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Q:
The skeptics and the cynics are going to say, if they haven’t
already flagged you down, we’re heard this all before. What are
you going to bring to the table to turn Lincoln football fortunes
around?
A: Well, I bring a
different style of coaching. I think the enthusiasm really needs to
be picked up around here. The kids need to learn that enthusiasm is
contagious. It needs to start right out on the field. I’m going to
start pushing the kids – not putting pressure on them, but making
them step up. I’m going to challenge them and give them the
expectations. I’m not sure that their expectations are high
enough. They are going to have to be accountable for those
expectations. You know that every coach sets goals. We’re going to
try to look at our goals and measure ourselves every week, every two
weeks and every month and see where we’re at. Have we attained
these goals? The bottom line is, they’ve got to believe in
themselves. I want it to be all one unit. I don’t want them
working for me, I want them working for themselves. I want them to
work to make their teammates better. Football is a game of emotion
and momentum. If you can get the kids to get their emotion involved
and learn how to turn that momentum around – whether it be in the
summer conditioning program, whet her it be in the middle of the
season, whether it be a turnover – they’ve got to learn that
things are going to happen. They will have to face adversity. This
program has faced a lot of adversity in the last 15 years, but I
want the kids to start believing in themselves. My forte right now
is in the area of strength and conditioning. If I can get these kids
in the weight room and start putting some weight on them...I mean
people have told me that the Lincoln kids are a lot smaller than the
other kids in the conference – maybe it’s due to the water,
maybe it’s due to their weight program – but I want them to
develop some consistency. Yes, we are taking baby steps right
now...I told the freshman today, if you can’t do a pull-up, your
goal when you’re a senior is to do 12 of them or more. Then you
can tell the incoming freshmen where you started at. I want them to
measure themselves. I want them to be adamant and consistent with
things, and that will develop into progress.
Sports
fans, make LDN your start page for the next four days to get all of
the plans Coach Tomczak has in store for the Lincoln Railer football
season. If you miss one, worry for naught; on Monday next week we’ll
follow up the last article with all five other articles.
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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Mike Benton was going to do. In late April or early
May, he
informed them that he was going to take another position, so it may
be that they did not have a huge choice of candidates. But what
compelled me to take it is that my wife is from Lincoln and I know
it’s a huge sports town. It’s got a lot of pride and tradition.
I know that the football program can be as successful as several of
the other sports programs are here...in time. It will take a lot of
hard work. The kids will have to develop the