by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Continuity is key, and new football Head Coach Jerry "Bear" Weiland intends to provide that to the 2022 fall football season at Garretson High School.
Weiland has been coaching for almost twenty-five years, with the past twelve in Garretson as an assistant coach.
He got his start in coaching in Britton, SD after graduating from Southwest Minnesota State University. He'd had a successful football career to that point, playing first for Beresford in High School and then heading to the national playoffs for Southwest MN State.
His love of football continued when he was able to step into the coaching role. After Britton, he also took on the Lake Preston and Beresford teams before moving to Garretson in 2009.
When the school approached him to take the helm as head coach for this coming season, he didn't hesitate in saying yes, knowing he'd have the skills the team needed.
"It was mutual," he said, "and that's the way it's been for all four schools I've been at." He counts the many different coaches he's worked with over the years as a boon to his own coaching skills.
"Their philosophies, their approach to the game, the way that they ran their program," was a big part of something he's worked with over the past 24 years. "I like to focus on the fundamentals. Games are won and lost by what you do prior to the game. If everybody's giving their all, the wins and losses take care of themselves."
He intends to prepare the athletes to give their best- not just the skills of throwing or tackling, but in teamwork and leadership.
“Team leadership is built in the off season," Weiland pointed out. "No one will vote for a team captain who decided to do their own thing all summer and then show up for fall camp.”
All Garretson School athletes are highly encouraged to participate in the Orthopedic Institute program that is held each summer starting in June. The program includes workouts focused on speed, strength, agility, and flexibility, skills all athletes need to be successful and stay injury-free. Weiland intends to ensure that program is an expectation for the football athletes.
"If we can, build on everybody's best knowledge base to make the team better," Weiland said, referring to the different types of coaches and athletic trainers that are provided to the athletes. "We're gonna set ourselves up to play Garretson hard-nosed football and have a very good understanding of what our opponent is doing. We want teams to adjust to us, not necessarily have us adjust to them."
That doesn't mean alignments and responsibilities won't change as needed. Flexibility in play is a big part of what makes a team successful.
"We're going to have our fundamentals down in that if there's one receiver, here's what we do. If there's two receivers, here's how we adjust and here's our base. Just be very fundamentally sound," said Weiland.
Part of those fundamentals will be integrated into the football camp that will be held later this summer, but Weiland wanted athletes and their parents to know there's an expectation that they're working hard in the off-season.
He also pointed out that while prior head coach Chris Long is no longer there, Weiland's been with the team for several years already, and there's still plenty of continuity in the coaching staff.
The loss of at least six seniors who graduated means several incoming seniors and juniors will be stepping up into the leadership of the team.
"Those are some big shoes they have to fill," said Weiland.
"August 4th, football starts in Garretson, and we will have an 8-game season," Weiland said. "I want to give the kids that comfort level that there's things that are taking shape and will have an impact for next fall."
