March 28, 2008
- UI Athletic Ticket Office: Football 2008
- Pre-Pay Football Parking Program
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
- gohawks.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Kirk, Norm and Ken aren’t the only football coaches giving chalk talks this weekend during spring drills at the University of Iowa. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Bill Dervrich, director of football operations, the University of Iowa Coaches Clinic is being held March 28-29 at the Marriott Convention Center and at the football practice facilities.
This year there were 455 pre-registered coaches with another 50-75 expected walk-ups. Dervrich, who has been in charge of the clinic for the past 29 years, said that, on average, between 500-550 coaches annually attend.
“We want to get high school coaches on our campus and let them see what kind of program we have here at the University of Iowa,” Dervrich said. “We have tremendous facilities and we just want the coaches to come enjoy our campus and learn football and have the opportunity to see what Iowa football is all about.”
During the four sessions on Friday, 12 different high school coaches offered their expertise. The clinicians hail from Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Nebraska, New England and Michigan.
“We’re excited about the potential of the whole clinic,” UI head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Certainly it’s a great opportunity for us to present some great clinicians and outstanding speakers. “The whole idea behind this, from our standpoint, is to make this something that is enjoyable, but also beneficial, to everyone who attends. Our objective is to make it something that’s worth (the coach’s) time and effort to attend.”
Adam Hadenfeldt played prep football at Solon (Iowa) High School under legendary coach Ed Hansen. He went on to play collegiately for former Division III Coach of the Year Steve Miller at Cornell College. Now Hadenfeldt is in charge of special teams at HLV (Iowa) High School and is attending the Iowa clinic for the second consecutive year.
“College coaches travel around the country looking for an edge,” Hadenfeldt said. “At a clinic like this you have an opportunity to see how other programs are executing things. You never know it all in coaching and the sport is always changing with new trends and fads. This is an opportunity to see how programs are doing things and then we can see whether we want to implement it or figure out how to defend it.”
The first presenter of the day in the Iowa Room was Randy Scott, who recently retired as head coach from Bettendorf (Iowa) High School. Scott coached Tavian Banks, who starred at the UI from 1994-97, and current Hawkeyes Pat Angerer and Colin Sandeman.
“You get coaches on our campus and they meet our coaches and see what kind of staff and family atmosphere we have here at the university,” Dervrich said. “Those coaches feel good about sending their players to Iowa because they know they’re going to be taken care of and they’re going to get their education and they get to play a great brand of football.”
The clinic also features a large exhibition area where coaches can collect information from vendors or purchase books and tapes featuring position-specific drills and exercises.
The keynote speaker is Tom Moore, offensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts. Moore was a letterwinner for the Hawkeyes in 1959 and ’60 and is now crafting offensive pass schemes for former Iowa All-American tight end Dallas Clark.
The clinic resumes Saturday, March 29, with demonstrations with UI players and coaches and a strength and conditioning demonstration.
Iowa will celebrate the start of another college football season at Kinnick Stadium on Friday, April 18 — the day before the Hawkeyes’ annual spring game — with the staging of the first-ever BlackBerry Gridiron Bash featuring two-time Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson, Iowa Hawkeyes past and present, former Iowa Golden Girl and the current Miss Iowa, Diana Reed, and much more. Click HERE to learn more about the Bash and how you can help the UI win as much as $1 million for its general scholarship fund in the USA Today Bash for Cash competition.
The Hawkeyes’ spring practice will begin shortly after 1 p.m. on Saturday. Details about that special annual event will be announced in early April.
Spring Practice Exclusives
- Video: Meet Coach Campbell
- Ferentz, Hawkeyes ready for spring practice
- Wednesday, March 26, Photo Gallery
- Thursday, March 27, Photo Gallery
Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.