#RockReport State Final

Last night, 119 Rocks, led by 40 seniors, took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, ate, and returned as Champions. Your Rocks captured the school's first ever football State Title on the back of a gritty, physical performance against an equally solid opponent in the Columbus East Olympians. 16-13 was the final score in a game that came down to the wire.

The Shamrock offense produced big first downs when the team needed them, also punching in the lone Rock TD of the night. They protected the ball and set up the special teams for 3 crucial field goals. In the end, it was fitting that this group should be given the ball one last time, kneeling it three times to seal the victory.

This year's Rock D will go down as perhaps the best in school history, allowing just over 14 points per game and holding a potent Olympian offense to only 13 points. They slammed the door in the second half, shutting out their opponent and coming up with huge stops when called upon. No stop was bigger, perhaps, than when East was threatening the goal line near the end of the game, coming as close as the 1 yard line, only to be denied after four downs.

Shamrock Special Teams played the high scorers of the night, generating 9 points and executing perfectly when on the field. They maintained the field position advantage, drilled field goals, and kept all Olympian return efforts contained. Special recognition should be given to Will Harrison's State Finals record 52-yard field goal that was the first of the Rocks' points.

There is so much to find impressive in this group of young men. From the 40 seniors displaying selflessness on a daily basis, finding and embracing productive roles on a team in which a majority of them could not find regular playing time due to their sheer number, to the younger players who thrived beneath the leadership and offered excellent scout team preparation down the tournament stretch. This team was built upon the foundation of "Heart" and "Family," and it used those principles, attacking every day, in order to earn success on the biggest of high school stages.

We have a lot to be grateful for today. Grateful for the opportunity and support within our fantastic community. Grateful for the fans and parents that provide the fertile soil in which the seeds of success are grown. Grateful for the managers and support staff that work tirelessly behind the scenes nourishing and caring for those seeds. Grateful for the 119 young men who put in 339 days of intense effort growing the seeds. But most of all, grateful for the 40 seniors who, finally, were able to taste the fruits of their hard-earned labor.

Congratulations to the 2016 Class 5A State Champion Westfield Shamrocks. We, the coaches, hope that this has been one of the most amazing experiences of your lives, and feel truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to help you reach your full potential as a football family. What a great day to be a Shamrock!

Jim Belden

We tweeted out this article yesterday, but I wanted to make a post on here so it will show up on the blog and Facebook as well. I had the good fortune of meeting and learning from Jim Belden when he volunteered his time helping out at Westfield during his son's tenure as head coach. From personal experience, I can say that the sentiments expressed in the article are absolutely true. He was a great man and a Hall of Fame coach who dedicated his life to making Hamilton County a better place.

It has been said that a coach will impact more young people in a year than the average person does in a lifetime. Jim's impact, then, cannot be measured in years, but in lifetimes. His leadership and vision will most certainly be missed.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Belden family, along with a deep sense of gratitude for all of their contributions to our football family.

John Harbaugh on Why Football Matters

Some of you may have seen this post by John Harbaugh several weeks ago, but I thought it deserved a link on here. I also thought it went well with the mission posts from the last few days. We love football and take our job as coaches very seriously. A lot of the reasons why are spelled out by Mr. Harbaugh. Good stuff.

Westfield, A True Team

The morning after the end of your football season is one of the most difficult to face. The sun seems dimmer. The world, colder. There is an emptiness. The singularity of purpose that drove you for the last several months has suddenly been ripped away. This is loss.

Whether your season ends at Lucas Oil Stadium or on a brightly lit field somewhere else, it is a painful thing. There are no more film sessions, no workouts, no practice tomorrow. Finally, you can sleep in, but you quickly discover that you would rather be tired and groggy and sweating with your team. When did your warm bed become second place? 

Westfield became intimately acquainted with second place last night, and the bittersweet success it represents. It was an emotional scene following the 5A State Final. Tears were shed and hugs exchanged between men that call each other "brothers." One gets the sense that there would have been tears even had the Rocks won. Going into the game, we knew that, no matter the outcome, this was the last time this wonderful family would play together. An end must come to all things. 

