Every now and then, a high school football coach will have a player come along whose talents truly transcend the high school game. The coach's job is just to mold the phenomenal yet raw talent and ensure they are ready for college football's highest competition. High school coaches everywhere dream about coaching these players.
Kirk Heidelberg - head coach of Rockford (Ill.) Christian High School - and Steve Walsh - head coach of West Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman High School - will have the opportunity to coach 45 of these dream talents when they head down to South Florida for the "Team USA vs. The World" game on Jan. 30, 2010.
"I'm really excited to be presented with the opportunity to work with all of these kids, most of who will be playing at major Division I schools," said Walsh, quarterbacks coach of the 2010 Junior National Team - comprised of top high school seniors. "Obviously in high school, you maybe deal with one or two players - if you're lucky - that will go on to play at the next level. To be able to work with the talent base that we are bringing to Florida is going to be very exciting."
Walsh and Heidelberg will join seven other top high school coaches from across the U.S. to lead America's best players in a global competition during Pro Bowl Week. The "World" team features the best players aged 19 and under from outside the United States, spanning four continents.
Both teams will have the opportunity to practice in Ft. Lauderdale during the week of the game, and Team USA's coaches are already mapping out their plans to make the most of their short preparation time.
"First off, I'm going to wait and see what kind of talent and players we have to work with," explained Heidelberg, who is in charge of play calling duties as offensive coordinator. "We obviously know these athletes are going to be exceptional, so it's going to be our job to put the pieces together during practice.
"As far as play calling goes, I'm going to stick with my philosophy of a 50-50 run-to-pass ratio. That's what I like to do best."
Being named to the Junior Nation Team coaching staff obviously means a great deal to both Heidelberg and Walsh. Each coach has different coaching backgrounds and each has taken his own unique path to get to where he is today. Despite their differences, they still thank the same man for their opportunity to coach on this national stage.
"I just want to take the time to thank [Team USA head coach] Chris Merritt for naming me offensive coordinator for this team," Heidelberg said. "It's just a great honor for me to be able to represent my country."
Walsh echoes Heidelberg's appreciation of Merritt and looks forward to learning from the six-time district champion and head coach of Miami Christopher Columbus High School.
"I can't wait to just sit back and watch Coach Merritt in action and see how he handles the staff and organizes his practice," Walsh said. "I can really learn a lot by watching how he talks to the players, interacts with other coaches and just by bouncing ideas off of him."
Both offensive-minded coaches hope to utilize their players' talents and call plays that play to their strengths. Although both teams expect to play hard-nosed, traditional football styles, don't be surprised if Team USA reaches into its bag of tricks to try and catch the "World" team off guard.
"We might have some tricks in our back pocket, but we'll have enough in our arsenal to change the pace of the game when we need to," Heidelberg said. "I just look forward to giving the ball to our playmakers and having some fun out there."
Game Notes:
The "Team USA vs. The World" game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET, immediately following AFC and NFC All-Star practices at Lockhart Stadium, and will be aired on the NFL Network.
The Pro Bowl practices preceding the game will be open to the public and fans will not be charged admission to attend the multi-national showdown.
