a Chiefpigskin original
  Sep 1, 2011




We gathered up our equipment on Thursday night and headed off on our five and a half hour journey to Ada, Ohio. What's in Ada, a town of 5,000 that would draw a trip from Chiefpigskin? The Ohio Northern University Polar Bears and head coach Dean Paul. Ohio Northern is a perennial Division III powerhouse that plays in the always strong Ohio Athletic Conference with the likes of Mt. Union and others. If you've never really watched D-III football, get to a game some time. It is high caliber football with extremely good athletes. The only difference between D-I and D-III, in our opinion, is the speed of the game. The Polar Bears went 10-2 last year losing in the second round of the playoffs to North Central.

After spending the night in Lima, about thirteen miles from Ada, we arrived on campus Friday morning around 8 a.m. and did some looking around. What we found was a beautiful campus of around 4,000 students, well manicured and maintained, with several modern buildings. It's fun to visit small colleges and universities. It's easy to get around and they always seem to be in immaculate condition. ONU was no exception. A stroll through their Sports Center that housed coach's offices and a spacious field house revealed plenty of tradition in all sports. We found Coach Paul around 8:45 in his office already at work preparing for a busy day. Players were by now reporting to different class rooms for position meetings. The assistant coaches were busy with the meetings while Coach Paul oversaw the entire operation. The day would consist of several meetings and team practice at 2:15. In the midst of all this Coach Paul managed to work in four clinic sessions for Chiefpigskin that we know you will profit from. Those sessions will be aired at a later date and we're excited to present them to you.

As we sat and chatted with Coach Paul we found out that 180 players had reported to fall practice and the coaches were optimistic about another successful season. What brings student athletes to Ohio Northern University? Coach Paul feels it's a combination of elements. "We're a 'larger' small school with plenty to do within our student community", said Coach. "We're also a university which means we have several colleges for students to further their studies. We have a liberal arts college, a pharmacy college that is nationally known, and a first class engineering school. We probably have around forty of our players in the engineering program. We're also proud of our campus, it's very nice." That it is.

Our video sessions began at 9:15 a.m. with a segment by Coach Paul on his eight statistical categories for winning football that you won't want to miss. At 10:35 we met with defensive coordinator Adam Gonzaga as he presented the way ONU defends the boot pass within their defensive package. It didn't take long to recognize that Coach Gonzaga is a top notch D coordinator and we are eager to present his package on Chiefpigskin. At 11:10 it was a meeting with offensive coordinator Nick Hajjar and his presentation of ONU's "four vertical" concepts. It's loaded with tons of great tips that all of you are sure to benefit from.

At around 11:45 we tagged along with Coach Paul to have a little lunch with at the campus cafeteria where we enjoyed some barbecue chicken, wild rice, and a good pasta salad. To say that we were enjoying our visit to ONU would be an understatement. Upon returning from lunch Coach had some meetings so we decided to just stroll around the facilities and shoot some footage. A tour of the locker room and weight room were provided by a friendly young man who was supervising the facilities. We always enjoy tours that showcase a school's athletic and football resources.


We arrived on the practice field about 2 p.m. as players started filtering in for a 2:15 practice. They all began their pre practice routines in a laid back but business like atmosphere. By 2:15 the coaches were on the field and the intensity picked up, as practice bounced back and forth between individual drills, flexibility work, and team drills. Coach Paul ran his punt team through a series of instructional drills that will also be featured on Chiefpigskin. He worked easily with his players and did some good coaching that we are sure you will want to take a look at also when we make our ONU videos available. "We like to show it in the classroom, walk through it on the field, then build up to full speed. That's our teaching style," coach said with a grin as he was drilling his punt team. We were also able to watch Coach Gonzaga put his defense through a spirited formation identification drill that required a lot of talking and adjusting by the defense. It was great lesson on how it is VITAL that a defense talks and communicates.

By 3 p.m. it was time to pack up the equipment and head home. We had a long drive ahead of us and needed to get going. An important side note; the players were practicing in just helmets, t shirts, and shorts - no pads. There was still plenty of teaching, coaching, and drilling taking place proving that practice with no pads can still be beneficial. As coaches we like to get the pads on and sometimes feel like a non padded practice is a waste of time, but it CAN be done effectively. If the rules state that some practices must be conducted without pads, then we have to make the best of it. ONU was getting after it pretty good under the conditions and it's easy to see why they have been so successful over the years. We were impressed with all that we saw.

We arrived home around 9 p.m. tired but very grateful and satisfied that we got some good stuff from Coach Paul and his staff. Chiefpigskin would like to thank the entire Ohio Northern University program for their hospitality and opening their practice up to us at such a busy time. Good luck to the Polar Bears and all of you out there on the upcoming season.