This was not the end we wanted, nor the way we wanted to go out. There have been brighter spots throughout the season than were shown last night, but it was not for lack of effort or desire. Sometimes, no matter how prepared, and how hard you've worked, and how bad you want it... it is not meant to be. And, to give credit where credit is due, we played a very good football team. It would have taken a very special night for us to beat them. Last night was not such a night.

Yet, it was special, for many other reasons that will become easier to stomach with time and distance.Through the grief, we are reminded that God is still good. The journey was very worthy of the destination. The opportunity and experience was one to be remembered and treasured for years to come. Let's not forget that history was made. A community was energized. Differences were made in many lives, both local and global. And a legacy was left.

I hope when people reflect upon this team, they see in it a blueprint for a very "right" kind of success. Teamwork remains the world's very best competitive advantage. This is true not just on fields of sport, but in almost every area of life. There are many areas of talent that can be built and developed, but teamwork is both the most elusive and most effective, accessible by everyone. This truth, revealed slowly over hours, days, weeks, and months of dedication to a purpose, is neither secret nor unique . It can work for anyone in any situation. Come together, work your butt off, serve one another... and you will make a difference in the lives around you. Forge a team, and opportunity will shower you.

Many of us coaches have been a part of true teams before. Likely, it was that very experience that motivated us to dedicate a large part of our lives to chasing the dream again. It may only come once in a great many years. It is that special. It truly has the power to move mountains. To have found it again, with this team, is truly a blessing. 

We are thankful to our community for supporting us so very well. Administrators, school, parents, fans, even neighbors. We have felt the love. The picture below was on Twitter with the tagline "You don't see this everyday in high school football." Very true, and we are filled with gratitude. 

Most of all, I'd like to thank the players. We set out to make this journey one of the most amazing experiences of your life. Somewhere along the way, it became one of ours as well. And that makes second place just a little less painful.

Thank you for a great season!

Leadership is... Knowing Why

I have something a little different for today than the usual word. I've been made aware of an excellent internet video, and I wanted to share it.

The video captures a great talk about "How Great Leaders Inspire." It is given by a man named Simon Sinek and discusses a theory perhaps more geared toward professional business types, but still very, very applicable when you consider a host of other things, not the least of which is our football family. It is a very cool theory talking about how, throughout history, the very greatest of leaders have approach life differently. They key is that they start with the "why" instead of the "what." (That last link is to his web page if you'd like to read more.)

We've run a series here called #WhyICoach. At the very core of our program is the "why." Coach Gilbert has made it very clear: We do this because we believe a high school football program can be the most amazing experience of someone's life. He knows why. Manager, player, coach, parent, fan, starving child; it doesn't matter. Many of us are here because we've already experienced the truth of that goal at some point in our lives. Some of us are even experiencing it again, some for the first time.

The "what" of high school football is very easy to see. The chance for victories, glory, competition. The opportunity to influence a community and make a difference. These are all "whats." For us, they all stem from the why of attempting to achieve an amazing experience, of enhancing lives. At the very heart, it is our staunch believe that involvement in sport has the extraordinary potential to enhance lives and communities. This is why we do what we do.

To truly be the family we are meant to be, each member has to answer that question for themselves. Why are you a part of the team? Do you believe in the potential of sport? Do you believe what we believe?

Wins, hard work, making a difference... these are all things that will naturally follow once you know your "why." I think most people get stuck on winning and losing, on the what. We very much want to win, and here's why: To win, you need to outplay your opponent. To outplay your opponent, you need to outwork them, and this can be directly traced back to our PRIDE mantra. If every player takes personal responsibility for their daily effort, then we will outwork our opponent. But why give that effort? If your answer is "to win," then there are going to be days when you don't feel like giving that effort. Winning, by itself, is simply not enough. What if you don't play? What if you're injured? What if you feel disconnected from that win in some other way? These things happen in sports.

