena League. He is also an expert in strength and conditioning, running his own training center in Texas. Angel has a lot to offer, and we’re excited that he agreed to come out.

Coach Ed Williams, from Kansas City: Coach Williams was someone that Coach Suggett and I met during last years’ All Star game, when he was the only non-Surge coach on the staff. He fit in like he’d been with us for years. His work with the Tribe speaks for itself. He’s got great insights on both sides of the ball, and may join with me in some special teams presentations. He, like a couple of our other coaches, has some diversity in their background, so we’ll cement the position(s) he’ll coach as we get closer to the camp. As I mentioned, both Coach Suggett and myself are stoked that Coach Williams will be here!

Again, this isn’t a final list, just those who have agreed to come out. We’ll also have at least five coaches from the Surge staff there as well – I’ll give you bios of us once we’re finalized. Understandably, we’re a little more focused on our next games right now (one of which may be against Coach Williams!). Please remember that we’re still 5 months out from the camp. Once our championship run is over (hopefully the first week in August), then we’ll turn our full attention to making this the best experience possible for everyone attending.