University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Hosts Free Coaching Clinic For Nearly 300
3/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 27, 2004
STORRS, CT - The UConn football program welcomed close to 300 football coaches to campus over the weekend for its free "No Frills Pure Football Fundamentals Clinic." Coaches from eight states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont) and the Province of Quebec RSVPed to attend the team’s first such event. A total of 42 Connecticut high school staffs were slated to be in attendance and six of the participating coaches were former UConn football players.
"The fact that this is the first year and we’ve been able to attract about 300 high school and youth coaches for this clinic is just another indication of much this program has grown," says UConn head coach Randy Edsall. "People are coming from eight states and Canada and I think they’ll get a good program that stresses the fundamentals of how we teach positions, plus an up close look at a Division I-A program in action on the practice field. It is just one way in which we can give back to the high school coaches and aid them in developing their own programs. We’re excited about hosting it and are happy that the response has been tremendous."
After attending an open house on Friday afternoon at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., and a team practice back on the UConn campus, the coaches were treated to a seminar on Friday evening by the UConn offensive coaches strictly on coaching fundamentals of play for their position groups. Saturday morning, the participating high school coaches had a similar lecture on drills to teach positional techniques from the UConn defensive coaching staff before attending the team’s afternoon practice in Storrs.
After the conclusion of Saturday's Husky practice, Edsall also had Somerville (MA) High School head coach, and NFL Hall of Famer, John Hannah address the UConn team. The New England Patriot legend, who played collegiately at Alabama under renowned disciplinarian Paul "Bear" Bryant, praised the team for their intensity and complimented the coaching staff for running an informative clinic.
Left: A crowd of coaches gather at the UConn Practice Field on Friday.
Right: UConn football's Director of Alumni and Community Relations Andy Baylock (at left in white vest) deserves much of the credit for putting the fine event together.
Above: Sideline space was hard to come by as the Huskies worked out under many more eyes than usual.
Left: Defensive coordinator Hank Hughes demonstrates some drills for defensive linemen on Saturday morning in Gampel Pavilion.
Right: A good crowd is on hand to watch the free coaching clinic.
Left: New UConn defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos lines up players for a demonstration.
Right: Linebackers coach Todd Orlando uses seniors Alfred Fincher and Maurice Lloyd to illustrate a point.
