From Junior Wolverine Coaches Coordinator Hugh Gladner

Winning! Not something we talk about in the Junior Wolverine Program. That is the mantra our system and our coaches believe, teach and follow.  Our program success comes from teaching what is important in youth sports; fundamentals, effort, and the fun of the game. We will continue to rely on these principles at all levels as we teach your son. We are very confident it will lead to a positive outcome for all involved. 

The Wolverine Jr program has come a long way in the 22 years I have been involved (18 with the Wolverines) in the league. I have watched the program grow from 85 kids and no teams in the playoffs to over 270 kids and all teams in the playoffs.  The first step to improving the program was finding the right coaches who will teach and coach the correct ways. I believe the Wolverine Junior coaches from top to bottom are the best teachers of the game in the league. 

People outside the Wolverine community say the reason for the high School success is because all our junior teams run the some offense as the high school and the system wins because of it. That’s not true. What all our coaches do is teach the simple fundamentals of football; tackling and blocking. After playing in our program the high school coaches have players who are sound and ready for the next level-regardless of the position they will play or the system that will be run.

Our coaches insist the boys give effort physically and mentally all times. We practice for 5-6 hours a week and expect 100% participation from the boys. Football more than any other sport demands effort; without effort it is very hard to teach and correct.  Being there is not enough and the individual skill level of each player is unimportant. What matters is each player is significantly better in November than they were in August. Our coaches will give each player the tools the need; it’s up to the players to give the effort to show the improvement

Football has become the only sport that is not a year around sport and has a limited time frame and opportunity. Part of the allure to the game is all the kids on a team will start on the same day and will end on the same day. And they will be with classmates the entire season. Our practices are up-tempo and challenging at the same time. You can see the self-esteem rise and enjoyment our players have when they see their own improvement.

We hold our coaches to the highest of standards during practice and games.  All the Wolverine Junior coaches are certified through USA football and have attended coaching clinics. We require certification for our coaches (not every system does). Our coaches also stand by the GEJFA and boys club philosophy of a Positive Place for Kids. The Wolverine system has not had any coach kicked out of a game and no coach in the last ten years has had to go be the GEJFA grievance committee for acts unbecoming a coach. We have no reason to expect this to change. If for any reason you are concerned about your son and/or coach, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or another board member to discuss.

To continue to improve our system at the end of the year we ask each family to fill out an anonymous coach’s evaluation. This is the best tool to help evaluate and teach our coaches. We have a special situation that we have so many people who want to coach and be a part of the program. Your evaluation will assist us in helping the coaches improve and finding the correct coaches.

While every other system in the league talks about how the Wolverines always win; we talk about how our growing system of over 270 players that get better each year. That is our victory.

Sincerely,

Hugh Gladner

Coach’s coordinator