Friday, March 10, 2006
Iowa coach keynote speaker in Spirit Awards
The Kirk Ferentz we've all gotten to know on the TV screen made an up-close and personal visit to Humboldt last week.
Ferentz, head football coach at the University of Iowa the past seven years, served as the keynote speaker for the third annual Spirit Awards ceremony held Feb. 28 at R. Wesley Carlson Auditorium in Humboldt.
Ferentz, with his low-key and honest, straightforward and articulate personality - proved to be a special treat for those who spoke to him before and after the ceremony as he signed autographs and posed for photographs.
"It's a great opportunity. It's a little bit like the I-Club outings. The I-Clubs are a little varied - bigger towns - smaller towns. But it's a great opportunity to get out and visit with some folks from our state. Other than being away from home, I enjoy it tremendously," Ferentz said during an interview 30 minutes before the ceremony.
"To me, coming here is a chance for us as coaches and people associated with the university to get back and thank the people in our communities," Ferentz said. "I can't imagine anybody has better fan support than the University of Iowa in all of our sports. It's certainly true in our sport. And when you factor in the fact we have a lot of young men on our football team that come from all over the country and from all over the state of Iowa, be it little towns or big towns."
"We're not too far here from the hometown of Dallas Clark, a pretty successful young guy with our football team," Ferentz said, referring to the Livermore native and current NFL player.
"I want to compliment the people of Humboldt for coming up with this type of program. I think it's tremendous. To me it encourages being proactive...demonstration of being interested in the community. It's a great, great concept and I'm really encouraged to be a part of it," Ferentz said.
"I'll talk tonight about things I think are generic to success, be it with teams, organizations and communities. I'll draw some parallels with what we try to do with our football program," Ferentz said. "And I'll talk about some lessons our athletes learn from, going through an endeavor like they do. Being part of a team is no different than being part of a community. If you have something invested, hopefully you are getting something out of it and hopefully it's a great feeling of fulfillment."
Ferentz, who served as Iowa's offensive line coach from 1981-89, said his four-hour stop in Humboldt was his first. As coaches divide up recruiting duties among states, Iowa was not on Ferentz' primary list.
"This is my first time I've stopped in Humboldt. Going back into the 1980s, this is my 17th year at the University of Iowa. I never recruited Iowa as a primary state. But back in the 1980s I spent a lot of time going out and visiting linemen, particularly in the spring. So I've been in a lot of towns and through a lot of towns in Iowa. It's always fun to have a chance like this to stop off and really get to know and visit with people from various communities," Ferentz said.
Ferentz says Iowa values and the people who make up the state are what keep him and his family in Iowa.
"It really is. It made it a no-brainer for us when we had the opportunity to come back to Iowa seven years ago," Ferentz said. "It's not something my wife and I had to think very hard about, just because where we were at in our lives and what it potentially offered us on a personal front, and also professionally."
"A big factor in all of my decisions throughout my career is 'what is it going to do on the personal front.' We're raising five children and that's very important to us. The Midwest, I think, is very, very unique and I think Iowa is very unique to the Midwest on top of that," Ferentz said. "We just feel very, very fortunate to be back here in this state."
Just over two months ago Iowa played Florida in the Gator Bowl. Now, with recruiting out of the way, March has arrived along with spring football. The Hawkeyes are coming off a 7-5 season. Spring ball begins Mar. 22. Spring practice concludes with the spring game on April 15.
"First of all, I can't believe how quickly it's approaching. We're about three weeks away. It's amazing how quickly the calendar goes by. But with that being said, the players have been really working hard since mid-January with Chris Doyle (strength coach). And it's been fun to be back in the office now that recruiting is over and be around our players and see them training and coming through our offices," Ferentz said.
"We're all anxious and eager to get back out on the field and start taking the next step toward putting together a football team for next year," Ferentz said.
"Now we're very busy getting ready for spring ball and reviewing last year, so we always have our hands full," Ferentz said. "We'll be out on the field in three weeks so it's exciting."
Ferentz is pleased with Iowa's latest recruiting class of signees for 2006.
"We think we did well with our recruiting class. I think every coach probably feels that way. Most importantly, I think we understand what we're looking for. With each and every year, you understand better what's going to work for you and we feel real good about the young men who have committed to us. We think they're coming to us for the right reasons and we're anxious to work with them. We'll get started next August," Ferentz said.
Ferentz had praise for Dallas Clark, who has now played the last three years for the Indianapolis Colts in the National Football League. Clark went to Iowa as a part-time student and eventual walk-on, who earned a scholarship and became the nation's best tight end in 2002, earning All-American honors in the process.
"Dallas had such a fantastic career for us and has such a passion for the game. He plays with such an enthusiasm and energy level that's contagious. I think he's given that to the Colts," Ferentz said. "I'm really pleased with him. We're very, very proud of him."
"I don't know if we had a better story than Dallas Clark come through our halls. That's really been the best part of coaching at Iowa. Our best players have been our best guys and Dallas certainly typifies that," Ferentz said.
