United States
Coaches
USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, has assembled one of the nation's most credentialed prep football coaching staffs in history to guide America's team in the 2009 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Junior World Championship in Canton, Ohio.
All members of Team USA's coaching staff are head coaches for their respective high school programs.
USA Football's Junior National Team Coaching Staff
| Coach | Position | High School |
|---|---|---|
| Chuck Kyle | Head Coach | Cleveland St. Ignatius |
| Steve Specht | Defensive Coordinator | Cincinnati St. Xavier |
| Gary Swenson | Offensive Coordinator | West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley |
| Tom Bainter | Running Backs | Bothell (Wash.) |
| Marcus Boyles | Wide Receivers | Wayne County (Miss.) |
| Ed Croson | Offensive Line | Lake Balboa (Calif.) Birmingham |
| Jeremy Gold | Defensive Line | Ann Arbor (Mich.) Pioneer |
| Frank Lenti | Offensive Line | Chicago Mount Carmel |
| Chris Merritt | Defensive Backs | Miami Christopher Columbus |
| Allen Wilson | Linebackers | Dallas Carter |
No strangers to competition, all members of Team USA's coaching staff come on board as head coaches for their respective high school programs, and they certainly have a lot to show for it.
The 10 men leading the U.S. Junior National Team have a combined total of 1,497 wins, 392 losses and 5 ties (.792) as career high school head coaches. Equally impressive is the fact that this coaching crew brings in 155 high school head coaching seasons, along with 31 state championships.
"I really feel honored to be part of this tremendous group of coaches and lead it," said Team USA head coach Chuck Kyle of Cleveland St. Ignatius High School, an English teacher who has guided his Wildcats to three "National Championship" seasons (USA Today 1989, '93; National Prep Poll 1993, '95).
"All of these men bring a litany of accolades, but there's far more to them than awards and win totals. I'm most impressed — and proud — of how these coaches challenge and guide their teams to reach their potential as student-athletes and young men. They share uncommon abilities to prepare, inspire and connect with their players."
USA Football Jr. Nat'l Team Coaching Staff
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Chuck Kyle
Cleveland St. Ignatius High School, Head Coach
Kyle became his high school alma mater's head coach in 1983 and owns a 253-57-1 (.815) record and a state playoff ledger of 49-11 (.817). St. Ignatius's nine Division I state titles under Kyle are the most of any Ohio school since the state's playoff format began in 1972. The Wildcats have advanced to Ohio's state playoffs in each of the past 20 seasons.
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Steve Specht
Cincinnati St. Xavier High School, Defensive Coordinator
Specht took over as head coach for the Bombers in 2003 and has quickly earned two Ohio Division I Coach of the Year honors ('05, '07). In his five-plus years in leading the Bombers' football program, Specht has attained a sparkling 54-6 (.900) record and two large-school Ohio state championships ('05, '07).
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Gary Swenson
West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley High School, Offensive Coordinator
A head varsity football coach in Iowa since 1976, Swenson owns a career coaching record of 257-85 (.751). Swenson, inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame (1993), has led his teams to a state playoff berth in each of the past 21 seasons en route to four state championships, including three with Valley High School ('02, '03, '05).
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Tom Bainter
Bothell (Wash.) High School, Running Backs
Bothell High's head coach for the past eight seasons, Bainter has directed his suburban Seattle program to state championship games in each of the past two seasons. Bainter led Bothell to a staggering — and heart-pounding — nine overtime victories in 2006, including postseason play. Bothell has claimed four of its conference's past eight titles.
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Marcus Boyles
Wayne County (Miss.) High School, Wide Receivers
Entering his 15th high school head coaching season, Boyles has guided his teams to five state championships — three of those five with his Wayne County War Eagles. A high school head coach of current Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell [Taylorsville (Miss.) H.S.], Boyles has a Magnolia State prep head coaching record of 177-21 (.894).
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Ed Croson
Lake Balboa (Calif.) Birmingham High School, Offensive Line
In 2000, Croson inherited a Birmingham program that was a combined 3-17 from 1998-99 and had not captured its league title since 1969. Croson proceeded to lead the school to league championships in 2000, '01, '03, '06 and '07. The Patriots earned Los Angeles City titles in 2002, '04, '06 and '07, finishing last season in the USA Today Top 20 national rankings.
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Jeremy Gold
Ann Arbor (Mich.) Pioneer High School, Defensive Line
Entering his 10th season as a coach on collegiate and high school levels, Gold has served as defensive line coach at Wayne State University (2002) and Grand Valley State University (2003-04), helping lead GVSU to a Division II NCAA National Championship in 2003. USA Football's Gold is the brother of Ian Gold, a former Denver Broncos linebacker.
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Frank Lenti
Chicago Mount Carmel High School, Offensive Line
In 24 years as Mount Carmel's head coach, Lenti has led the Caravan to nine Illinois state championships and 13 state title game appearances. Lenti, one of two Team USA offensive line coaches (Ed Croson), was the prep head coach of current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and has led Mount Carmel to 22 consecutive state playoff berths.
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Chris Merritt
Miami Christopher Columbus High School, Defensive Backs
With a high school head coaching record of 63-19 (.768) at Christopher Columbus, the Indiana University alum has led his Explorers to district titles in 2001, '03, '04, '05 and '07, including undefeated regular seasons in '05 and '07. In the past seven seasons, Merritt has helped more than 30 of his student-athletes reach Division I or I-AA college football.
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Allen Wilson
Dallas Carter High School, Linebackers
Wilson owns a career head coaching mark of 226-78-4 (.740). He led John Tyler H.S., located in Tyler, Texas, to the state's Class 5A State Championship in 1994 and directed Paris (Texas) H.S. to the 4A State Championship in 1988. A 17-time district coach of the year, Wilson earned Texas' AP High School Coach of the Year honor in 1989 and '95.