The man is accomplished and respected, yet he couldn't be more humble. So it's no wonder why nearly 100 youth football coaches gave legendary Cleveland Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano a standing ovation after he addressed the audience at the USA Football-Cleveland Browns Coaching School on April 4.
The clinic brought together local youth coaches at the Browns training facility for a day filled with discussions ranging from coaching philosophy to the Xs and Os. The Browns teamed up with the independent non-profit to host the Coaching School for the second year in a row, also making it the second time that Rutigliano has been the keynote speaker.
The Coaching School was a first for USA Football Coaching Member Eric Caler, a head coach for the Kent Youth Football program in Kent, Ohio. Caler was interested in attending the clinic to continue his education as a youth football coach and said he really took Rutigliano's words to heart.
"He started off with a story about a young man that he coached at the beginning of his coaching career," Caler said. "He had issues with this individual because he was kind of combative and didn't want to take criticism, but that person came around to his way and he kind of kept it with him as he got older, and this individual ended up coaching with him later in his career."
After hearing Rutigliano share his thoughts on the game of football and learning different ways to improve his own coaching skills, Caler, who has 10 years of coaching experience, said he has already recommended the event to other coaches he knows.
"I think it was absolutely wonderful," Caler said. "His point that he was getting across was you can always build character with anybody because even if your first experiences with someone would make you think that person is a lost cause, no one is ever really a lost cause."
In addition to hearing Rutigliano speak about his experiences and how football can be used as a tool to inspire young athletes, the coaches in attendance also received classroom instruction and participated in rotating on-field stations focused on coaching theory, fundamentals and drills and offensive/defensive chalk talks. The different sessions were conducted by ten successful youth, middle school and high school football coaches from the surrounding area.
"The hands-on drills that we were a part of were great," Caler said. "We got to go through things on our own, and it's a lot easier to remember a certain thing if you actually went through the motions rather than just hearing someone tell you about it and describe it."
And with 48 Coaching Schools scheduled in 2009 all across the country, Ohio youth football coaches aren't the only ones who will be doing their part to ensure America's favorite game continues to encourage, teach and motivate today's youth players.