Ferentz, head football coach at the University of Iowa the past seven years, served as the keynote speaker for the third annual Spirit Awards ceremony held Feb. 28 at R. Wesley Carlson Auditorium in Humboldt.
Ferentz, with his low-key and honest, straightforward and articulate personality - proved to be a special treat for those who spoke to him before and after the ceremony as he signed autographs and posed for photographs.
"It's a great opportunity. It's a little bit like the I-Club outings. The I-Clubs are a little varied - bigger towns - smaller towns. But it's a great opportunity to get out and visit with some folks from our state. Other than being away from home, I enjoy it tremendously," Ferentz said during an interview 30 minutes before the ceremony.
"To me, coming here is a chance for us as coaches and people associated with the university to get back and thank the people in our communities," Ferentz said. "I can't imagine anybody has better fan support than the University of Iowa in all of our sports. It's certainly true in our sport. And when you factor in the fact we have a lot of young men on our football team that come from all over the country and from all over the state of Iowa, be it little towns or big towns."
"We're not too far here from the hometown of Dallas Clark, a pretty successful young guy with our football team," Ferentz said, referring to the Livermore native and current NFL player.
"I want to compliment the people of Humboldt for coming up with this type of program. I think it's tremendous. To me it encourages being proactive...demonstration of being interested in the community. It's a great, great concept and I'm really encouraged to be a part of it," Ferentz said.
"I'll talk tonight about things I think are generic to success, be it with teams, organizations and communities. I'll draw some parallels with what we try to do with our football program," Ferentz said. "And I'll talk about some lessons our athletes learn from, going through an endeavor like they do. Being part of a team is no different than being part of a community. If you have something invested, hopefully you are getting something out of it and hopefully it's a great feeling of fulfillment."
Ferentz, who served as Iowa's offensive line coach from 1981-89, said his four-hour stop in Humboldt was his first. As coaches divide up recruiting duties among states, Iowa was not on Ferentz' primary list.
"This is my first time I've stopped in Humboldt. Going back into the 1980s, this is my 17th year at the University of Iowa. I never recruited Iowa as a primary state. But back in the 1980s I spent a lot of time going out and visiting linemen, particularly in the spring. So I've been in a lot of towns and through a lot of towns in Iowa. It's always fun to have a chance like this to stop off and really get to know and visit with people from various communities," Ferentz said.
Ferentz says Iowa values and the people who make up the state are what keep him and his family in Iowa.
"It really is. It made it a no-brainer for us when we had the opportunity to come back to Iowa seven years ago," Ferentz said. "It's not something my wife and I had to think very hard about, just because where we were at in our lives and what it potentially offered us on a personal front, and also professionally."
"A big factor in all of my decisions throughout my career is 'what is it going to do on the personal front.' We're raising five children and that's very important to us. The Midwest, I think, is very, very unique and I think Iowa is very unique to the Midwest on top of that," Ferentz said. "We just feel very, very fortunate to be back here in this state."
Just over two months ago Iowa played Florida in the Gator Bowl. Now, with recruiting out of the way, March has arrived along with spring football. The Hawkeyes are coming off a 7-5 season. Spring ball begins Mar. 22. Spring practice concludes with the spring game on April 15.
"First of all, I can't believe how quickly it's approaching. We're about three weeks away. It's amazing how quickly the calendar goes by. But with that being said, the players have been really working hard since mid-January with Chris Doyle (strength coach). And it's been fun to be back in the office now that recruiting is over and be around our players and see them training and coming through our offices," Ferentz said.
"We're all anxious and eager to get back out on the field and start taking the next step toward putting together a football team for next year," Ferentz said.
"Now we're very busy getting ready for spring ball and reviewing last year, so we always have our hands full," Ferentz said. "We'll be out on the field in three weeks so it's exciting."
Ferentz is pleased with Iowa's latest recruiting class of signees for 2006.
"We think we did well with our recruiting class. I think every coach probably feels that way. Most importantly, I think we understand what we're looking for. With each and every year, you understand better what's going to work for you and we feel real good about the young men who have committed to us. We think they're coming to us for the right reasons and we're anxious to work with them. We'll get started next August," Ferentz said.
Ferentz had praise for Dallas Clark, who has now played the last three years for the Indianapolis Colts in the National Football League. Clark went to Iowa as a part-time student and eventual walk-on, who earned a scholarship and became the nation's best tight end in 2002, earning All-American honors in the process.
"Dallas had such a fantastic career for us and has such a passion for the game. He plays with such an enthusiasm and energy level that's contagious. I think he's given that to the Colts," Ferentz said. "I'm really pleased with him. We're very, very proud of him."
"I don't know if we had a better story than Dallas Clark come through our halls. That's really been the best part of coaching at Iowa. Our best players have been our best guys and Dallas certainly typifies that," Ferentz said.
# posted by Michelle @ 1:40 PM 