However, if you start with the "why" of creating an amazing experience, you avoid these pitfalls of effort. Why do you work hard in practice? To create an amazing experience. Why do you play hard on the field every play? To create an amazing experience. Why do you cheer from the sideline? To create an amazing experience. Why do you get pumped for service opportunities and give that some of your time? To create an amazing experience.

You have the chance to create an amazing experience for someone every day. Whether it's packing thousands of meals to feed the hungry, or selflessly giving it your all on the last sprint of the day, or just working hard in the classroom to stay eligible and improve your mind... these are things you decide to do. And if you constantly have to answer the question "why am I doing this," it's going to be very tough to stay motivated. If are already grounded in that answer, if you're focused on creating an amazing life experience for you and everyone around you, that answer becomes very easy to see. This is exactly why we say we are "hungry to serve."

Packing meals doesn't directly get us any more wins. A single selfless sprint won't show up on the stat sheet. But I guarantee you that it improves the experience. Yours, your teammates, your parents, your schoolmates, the fans, a starving child. Everything we do is done with the "why" in mind. We don't always knock it out of the park; we're human. But we know why we're doing it. We're working hard to create an amazing life experience.

Wins follow effort. To give maximum effort, you have to know why you're doing what you're doing. Our football family can achieve an amazing experience. We can be great leaders in everything we do. Unlike a Friday night victory, the experience we choose to create on a daily basis is completely within our control. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it. Do you believe? Are you hungry?

Here's our PRIDE pin list from last week (Brownsburg): Nick Alatza, Renzo Alvarez, Milo Beam, Josh Beer, Josh Blanton, Zane Burtron, Elvin Caldwell, Sam Coe, Johnny Crawford, Gavin Cross, Matt Crupi, Stephen Curry, Anthony Daugherty, Chris Davis, Turner Edwards, Nick Ferrer, Joey Freeze, David George, A.J. Gilchrist, Brock Ginder, Normando Gonzalez, Jake Grace, Cam Harrison, Warrick Hinshaw, Adrien Hobleman, Adam Horkay, Ben Huntley, Hunter Jakositz, Daniel Kainrath, Matt Kinney, Kory Kostecka, Nick Krieg, Zack Krieg, Dan Liebbe, Carson Lorts, Ben Lotfalian, Will McCool, Max McCool, Cole McCrary, Eric Miner, Zach Rader, Eric Rearden, Devin Reece, Jacob Robinson, Jay Simons, Evan Slagle, Deryion Sturdivant, Cory Sucese, Jacob Tebbe, Kelly Thompson, Mitch Turley, Sam Walden, Colin White, Nick Woerner, Madi Turley.

That seems like a lot of names, doesn't it? Well, it only represents 38% of our team. Our best so far this year is 50% (Fishers week), and I think we've already created a pretty cool experience. We've done a lot of good, and at best, as a team, only have 50% of our effort capacity.

Make no mistake, holding yourself personally responsible for your effort day in and day out is a very challenging expectation. The fact that these people were able to put that focus together for 7 straight days is certainly commendable. There are people in this world that will never achieve a string of 7 days of top effort in their entire life. Still, imagine what we could do with everyone making that PRIDE pin list. Imagine the experience we could create. And it starts with answering a simple question:

Why?

#WhyICoach - Coach Sattison

For me, coaching was always something I wanted to do. When I was younger, I was looked at as sort of a “coach on the field” for whatever team I was on. I never had a problem telling people what I thought needed to happen, stepping up, and being in control of the game. This was the case for my entire athletic career. It was then that I thought I would enjoy coaching... I mean who wouldn’t? Being in total control of the team was what I thought I always wanted.

