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ISU clinic helps women learn about football
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[August 23, 2007]
NORMAL -- Illinois State head
football coach Denver Johnson welcomed more than 100 women to
Kaufman Football Building on Tuesday night for the ladies-only
football clinic, "Tacklin' Football III." The event, hosted by
Johnson and Radio Bloomington, gave Bloomington-Normal area women
the chance to gather basic knowledge about the game in a light and
humorous environment.
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Johnson was impressed by turnout for Tuesday's event and has enjoyed
the opportunity to give back to the community. "I thought the
event went very well, as it has grown every year and we had a huge
crowd tonight," said Johnson. "Everyone seemed to be really into it,
and we try to have a lot of fun with it. At the same time, we try to
be educational and try to help them understand so that they can
increase their enjoyment when they watch a game.
"It's a good thing to do to give back, and the ladies are really
interested and ask good questions. I had some fun doing it, and I
think the ladies had some laughs along the way too. We spend about
three hours having a nice social event while learning about
football, which sounds like a nice little evening to me."
After participants opened the clinic with dinner donated by
Subway, Johnson brought out current Redbirds Luke Drone and Joe
Niklasch to the session to teach the ladies on the proper way to
receive a snap. After a quick lesson of "Football 101," Johnson
brought out game film to demonstrate the various offensive and
defensive formations and schemes.
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"I thought Denver did a great job in helping to not only
understand football, but a lot of the strategy that is behind it,"
said Stacey Marshall-Kern of Bloomington. "It is obvious that he has
a lot of passion for the sport, and the fact that he wants to
transform football here at ISU is a great thing. I have a son who is
16 years old that plays football, and I didn't know the difference
between a cornerback and a defensive end. He helped me understand
the difference between the two tonight."
Johnson finished the clinic by opening up the floor to questions,
where the participants could clear up things that they learned
during the film session as well as general questions about the sport
and the issues that surround it.
"It was very enlightening for me, because I don't know very much
about football," said Marlene Brown of Bloomington. "I think Denver
did a great job and with a great sense of humor too. I feel like I
will be a little bit more educated and be able to talk about it a
little bit more. I will have a sense of what's going on during a
game."
[Text from file received from John A.
Sandberg, Illinois
State University] |
