--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2013, Berry College, a division three school located in Rome, Georgia, played their inaugural season of football. As a division three school, Berry faces the challenge of recruiting without being able to offer scholarships. Another challenge they faces is competing for a playoff spot against 252 other division three teams. I recently talked to Berry Football Coach Tony Kuczewski about these challenges and more.
Coach Kuczewski was not stranger to start-up programs, which made him an ideal candidate for Berry. At LaGrange College, another division three school, Kuczewski served as the team's Defensive Coordinator. “I got a front row seat on how to start a D3 college program,” he said. “That experience was invaluable. You understand the steps it takes to start a successful program.”
Recruiting for a start-up program is a challenge in and of itself. Recruiting for a division three start-up program just adds to the challenge. Due to NCAA rules, division three teams can not offer athletic scholarships, but can give academic scholarships to those who qualify. “It encourages us to find the best and the brightest academically because they get the academic scholarships,” Coach Kuczewski said. “Berry is an challenging school academically, and we don't recruit anyone who doesn't fit Berry’s academic profile.
The coaching staff focus’ heavily on the south, particularly in Georgia for recruiting talent. “The academic profile here leads us to a lot of private schools,” Coach Kuczewski said. “Cobb [county] and North Fulton are big recruiting areas for us. We've also looked around Jacksonville, Nashville, and Birmingham.”
Coach Kuczewski said his recruiting network that he had gotten from previous coaching jobs, along with Berry’s strong academic reputation helped them overcome the recruiting challenges. He also explained what made players “fit” in Berry’s system. “We ask our recruits what is most important to them,” he said. “If guys really value their experience here, then those are the guys that will fit best in our program.”
In division three, the national champion is determined by a 32-team playoff system. Twenty-four of the spots are reserved for the winners of each conference. “I like our model because if you win your conference then you go to the playoffs for a chance to win it all,” Coach Kuczewski said.
Recently, division one teams changed their post-season system to look more like division three’s. “I think they're getting closer to our system,” Coach Kuczewski said. “What they've gone to now is better than what they had. I think an eight team playoff would be better.”
With 253 division three schools, Coach Kuczewski thinks there is an even a wider disparity between division three teams than division one teams because theres so many more factors. “It [division three] brings more academics into it than just athletic stuff like stadiums and facilities,” he said. “Berry's a hard school and not everyone can get into it.”
Helping the players off the field is one of Coach Kuczewski biggest goals. “You have to place a priority on having a good relationship with your players,” he said. “You try to hire a staff that values relationships with players.”
The restrictions on offseason contact with players in division three is much greater in division one. Coach Kuczewski said the restrictions on offseason contact with players in division three is much greater in division one. That makes keeping track of the players during the offseason that much more important.
The Berry staff takes several precautions to make sure they keep up with their players in the offseason. A team meeting is held every week during the offseason. Each player has an academic coach who is also a football coach and sometimes is their position coach. The players also see the strength and conditioning coach just about every day as they do offseason workouts.
Coach Kuczewski said that while coaching his players on the field is definitely important, it is also important to coach them off the field as well. “We help them with their academics, their nutrition, and help them to find jobs,” he said. “Some guys make mistakes and educating them through those choices is hard. Helping the players is the biggest challenge but just the biggest reward.”
The Vikings open their season this fall against Maryville College in Tennessee, followed by their home opener against LaGrange College, where Coach Kuczewski used to coach. Until then, the coach will continue to try and keep his team together and prepare for a successful third season.
No comments:
Post a Comment