Little did I know that as I matured, my views on WHY I wanted to coach would completely shift. As I realized the affect that the game of football was having on me as a man, an overwhelming sense of obligation came to rest on my shoulders. With all that it had done for me, I owed it to the game of football to give back. It wasn’t about a power trip. It wasn’t about being able to tell players what to do. It had nothing to do with “control” at all. It was about life lessons; initiative, doing the little things, teamwork, completing tasks the right way, leadership, responsibility, accountability, hard work, and the list truly could go on and on. For as much as I thought I was molding the players around me to complete tasks that I wanted finished, the players around me and the game itself was shaping the individual that I would become.

I have been blessed with a wonderful family; I have two parents who I would argue are the best parents on the planet, and a brother and sister who I am extremely close with and know I can count on in any situation. I am even very close with my brother-in-law, and I’m not sure how many people can say that with confidence. The amazing thing about football is that I describe my “football” family using the same enthusiasm and the same adjectives. We are close. We can trust each other. We can rely on each other when times get tough and life deals us a hand that we thought we would have to play alone. My football family at every level has helped me grow, solidify the principles that my parents initially instilled in me, and cultivated me into the man I am today. It is not up for debate: I would NOT be the person I am today without football. I would have missed out on meeting the people who have become my true best friends, and my extended family without football.

I hear all this talk about concussions, about how barbaric our game is, about all the potentials for harm, and I can’t help but think of some of my favorite of John Wooden’s “Life’s Little Puzzlers.” They read, “Why is it so much easier to criticize than to compliment? Why is it easier to give blame than credit? Why is it so much easier to be negative than it is to be positive?” I relate all of these ideas back to the topic at hand. Why is it that we are so quick to criticize the game of football while we remain blind to its positive attributes? Why during these talks does not one person speak to the long term benefits of the game, while they tear down and condemn every step taken on the field? Just like you feel the need to step in and protect a family member if they are being attacked in any way, so too do we feel this obligation to our game. I coach because I could never repay the debt that I owe to this game. I coach because when used effectively as a tool, football WILL help create society’s next generation of successful men. I coach because if I aid just one of our kids to have the same experience that I had, then I know something as simple as High School football can not only be one of the best experiences in a young man’s life, but can have the impact to change a future for the better. I love this game.

Thank you, and God Bless.

#WhyICoach - Coach Carnes

I went to Wabash College to play football after high school. At the end of my football career, I realized I wasn’t ready to be done. The game had completely changed my life and had such an incredible impact on who I had become. Football taught me that no matter how physically and emotionally exhausted I was, I could always push on a little bit further. It taught me the importance of character, leadership, working together for a common cause, how to deal with success, how to deal with heartache and failure; it taught me about life. The game of football gave me the confidence that if I could make it through everything I conquered on the field, even those things I thought I couldn’t do or thought I wasn’t strong enough to do, surely nothing else in life would be that difficult… at least not physically. My coaches pushed me way past anything I was comfortable with or thought I could do on my own, and showed me the power of dreaming big and not settling for just good enough. I can name every football coach I have ever had, exactly what he taught me, and how he changed my life forever and made me a better man. I was lucky enough to have the greatest parents in the world, but those men who invested in me played just as big of a role in my journey from being a boy to becoming a man. They taught me more about life and the right way to do things than any other single thing, person, or life experience with the exception of my father. They invested incredible amounts of time in my life and my success. Those coaches showed me a selflessness that I still admire to this day. Some of the people I most respect and admire in this world today were at some point my football coach.

That is why I coach. I feel a deep, inner debt to those men and what they did for me that I will never be able to repay. But that doesn't mean I can’t try. If I can have half of the impact my coaches had on my life in the life of one of my players, it will be worth all of my time, energy, sweat, and tears. The time a coach is required to be away from his immediate family is incredibly straining and difficult, but when that time is spent with your extended family that you love just about as much, it makes it much better. Not easier...but definitely worth it.

I love teaching and working with young men on the practice field. I love the community I work, teach, and live in. I consider myself extremely blessed to be able to do something I love every single day.

I don’t want my players to like me or be my friend—I want them to look back in twenty years and think, “I am glad Coach Carnes was in my life,” and know how much I loved them.

