The Los Angeles Rams recently invited local high school varsity football coaches to their training facilities for a clinic. The coaches heard remarks from Rams head coach Sean McVay and from associate manager of high school football Ghalee Wadood.
“You guys know this as well as I do, the influence and the effect that you can have in a positive way on these players is so tremendous,” McVay said. “Some of the most influential people in my life are still some of the coaches that I had when I was younger because I’ll never forget the way that they made me feel.”
During the clinic, the coaches discussed college entrance requirements from representatives of the NCAA. With the trend of players graduating early to participate in spring ball, the Rams wanted to inform coaches about the importance of keeping up with their player’s grades.
“Every high school coach doesn’t have a counselor that just focuses in on the kid’s academics,” Wadood said. “The coach got to be knowledgeable … then he takes off his coaching hat and put on his counselor hat and go over the transcripts with his kids.”
Related Stories
NFL Star, Intuit, Teaches Inglewood High Students About Money
Lakers Draft Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis
Coaches also did a CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) training by the American Heart Association.
“Where we are league-wide and right now, the importance of knowing CPR and cardiac arrest and things like that in our sport,” Wadood said. “It feels very good to have them as a partner so we can continue to push this message out there and get everyone knowledgeable.”
The coaches took part in breakout sessions where they gleaned from the Rams position coaches. They went over player development, watched film to discuss the details of plays, and reviewed various aspects of coaching.
The position coaches involved in the breakout sessions included defensive line coach and run game coordinator Eric Henderson, running backs coach Ron Gould and wide receiver coach Eric Yarber.
“It’s great to be here, it’s a blessing to be out with other high school coaches,” said Diamond Bar high school football coach Matthew Castaneda. “Breaking bread with fellow coaches is always a blessing, being able to just to get into the facility, see what the professionals do at their level.”
The high school coaches were also able to watch the Rams practice. McVay shook the hand of every coach who attended the clinic. Wadood noted how the coaches considered the event to be “a homerun.”
“It was a hit. A lot of coaches were upset that they didn’t get to come,” Wadood said. “We’ll grow it so that we can make sure that we reach and touch a lot more high school coaches.”
