USAfootball

Top high school football coaches Chris Merritt and Steve Specht to lead coaching clinics in Brazil

Two of America’s most successful high school football coaches – CHRIS MERRITT of Miami Christopher Columbus High School and STEVE SPECHT of Cincinnati St. Xavier High School – will lead a national football coaching clinic in São Paulo, Brazil, from April 2-3.

Funded in part by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Education Development Program and Brazil’s American football federation – Associacao De Futebol Americano Do Brasil (AFAB) – the two-day football coaching clinic will benefit 100 coaches of high school-aged and adult club teams from across the continent’s largest country.

Both Merritt and Specht are familiar with the sport on international levels by having served U.S. Under-19 National Team coaching staffs through USA Football’s national team program. Merritt has been part of three U.S. Under-19 National Teams (2009, 2010 and 2011) while Specht served on the 2009 Team USA staff. Merritt also played professional football in Sweden and later coached professional football in Germany.

IFAF is composed of 59 national football federations spanning five continents. USA Football is America’s delegate to IFAF.

IFAF has provided grants to 15 national federations across four continents to further strengthen youth and high school-aged football development through its education development program.

“I am excited to be part of the clinic,” Merritt said. “I have been exposed to football in other places around the world having coaching overseas, and it is always fun to go to a new country such as Brazil and see that there is passion for the sport of American football.

“Any time you try to improve the quality of the sport – especially at the coaching level – it will help the growth of the game, and I am just glad I can be part of it.”

As the head coach at Miami Christopher Columbus, Merritt has led the Explorers to five district championships, three of which were earned through undefeated seasons in his 10 years at the school. He also was the head coach of the Hamburg Blue Devils in Germany from 1996-98.

Specht is 71-17 (.807) since becoming the head coach at his alma mater in 2003. His Bombers have won two Ohio big school championships (2005, 2007), with Specht earning Ohio Division I Coach of the Year honors both times. 

“This is something new to me,” Specht said. “It’s a different setting, different approach. You have to assume that everyone in the room is at a different level when it comes to their knowledge of football. I look forward to getting back to the bare bones, the basics of football.

“I was fortunate to find a niche in high school sports and be successful, and now my niche is taking me to Brazil. This is not something you put in your career path.”

About IFAF: The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unites 59 countries on five continents through a burgeoning international sport.  With national football federations in existence for more than 75 years, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. The IFAF office is located near Paris, France. www.IFAF.org.

About USA Football: USA Football, the sport's national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competitions and provides more than $1 million annually in equipment grants and youth league volunteer background check subsidies. Endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football (www.usafootball.com) is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.