Summer Conference Announces Slate of Football Clinicians
MONTGOMERY – Some of the South’s top college Division II and NAIA football coaches will be joined by some of Alabama’s most successful coaches as clinicians for the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Summer Conference which gets underway Tuesday.
Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA) Director Alvin Briggs said he is pleased with the line-up of speakers, especially given the short notice to secure replacement for a strong list of Division I college football coaches who had planned to attend.
The football portion of the Summer Conference will begin Wednesday.
“We think we have an outstanding list of clinicians who are very knowledgeable of the best practices for the sport of football on topics ranging from offensive and defensive schemes to current health and safety issues,” Briggs said.
The line-up Wednesday now includes Huntingdon College head coach Mike Turk, who quarterbacked Troy University to a Division II National Championship during his playing days, University of West Alabama coach Brett Gilliland, West Florida coach Pete Shinnick, West Georgia coach Will Hall and UMS-Wright High School head coach Terry Curtis. Curtis is one of just three coaches who have won five state titles since the AHSAA state playoffs began in 1966.
Hoover High School head coach Josh Niblett is among the headliners Thursday. Niblett’s Bucs, considered one of the top high school programs in the nation, currently own a 30-game winning streak heading into the 2014 season and the AHSAA’s first year of seven classifications.
Others scheduled to speak are Steve Davis of Gulf Coast Community College, Sam Gregg of West Georgia, Nathan Burton of West Alabama, Faulkner University assistant coach Blake Boren and Charlie Goodyear of Huntingdon College. College Hall of Fame Coach Bobby Bowden, who retired at Florida State as the NCAA’s all-time winningest coach, will be the keynote speaker at Thursday’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes luncheon.
Among other clinicians recently added are legendary University of Alabama retired men’s basketball coach Wimp Sanderson and retired Troy University all-time winningest men’s basketball coach Don Maestri. Former Alabama and Kentucky men’s basketball coach C.M. Newton, who had planned to speak Thursday, has withdrawn due to health reasons.
Two baseball clinician changes were also announced Monday. Tommy Walker of Vestavia Hills High School is replacing Auburn’s Greg Norton and Spanish Fort High School coach Brent Boyd is replacing Columbus (GA) High School’s Bobby Howard. Both will be speaking Tuesday.
The Summer Conference gets underway Tuesday at the Renaissance Montgomery Convention Center with the Exhibitors Expo as well as Coaching Schools for the sports of baseball, softball and soccer. Basketball, track and field and cheerleading schools get underway Wednesday and volleyball starts Thursday.
ALL-STAR GAMES BEGIN TUESDAY: The North-South Baseball All-Star doubleheader will be played at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Riverwalk Stadium. One player was added to the South squad. Alabama Christian’s Chandler Taylor will be taking the place of Dadeville’s Trevor McKinley. McKinley withdrew Monday. All other players reported as expected.
The Soccer North-South Girls’ All-Star match will be played at Emory Folmar Stadium at the AUM YMCA complex at 5 p.m. The boys will play at 7.
And, the North-South softball competition will play two games at Lagoon Park with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
The North-South girls’ and boys’ basketball games will be Wednesday night at Alabama State University’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome, the North-South volleyball competition will be Thursday afternoon at Faulkner University’s Tine Davis Gym, and the 55th annual North-South All-Star Football Game will be at Cramton Bowl Thursday night at 7.
AHSAA MOBILE APP: All all-star competition will be webcast live over the NFHS TV Network. Links and instructions on how to subscribe can be found at www.ahsaa.com. The week’s festivities can also be found on the new AHSAA Mobile App, which can be downloaded free at Apple and Google stores online.