The 2019 Coalfields Coaching Clinic was a massive success. The attendance rate jumped by nearly 50% compared to the first annual in 2018. The distance traveled by speakers and attenders was fantastic- ranging from Point Pleasant to Wheeling to Petersburg. It was definitely a memorable day.
The event was held at the Mountaineer Conference Center in Beckley, WV. The high class meeting center was accompanied with an allure of food and drink to indulge throughout the day. Registration began at 8AM, and as you would expect from ball coaches, many of the attenders were already there waiting.
Seth Ramsey of Poca, our 2018 AA Coach of the Year, went into deep talks about how he changed the tides of a program from a nationally recognized losing streak to a team that finished with a top 10 Coalfields Rating in 2019- going 9-2. Next up was veteran head coach, Billy Seals of Huntington. Coach Seals expanded on the Highlanders’ defensive scheme that has produced many next level players while having incredible success including a near state title several years ago. Coach Seals, too, inherited a struggling program before developing the Highlander powerhouse.
Next up was Kevin Board of Petersburg, a finalist for AA Coach of the Year in 2018. Coach Board arrived at a program that had not seen many wins and gave them several years of 5+ wins before finally breaking into the playoffs for the first time the Vikings had in 25 years. He presented on the multiple spread offense that helped him achieve this massive success with some of the most prolific passing and rushing numbers in the entire state.
Experienced defensive coordinator, Jason Jackson of Ravenswood, gave the attendees an in-depth look at some of the huge projects he overlooked. This ranged from their acclaimed youth camps and the masterfully created Ravenswood football history book that spans near-200 pages. Both of these brought incredible spirit, money, and excitement to the program. Coaches were expelled for lunch with the choice of sandwich trays or the huge variety of food places on Beckley’s traveler’s strip.
After lunch, Coach Jon Carpenter of Capital gave a deep look into his Cougar program that has produced a state championship and two Kennedy Award winners after he took over. He visited their offensive schemes and philosophies that are responsible for several state records. Afterwards, Coach Kevin Board and Billy Seals went at in a Chalk War- a scenario-based chalk talk that explains how both coaches approach certain situations.
Scott Holt of Cameron, a A Coach of the Year Finalist, then gave an insight on how he managed to have some extremely successful years at Cameron. He gave an incredible perspective on how to approach problems normally only small Single A’s face. This is all coming off an undefeated regular season and quarterfinal bid. Then, A Coaches Roundtable was formed by several coaches to answer 25 crowd-presented questions ranging from fundraising to rule changes.
To end the day, Concord University recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach, Max Lilly, gave a systematic look at a next level multiple 4-man front defense that allowed Concord many wins including a deep run in the national playoffs and a nationally ranked defense. The day was concluded with pizza and a social around 5:30PM as coaches departed. It was a fantastic event for learning, networking, finding scrimmages, signing up for the coaches association, promoting players, and enjoying football. We look forward to building and expanding and doing it again.