That’s why I coach.

#WhyICoach - Coach Patchett

As a college student-athlete, I thought I knew what I wanted to do. I was going to get my business degree and then go work on Wall Street. Then, one day while on the practice field with the sun shining bright, a bit of a chill in the air, and the smell of fresh mowed grass and fall leaves, I realized there was no other place in the world I would rather be. That day on the practice field in the mountains of North Carolina saved me from a life of cubicles and insane pressure.  I realized at that moment, my place was with the game that gave me everything.

Football has given me so much. I have the education that I have because of football. If not for football, I probably would have never been able to afford or pursue a college education.  Because of that education, I am able to live and work in the best community in the state. With that education, I was able to lure a pretty little blonde to be my wife and she has given me two wonderful sons.

Football has taught me so many wonderful lessons and made me much more mentally tough and optimistic. It has taught me that anything can be accomplished through hard work.  Football has taught me that no matter what life throws at me, that with a positive attitude, patience, and a desire to never give up, there is nothing I can’t overcome.  Football and being part of a team taught me about respect, team work, and loyalty.  Football has taught me to not get too high when things are good and not too low when things are bad. Every play can have a different outcome and emotion.

I coach football because I love teaching and the practice field gives me a forum to help young boys become men. It is a place that mimics life's successes and failures.  The practice and game fields are a microcosm of life with victories and losses on each play. Other than days spent with my family, there is no place I would rather be, than on a football practice field surrounded by my guys.

I once was told that to be successful you should surround yourself with wise and successful people. Through football, I have met some of the wisest men that I know.  Men who are winners on the athletic fields and in life. I have been able to take lessons from each of them and apply them to how I live my life.  When life throws me a curveball, I often catch myself thinking about the lessons those men and the game have taught me.

Lastly, I coach football, because it gives me a chance to expand my family.  When I coach your sons, I love them as my own and expect the same things from them as I do my own.  There are days when, just like my real kids, they upset me, or I upset them.  I get to watch them grow up and become fathers and responsible citizens. I watch them use the same lessons that I started learning as a 7 year old many years ago to go about their lives and become successful.  I coach, because the bonds created by this game we love, last forever.

#WhyICoach - Coach Hofferth

My name is Matt Hofferth, and I am a proud member of the Westfield High School football family. I am not a teacher, nor a paid coach. I commute each day to Kokomo, IN, where I am an Electrical Engineer for Delphi Electronics and Safety. I volunteer as a football coach in my free time because I love the sport and desire to make an impact on the lives of young people.

When I was in high school, my life was similarly impacted. My father died when I was 18. He had a disease called Neurosarcoidosis. Studies report that the disease has a prevalence of less than 4 per 100,000 people. In those four, the disease is rarely fatal. Even with the best doctors, however, my father appeared to be the exception.

The majority of my high school experience was marred by a medical struggles, a fight for survival. Teenage years can be tough enough without the instability disease brings to the table. It's hard to remember a lot of the time fondly. Much of it was spent in and out of hospitals, breathlessly waiting on the next batch of tests to glean an understanding of our fate. I credit the sport of football, and the connections I made as part of a football family, for getting me through the difficult years. I appreciate football for giving me a bright spot to look back on.

My father, sometimes wheelchair bound, struggled to make it to my games. He was a baseball guy; he had never played a down of football in his life, yet he used the time afforded by extended sick leave to study up on the game so that he understood the rules and could support me like every other father. By the time we made it to the state finals my junior year, he could understand many of the finer points, and certainly discuss the various swings the game took with special attention payed to my part in each. He may not have fully understood the mentality (football, it seems, requires a somewhat unique mindset), but he knew intimately what it meant to compete, to fight. He loved sports, and anything that instilled that same sense of fight in his son, he bought in to.

