Just heard Jeff Norman will be the new head coach at Iroquois High School. I do not know much about him other than he used to be the head coach out in the counties.

I believe he coached with Western's Doug Preston for a few years, then took the Morgan County job for one year, and now he's at Iroquois. Good luck to him. If he can get some of the young basketball players they have, then he might be able to get something going. The problem is going to be getting a staff and keeping them there. Shawn did as good a job as anyone could at Iroquois and it wore him to complete exhaustion, not to mention he had a hard time finding coaches to help.

Congrats

Mr. Norman,

Congrats on the new job. Someobody mentioned getting some of the basketball players out for football....you have a sophmore who will be a junior next year in Donovan Gibbs. He's 6-5 to 6-6 and can flat out fly. He probably weighs around 205-210. The only problem is that he hasn't played football since he was 9. Gave it up because he liked baseball and basketball better. If you can convince to come out I think you'll have found a diamond in the rough.

I believe he coached with Western's Doug Preston for a few years, then took the Morgan County job for one year, and now he's at Iroquois. Good luck to him. If he can get some of the young basketball players they have, then he might be able to get something going. The problem is going to be getting a staff and keeping them there. Shawn did as good a job as anyone could at Iroquois and it wore him to complete exhaustion, not to mention he had a hard time finding coaches to help.

 

Couple of things to point out here about Iroquois...when my brother coached with Thompson there there wasnt really a problem finding coaches...it was finding "quality coaches". Thompson wasnt about to hire guys who just wanted to show up on Friday nights. Likewise, he wasnt going to hire coaches that wanted to do things their own ways. I cant tell you the number of times freshmen players were called on to play varisty and had no clue what the offense or defense was. Once a coach left, Thompson figured if a candidate wasnt going to fit his needs, he would rather do it himself.

Also, about the basketball players at this school....if you're not familiar with this situation it should be noted that the athletics department frowns on basketball players playing football. The new coach is going to find out soon that getting these kids out is not going to be an easy task. Thompson tried like hell. I spoke to my brother about this problem and he told me quote "Yes, there are a ton of athletes in that building...however...two questions: Are they playing basketball and if so, good luck getting them out. 2nd: Are they even in the right grade to be eligible to play?" Otherwise, Iroquois could easily have 60-70 players dressing".

Good luck to the new coach. Its not going to happen overnight and it certainly isnt going to happen in 1-2 years. Its going to take a lot of time, frustration, sweat, etc. This is a school that is going to require someone who is willing to put together a long term plan to see any results. Hope it works out for everyone.

When I went there we had 90 players not counting JVs.

Couple of things to point out here about Iroquois...when my brother coached with Thompson there there wasnt really a problem finding coaches...it was finding "quality coaches". Thompson wasnt about to hire guys who just wanted to show up on Friday nights. Likewise, he wasnt going to hire coaches that wanted to do things their own ways. I cant tell you the number of times freshmen players were called on to play varisty and had no clue what the offense or defense was. Once a coach left, Thompson figured if a candidate wasnt going to fit his needs, he would rather do it himself.

Also, about the basketball players at this school....if you're not familiar with this situation it should be noted that the athletics department frowns on basketball players playing football. The new coach is going to find out soon that getting these kids out is not going to be an easy task. Thompson tried like hell. I spoke to my brother about this problem and he told me quote "Yes, there are a ton of athletes in that building...however...two questions: Are they playing basketball and if so, good luck getting them out. 2nd: Are they even in the right grade to be eligible to play?" Otherwise, Iroquois could easily have 60-70 players dressing".

Good luck to the new coach. Its not going to happen overnight and it certainly isnt going to happen in 1-2 years. Its going to take a lot of time, frustration, sweat, etc. This is a school that is going to require someone who is willing to put together a long term plan to see any results. Hope it works out for everyone.

 

Well said. You couldn't be more right about that situation he's in. One of Norman's main reasons he came back cuz the wife hated the country I thought that was pretty funny. Good luck to him in building something the way he sounds he's pretty excited about the job.