We all have our own coaching tree. It probably starts with a parent, an older sibling or an aunt/uncle. We owe these people our gratitude and thanks for sharing with us the details and respect for this game of football.
For me it first started with my parents Loren and Smitty Luschen. From my mom Smitty taking me to all of those practices and to my dad Loren telling me to not quit after my first 2nd grade practice because I thought it was too boring. 🙂 Thank you.
To my 1998 to 1990 Willmar, Minnesota high school football coach Deryl Ramey, who showed me the passion that a head coach should bring to the team, drilled me on the proper throwing mechanics as a young quarterback and taught me how to hide the football in the Wing-T misdirection offense.
To my 1991 to 1994 Central College football coach Ron Schipper, who I look up to so much. His simple and consistent message of being a 1) Student 2) Athlete and 3) Gentleman stays with all those who were lucky enough to play for him. He is a ‘Hall of Fame’ coach in so many ways. He taught me the I formation offense, how to attack the holes in a defense and introduced me to the inside veer.
To my wife Tifani and my three kids Azahna, Ayden and Aila. You have encouraged me to pursue this coaching passion for many years now. I cannot express my thanks to all of you enough for how many great memories and friends these years on the football field have brought to me.
To multiple coaches at Litchfield High School in Minnesota who taught a young coach how coaching is really done…
John Johnson, who was the head coach, who gave me an opportunity to coach from 2001 to 2010. He said he checked up on me and called references when I joined the program. By doing that he showed me how important each member of a coaching staff must be. He spent hours with me showing me the details and blocking schemes of the base plays of the Dragon offense. He showed me that it is not the number of plays that you run, but how well you run them. He showed me how to be honest with young men, how to have high expectations and how to run a program. He gave me a chance to be an offensive coordinator and allowed me to mold the offense with my previous experiences.
Jim Jackman, who I was able to coach with on the offensive side of the ball. Jim showed me what offensive line play was about. Jim introduced me deeply to midline and inside veer football, which his offense ran in college at River Falls, Wisconsin. I am honored to have spent so many hours planning and on the head sets with Jim. Jim is now the head coach at Litchfield and I am so happy for him.
Bryan Goraczkowski, the defensive coordinator for many years at Litchfield. It was from Bryan that I learned the importance of ‘Numbers’. I once asked him on a Sunday as he was studying the next opponent: ‘Bryan, how do you know where to put your defensive players against all of these formations and alignments?’ His answer was simple: ‘Make sure at the snap of the ball that your numbers on defense match the offense’. That simple answer has given me structure for so many years of coaching.
After coaching at Litchfield High School for ten years, I was able to coach for the Concordia College Cobbers, a Division III school in the MIAC Conference, in Moorhead MN from 2011 to 2019. I have special thanks to many coaches at Concordia who taught me more about the game.
To head coach Terry Horan, who gave me the opportunity to work with his running backs and quarterbacks in the Cobbers triple-option offense. Terry showed me how a consistent, stable college football program is built and maintained. He showed me how to interact with an opponent with class if you are way up or way down.
To Dale Hertl, the offensive coordinator for about half of my time at Concordia, for welcoming me into the Cobber family. I watched as Dale built a balanced offense that was prepared to play every Saturday. Dale had a knack for calling the right play at the right time that was created by hard-work and preparation.
To Dan Kostich, who showed me so many ways for the offensive line to block defenses in the powerful Cobber run game. But my best memory of Dan is when he told me that every day after practice, he tries to walk back to the locker room with a different player so he can spend some extra time with them. That is a coach who is into coaching for the right reasons!
To John Marsh, who showed me the detail of the footwork of receivers in the triple-option offense. He always had a drill going for his guys and was always making them better. Best of all he know where his former players were and how they were doing if life and in their careers from a solid education.
To Aaron Willits, who was the offensive coordinator for the latter part of my time at Concordia. I thank Aaron for the input I was able to give to the offense, for the many hours we spend scheming against MIAC opponents, for the way he extended the offense in ways that fit our personnel and for the many exciting games we spent on the head-sets together. Aaron is a very, very talented coach who is ready for a head coaching position. If you are looking for your next hire there is nobody that I would recommend more. (Update March, 2020: Aaron is now the head coach at Knox College. They are lucky to have him!)
Most recently my thanks goes out to Army Football. During the 2021 season I was given the responsibility to watch the offenses for both Navy and Air Force. After watching every snap of those offenses during the season I presented a scouting report of base plays, tendencies and personnel strengths that the Army defensive coaches would be able to use. I look forward to continuing that relationship into the future.
I also want to thank all those who I mention or comment about in my blog posts. It might be an offensive player, a defensive player or a coach. I am in no way picking on anybody in my blog posts. I love all of you who play this great game. These players and coaches are extremely talented and have worked very hard at a very complex game. I am blogging to share my insights to hopefully help a reader see a little deeper into the game, whether that reader is a coach, player or fan.
There are so many other people who have influenced me, from former teammates to players to opposing coaches. I love sharing this game with you. When I am coaching I love helping to develop great young men by being a positive person in their life. I hope through this web site I can give something back to this great game of football that has meant so much to me.
We are all one team in the end…. So “Go Team!”
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