By Aleana Peoples
AFCA

l to r: Coaches Fred T. Farrier, James Franklin, Mark Hudspeth, Jim Leavitt and Will Mack Garza sit on the panel at the Graduate Assistants Forum.

Each year at the AFCA Convention, graduate assistants and young football coaches attend the Graduate Assistants Forum to learn that professional development is a critical component in the road towards success in the coaching profession.

The Graduate Assistants Forum was featured at the 2008 AFCA convention, which took place, Jan.6-10, 2008 in Anaheim, California. The event was filled with aspiring coaches from across the United States in a standing room only environment to receive advice from a panel of experienced coaches.

The panel provides an outlet for aspiring coaches to learn from those already successful in the business. The panel of coaches at this year’s forum included: Jim Leavitt, head coach at the University of South Florida; Mark Hudspeth, head coach at the University of North Alabama; James Franklin, offensive coordinator at University of Maryland and Willie Mack Garza, defensive coordinator at North Dakota State University. Fred T. Farrier, head coach at Kentucky State University and Ben Wiggins of Texas A&M University served as moderators for the panel discussion.

"The forum allows younger coaches and graduate assistants the ability to receive credible information that will benefit them at that stage in their career," says Farrier. The information at the forum is given to help them become focused earlier in their career. "When I was a graduate assistant I learned a lot of things by trial and error. I would have saved a lot of time had I known the basic tenants of success in this business" adds Farrier. "It really is a way to get all coaches refreshed and refocused on our motivation."

Fred T. Farrier, Kentucky State Universtiy, moderated the GA forum

"The panel helps these younger guys understand that coaching is not a job that you can do halfheartedly," says Farrier. "The first thing that graduate assistants and young coaches will learn is that you have to invest yourself emotionally and physically."

Ben Wiggins, graduate assistant at Texas A&M University, credits experienced coaches, such as Farrier, as an inspiration of where he wants to be in his coaching career. He explains that the idea for a forum at the convention derived from a series of discussions between Grant Teaff, AFCA Executive Director, Tai M. Brown, AFCA Assistant Director of Education & Professional Development, Farrier, and himself.

"Seeing an example of how a coach got to a certain point in his career is always a good thing," says Wiggins. "Before the forum, aspiring coaches could not see this and lacked presence at the convention. Now we have an opportunity to meet other graduate assistants and young coaches and share ideas."

Brown commented on the initial purpose of the Graduate Assistant Forum saying, "The forum was developed as a vehicle for younger coaches and graduate assistants to learn. The kind of information that we provide at the AFCA is offered within any profession. If I wanted to become a journalist, I would have SPJ, the Society of Professional Journalists as my vehicle for success. The same thing would apply if I was an engineer. Engineers can use NSPE, National Society for Professional Engineers, as a vehicle for professional development."

Brad Davis, a graduate assistant at the University of North Carolina, attended the forum and was pleased with the opportunity to receive valuable information. "I think of the forum as an investment in my career," says Davis. "Not only did I learn beneficial pointers from some quality guys, but I was also able to engage in a valuable networking opportunity with other guys who will be head coaches 10 or 15 years down the line."

Some helpful information that the coaches received during the discussion involved the amount of education coaches should have in relation to job opportunities. Farrier asked the panel if having a master’s degree is as instrumental for a coach as having hands-on coaching experience.

"When I first started out as a coach, I created a check box of everything I would need to succeed in this business," says Franklin. "A master’s degree was on that list because I knew that I would want to coach at every level. I didn’t want anything holding me back in my career. I say to keep investing in your career for further on down the road."

Leavitt, who worked on his Ph.D. over several summers, believes that work experience is more beneficial. "If offered a full-time job, I say take it if you can," says Leavitt. "You will have your own positional responsibilities and you get the experience of recruiting and learning in a real situation. You can always work on your masters in the summer as you go along. I worked on my Ph.D. at the University of Iowa in the summer. For the entire summer, I was around the coaching staff. I learned what it really means to work."

Aspiring coaches filled the room to learn the secrets of football coaching success.

The aspiring coaches at the forum were encouraged to always be ready when an opportunity presents itself. A major challenge for graduate assistants and young coaches is proving that you are qualified for the job.

"A word of advice that I learned after attending the forum was that my job as a coach is basically about being of service," says Keith Scott, forum attendee and assistant coach at Mississippi Valley State University. "The panel consistently reminded the participants to always be assertive, be of service and be a model to a cause. If there was anything that I wanted to pass on to others desiring to become a coach, it would definitely involve being of service to your team. Also, take this as an opportunity to learn and gain as much as you can from the experienced coaches who are present at the convention."

Executive Director of the AFCA, Grant Teaff, expresses that coaching is a very giving profession. "Coaching is probably the most giving profession in America today," says Teaff. "All who are successful coaches now, learned from other coaches that went before them. We are all a product of someone else’s experience and knowledge. It is in the DNA of the high majority of coaches to give back to the sport and the way we give back is to share our knowledge and expertise with those who follow us."

Impacting lives and providing a positive example are other fundamental elements of coaching that the novice coaches learned at the forum. Many of the experienced coaches on the panel attested to the fact that having someone as a mentor is always beneficial for a young coach.

Brown also noted the importance of having a mentor in the coaching field. "As leaders, coaches have a responsibility to teach more than just the X’s and O’s of the game," says Brown. "Teaching leadership requires a coach to be a leader. Emphasizing the importance of academics and personal development will take a young person past their athletic opportunities and into the world in which they will live the rest of their lives. Those who are mentored by coaches will someday mentor their own children and others they come in contact with. It could be said that mentoring is the foundation of the football coaching profession."

The impact that a coach has on his team was pervasive throughout the discussion. Aspiring football coaches must quickly learn the impact that they have on the lives of others. In essence, football coaching is all about relationships and finding ways to help others.

"The panel taught me that even as a young coach, I am still an asset to my team," said Wiggins. "I learned how to be a contributor without feeling like I have to be a decision maker."

The panelists reminded the younger coaches that energy is one of their greatest assets. Energy is precisely what head coaches want

Audience members take notes at the GA Forum.

Farrier notes the importance of availability and energy among younger coaches, "The younger guys need to remember that everything you do is like a job interview. Even the way you dress and carry yourself as a coach is important. Everything that is done with the staff and as an assistant can be used for how you are recommended for your next job."

As for the future of the Graduate Assistants Forum, Wiggins would like to see more aspiring coaches in attendance. Any aspiring football coach or graduate assistant who seeks to attend the Graduate Assistant Forum will have the opportunity during the 2009 AFCA convention, which will take place, January 11-14, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee.

"Because I appreciate the opportunity to help people," say Wiggins, "I would like to extend our network and make the information available to more people. There are young people in operations, recruiting, and some who are still in college who are interested in becoming coaches one day. I would like to reach out to them in the same fashion that other coaches have reached out to me."