Good friend and record-setting high school football coach Britton Kauffman joins us for One Shotted’s inaugural Sports Profile.
BK is the offensive coordinator for one of the most successful 1A football squads in Illinois — the Dakota Indians. Over the last four years, the Indians have logged a 44-5 record, winning two state championships and claiming dozens of all-conference players. The Indians are 5-0 this year with lighthouse wins over Lena-Winslow, Pearl City-Eastland and Monmouth-Roseville (a 3A school).
A few weeks ago, I had a chance to catch up with Kauffman, the Indians’ first-year offensive coordinator.
OS: Welcome to the very first interview on One Shotted. You’ve been, ahem, one-shotted.
BK: Thanks for having me.
OS: My pleasure. Let’s go back a few weeks and talk about the start of two-a-days. What were your biggest needs heading into the 2009 season?
BK: Our biggest need was and is to stay healthy. We have nine returning starters from a team that went 9-0 during the regular season last year, including seven all-conference players. But our depth will be limited. But in my opinion, we’ll be putting the best 1A team on the field, barring injuries.
OS: That’s a good place to be considering Dakota’s recent success. Are those offensive starters or the entire team?
BK: Both, actually. We have an amazing number of athletes going both ways. Nine starters on both sides of the ball. Last year, we only had two seniors starting. Unfortunately, we were upset in the first round of the playoffs and got sent home early. That won’t happen this year.
We have a nice mix of power and finesse on offense, and defensively, we like to hit . . . a lot. We had a great offseason in the weight room, and very good success in our 7-on-7 passing tournaments, winning all three we were in. We can throw, but stick to the Dakota philosophy — three yards and a cloud of dust. That’s why we can be a scary team to face.
OS: How do you motivate a group that dominated the regular season last year, and many of the last four years? Do you worry about your kids getting over-confident? How do you combat that?
BK: There’s definitely a fine line between cockiness and confidence. This group is confident, but they understand there’s a lot of expectations on their shoulders. We’re stressing perfection this season, not just in execution, but how everyone approaches practice and games. With this many starters returning, they remember last season, and they’re hungry. They know we’re the team to beat.
You win the October and November games in the 90-degree heat of two-a-days.
OS: This is your first year as offensive coordinator for the varsity squad after being head coach for the fresh/soph team the last two years. You’ve put up some pretty amazing numbers so far. What changes have you made during the transition?
BK: Very few actually. As you know, we lost our offensive coordinator last year to a battle with skin cancer. Not only was he my high school coach, he was a great friend. He taught me everything I know about calling the offense, and hopefully I can do half the job he did. When it comes to X’s and O’s, he was the best, and I’m taking his philosophy into this season.
But being an old high school quarterback, it will be hard to not open it up a little!
OS: Speaking of which, we both played for pretty successful Dakota squads in the late 90′s. How has Dakota moved from a challenging matchup to nearly unbeatable during the regular season?
BK: We’ve definitely had success of late. In the past four seasons, we’re a combined 44-5, which is pretty amazing. We have a reputation that you like to have, as the team to beat. It’s nice to have the recognition, but it puts a bulls eye on your back. Everyone is gunning for you.
Interestingly enough, Coach Lano hasn’t changed his philosophy whatsoever in the past years that we had success. We just got better at conveying success to the players. Three of the five coaches on our staff are former players, so we understand what he wants done.
Small changes have happened over the years, but a strong commitment to the weight room is big. Coach also talks a lot about the “Dakota Football Family.” It’s not easy to make it through two-a-days, and if you do, you’re part of a dedicated, close-knit group of guys, and girls — we have one girl on the team this year.
Coach Lano tells an interesting story of his playing days in which him and his buddies were involved in a fight, where they were backed up into a corner and outnumbered. He preaches to his players how football is like life….you can either come out swinging, or stay back in that corner and never come out.
OS: We talk a lot about football, and one thing that always gets in the way are the differences between H.S. schemes and the NFL. What offensive and defensive sets do you see the most during the year?
BK: The one interesting thing to see over the years that we have had success, is that neighboring schools seem to pick up more of our stuff each year. You go with what works. The majority of the schools in our conference seem to run some sort of version of the Wing-T. We have one team that runs the spread, and one that runs the stretch play.
We try to concentrate on ourselves and how we get better, and let the other teams adjust to what we are doing. Besides the week we see the spread, we are in a 4-4 defense and run the wing-T or some version of it. We are seeing a lot of teams going to a version of the 4-4, but with the OLB rolled up almost like ends. They are trying to stop our buck sweep. We let them keeping changing their stuff, and we just keep running ours better.
We would rather do a handful of things perfectly than do everything just okay.
One Shotted will catch up with Coach Kauffman next week to get his mid-season thoughts on the Indians.
I started this blog with a handful of posts related to the upcoming (current) fantasy season. I spent more time and effort in mock drafts than ever before, hoping to unearth a hidden gem or two that escaped those lucky enough to get paid for guessing each week.
At what point does parity become mediocrity? And what role does chance play in determining a winner and loser?
Nike Re-Signs Vick, Still Loves Dogs
Michael Vick is back with Nike two years after the company severed ties over the quarterback’s involvement in a dogfighting ring.
“Mike has a long-standing, great relationship with Nike, and he looks forward to continuing that relationship,” his agent, Joel Segal, said Wednesday.
Segal would not reveal terms of the agreement. Nike declined a request for comment.
So. Many. Jokes. Godspeed, Ron Mexico. Godspeed.
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Tagged Football, Michael Vick, NFL, Nike, Philadelphia Eagles