Injuries, setbacks, illness, these things are a part of the game as much as they are a part of life. Often, confronting mortality is a very daunting prospect, at any age. I believe football was instrumental to my understanding of life and living. We were state runners-up the year before my dad died, and the very next year we fell one game short of a return to the finals. My football career ended with loss, like most others. But adversity is one of the best teachers. Yes, I learned how to win, but I also learned what it meant to lose. And how to pick myself back up, rub some dirt on it, and play the next down. The friends and coaches I met through my involvement with football, they were my brothers, my surrogate fathers throughout my ordeal. They pushed and encouraged me, challenged me to get better, to stay strong. They drove me to the hospital. They were there when I received the call. They extended the line out the door and around the corner at my father's wake.

Recently, the sport I love has come under fire in the media. People decry the brutality of it, the negative effect it has on the human body. People question whether or not they should encourage their children to play.

One thing I have failed to see many of these articles address is the very positive effect it has on the human spirit. I am not the first, nor the last, former player that could claim that my involvement with football has taught me a lot of what I know about being an adult. Even, or perhaps especially, the little things. It's funny how many simple life lessons are overlooked until you lose a role model. For instance, I learned how to shave from my teammates; my father wasn't around to teach me (I was also, admittedly, a late bloomer in the facial hair department). It was a coach that taught me how to tie a tie.

I do not have kids yet, but I plan to in the near future. Perhaps, many parents will say, I do not understand what it means to have a child, to want to protect a child. I am the oldest of four. I have two brothers that are 6 years younger than me (twins), and a sister that is 13 years younger. Anyone who has lost a parent at a young age can tell you that the eldest is often expected to step up and assist with the load of child rearing. This isn't to say my mother was not capable. She did a wonderful job (and I will thank her properly again this coming Sunday). But, like when a teammate goes down to injury on the field, there is an empty spot in the roster. The game requires a full team, and someone needs to step up and play. No one asks why in sports; this is just a truth.

I may not be a parent in name, but I know what it means to love and want to protect someone. I encouraged my brothers to play football, when the time came. I attended every game of theirs that I conceivably could. I'm exceedingly proud of the young men they've become. When I have kids of my own, I will encourage (not force) them to play as well. Football has given so much to me, why would I not want that for my children?

I have never had a concussion. The only bone I've broken is my pinky finger. I had knee surgery once, but it had nothing to do with sports (I was in an accident when I was 10). I've had many sprains and bruises, but none that really haunt me to this day, at least physically. The biggest scars that remain for me are emotional.

I coach because a secondary family is worth all the sweat, blood, and tears. I coach to make payments on a personal debt that I can never truly repay. I coach because my father would have enjoyed seeing it. I coach because I love the sport of football. More than just the scoreboards or the jerseys, the paint on the field or on the faces of fans, more than the lights on a Friday night; I coach because I love the marks that football left on me.

#WhyICoach - Intro

Coach Gilbert recently sent an email to the entire coaching staff expressing concern about the string of negative media being shared by major news outlets about our sport. I believe he wanted to make sure we are focused on why we do this, what we are trying to offer. The mission of our program is:

To make Westfield High School Football one of the most unbelievable experiences of a young person's life. 

That is our number one goal. Notice that we do not simply say "high school career," but "life." We believe in our sport. We believe in what it can mean for our student athletes both now and for the rest of their lives. We believe that the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. As such, we wanted to counter some of the negativity with our own personal, positive football experiences. We wanted to share the motivation and drive behind why we coach in the hopes of promoting a greater understanding among the members of our community. Yes, football is a dangerous sport, but it is also a very rewarding one. We pour so much of ourselves into this game because it has poured so much into us.

With that being said, I wanted to introduce a series of posts from us that I'll tag as "Why I Coach." Look for them to trickle in from the coaching staff in the upcoming weeks. If you are player, feel encouraged to share these with your parents to help explain why you want to be a part of the Rock Family. If you're a parent, hopefully these articles offer some insight into the kind of men your kids will be working with and learning from. Hopefully, they will help explain why so many of us love this sport and believe in what it has to offer for everyone involved. It is about so much more than wins and losses, and we want to make believers of all of you.