BHSS Football

By Rex Kirts

Kirk Kennedy laid down the law today.
It was the first full meeting of his new staff and players, and he'll get his program underway.
He announced the staff, the summer calendar, the workout program, policies, procedures and expectations. "So from today . . . I'll have my things in. Accountability will be in, for all of us."
Accountability will come as a surprise for some players. Those players, for instance, whose attendance in the after-school weight program has been less than satisfactory to a team hoping to contend for championships.
So far Kennedy, who officially began his duties on April 15, has "just been trying to get everything organized." That includes selling a house and buying a house and all the hassle of getting relocated from Lowell.
Change is on the way, which is to be expected any time there is a coaching change.
"There will be a lot of change," Kennedy said. "I want the kids to embrace change. I want them to improve their attitudes and their work ethic and work hard at getting better. I fully expect things to start cranking out from Wednesday (today) on."
Getting his staff settled has been a priority. It contains many of the assistants under previous coach Drew Wood and some "new" members returning from past Panther regimes.
Kennedy will be the special teams coordinator.
The offensive coordinator will be Pat Cannon, who will also handle the running backs. Tyler Cabanaw returns to handle the offensive line and will be helped by Alan Dick, who returns to coaching after a few years out of football. John Livingston will coach the quarterbacks, and new to the staff is former wide receiver Jordan Canada, whol will handle the wideouts.
Dean Walendzak returns as the defensive coordinator and will handle the middle linebackers. Greg Bodie is the outside linebacker assistant. Jerry Farrar will handle the defensive line and get help from Drew Frey, who is up from the freshman team. Handling the defensive backs will be Phil Kluesner and Duane Higgs. Kluesner, the head baseball coach, worked in football when he was at Columbus North.
Returning to the coaching ranks on the freshman team will be Tommy Richardson and Chris Finley, the principals at Lakeview and Marlin elementary schools. They will be helped by Harold Green.
Both Cannon and Walendzak will be coordinators of new systems. Instead of a spread offense, Kennedy is an I formation run-oriented guy. And defensively the Panthers will operate from a basic 4-4, with variations.
"Alan Dick coming back is huge," Kennedy said. "And we've added Kluesner and were able to keep Dean. The staff will be a fulltime staff, be at every meeting and every practice. They'll have ownership in the program."
Kennedy said he will be a delegator but that the input from the assistants will be valuable. "I believe in hiring good people and getting out of the way," he said.
During games Kennedy will be on the sidelines with the coordinators in the press box. "As the assistants learn their jobs it will free me up to manage the game on Friday nights," he said.
May's workouts will center on the weight room in the first hour PE class and after school and the drills at Teamwork on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In June, there will be workouts Monday, Wednesday and Friday, one session from 8:30-11 a.m. and one from 6:30-9 p.m. The morning workout will be for varsity and junior varsity players and the evening workout for incoming freshmen and anybody else who can't make the morning session. Work will be in the weight room and on the football field. The end of the evenings will be devoted to position-specific drills.
July will lean heavily toward conditioning workouts. There will be a team camp for one week, starting July 12.