Power of Influence Round Table
01/19/23 • 28 min
This week on Inside the Headset, we are featuring our 2022 Regional Power of Influence Award winners in a roundtable discussion. The coaches discuss their journey, some of the mentors who have had an impact on them, and some pillars of their football program.
2022 AFCA/AFCF Regional Power of Influence Award winners are:
Region 1: Jim Kelliher, Abington (Mass.)
High School Region 2: Rodney Saulsberry Sr., Whitehaven (Tenn.)
High School Region 3: Dwight Lundeen, Becker (Minn.)
High School Region 4: John King, Longview (Tex.)
High School Region 5: Todd Sloat, Fall River (Calif.) High School
Jim Kelliher has been the head coach at Abington High School for 49 years and currently sits fourth for career victories in Massachusetts history with 305. He has guided the Green Wave to three Eastern Massachusetts State titles in Division 5 (2002), Division 3 (2005) and Division 4 (2012) and two overall state championships in Division 5 (2014) and Division 4 (2019). Kelliher graduated from Abington in 1966 and played his college football at the University of Massachusetts. He returned to Abington as an assistant coach for three years before being named head coach in 1974.
Rodney Saulsberry Sr. is in his 25th season at Whitehaven High School and 19th as a head coach. He has an overall record of 180-48 with two Tennessee 6A state titles in 2012 and 2016, the first championships in program history. Over 200 of Saulsberry’s former players have gone on to play college football, and 15 of them have become coaches. He has served on the board of the Tennessee Football Coaches Association and served on the Rules Committee for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Saulsberry has been a speaker at various football clinics around the country, including the 2013 AFCA Convention. In 2020, he co-founded the Minority Coaches Association of Tennessee, which helps high school, college and professional coaches in Tennessee foster job opportunities and hosts clinics for continuing education. Saulsberry has earned many awards over his time as head coach, such as a two-time Tennessee Titans Coach of the Week, a Tennessee Titans/Shelby Metro Coach of the Year award winner in 2012 and 2016, three-time Regional Coach of the Year and winner of the Rex Dockery Award from the Memphis Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Dwight Lundeen started the Becker High School football team in 1970 and has never left. In his 53 years as head coach, Lundeen has amassed an overall record of 390-166-3 with three state championships, 19 section titles, and 24 conference championships. He has served as president and on the executive committee of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, the Minnesota Interscholastic Activities Administrators Association, and the Minnesota State High School League. Lundeen has been inducted into the National Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2019), Minnesota Activities Directors Hall of Fame (2014), Minnesota High School League Hall of Fame (2014) and the Minnesota Football Coaches Hall of Fame (2009). He is a four-time Minnesota Football Coach of the Year and was named Minnesota Football Coaches Association Man of the Year in 2015.
John King is in his 19th year as head coach at Longview High School. He currently has the Lobos in the semifinals of the Texas 5A state playoffs with a 14-0 record. His overall record sits at 211-43 with a 6A state championship in 2018. King is a past president of the Texas High School Coaches Association and has served on the THSCA Board of Directors. He has served on several committees for the THSCA as well as Treasurer of the East Texas Coaches Association. King was inducted into the East Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor in 2019 and was named Texas Sportswriter Association 6A Coach of the Year, along with Longview News Journal and American State Bank Coach of the Year in 2018. He has won 15 District Coach of the Year honors in his 19 seasons.
Todd Sloat has coached football for 23 years, with the last 21 coming at Fall River High School. His overall record in eight years as a head coach sits at 78-16 with one California 7AA state championship and six Northern Section titles. Sloat earned California Coach of the Year honors in 2021 and six other Coach of the Year honors in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2018, and 2021. He stepped down as head coach after the 2021 season and works as an assistant coach with Fall River, helping the Bulldogs to a 12-0 record and the Northern Section championship.
0:50 Meaning of Power of Influence Selection
1:55 Pillars/Culture of Each Program
10:20 Impact of Program
13:50 Significant Influences
18:05 Creating a Community within Your Town & Team
21:00 Camaraderie of Coaches
This week on Inside the Headset, we are featuring our 2022 Regional Power of Influence Award winners in a roundtable discussion. The coaches discuss their journey, some of the mentors who have had an impact on them, and some pillars of their football program.
2022 AFCA/AFCF Regional Power of Influence Award winners are:
Region 1: Jim Kelliher, Abington (Mass.)
High School Region 2: Rodney Saulsberry Sr., Whitehaven (Tenn.)
High School Region 3: Dwight Lundeen, Becker (Minn.)
High School Region 4: John King, Longview (Tex.)
High School Region 5: Todd Sloat, Fall River (Calif.) High School
Jim Kelliher has been the head coach at Abington High School for 49 years and currently sits fourth for career victories in Massachusetts history with 305. He has guided the Green Wave to three Eastern Massachusetts State titles in Division 5 (2002), Division 3 (2005) and Division 4 (2012) and two overall state championships in Division 5 (2014) and Division 4 (2019). Kelliher graduated from Abington in 1966 and played his college football at the University of Massachusetts. He returned to Abington as an assistant coach for three years before being named head coach in 1974.
Rodney Saulsberry Sr. is in his 25th season at Whitehaven High School and 19th as a head coach. He has an overall record of 180-48 with two Tennessee 6A state titles in 2012 and 2016, the first championships in program history. Over 200 of Saulsberry’s former players have gone on to play college football, and 15 of them have become coaches. He has served on the board of the Tennessee Football Coaches Association and served on the Rules Committee for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Saulsberry has been a speaker at various football clinics around the country, including the 2013 AFCA Convention. In 2020, he co-founded the Minority Coaches Association of Tennessee, which helps high school, college and professional coaches in Tennessee foster job opportunities and hosts clinics for continuing education. Saulsberry has earned many awards over his time as head coach, such as a two-time Tennessee Titans Coach of the Week, a Tennessee Titans/Shelby Metro Coach of the Year award winner in 2012 and 2016, three-time Regional Coach of the Year and winner of the Rex Dockery Award from the Memphis Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Dwight Lundeen started the Becker High School football team in 1970 and has never left. In his 53 years as head coach, Lundeen has amassed an overall record of 390-166-3 with three state championships, 19 section titles, and 24 conference championships. He has served as president and on the executive committee of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, the Minnesota Interscholastic Activities Administrators Association, and the Minnesota State High School League. Lundeen has been inducted into the National Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2019), Minnesota Activities Directors Hall of Fame (2014), Minnesota High School League Hall of Fame (2014) and the Minnesota Football Coaches Hall of Fame (2009). He is a four-time Minnesota Football Coach of the Year and was named Minnesota Football Coaches Association Man of the Year in 2015.
John King is in his 19th year as head coach at Longview High School. He currently has the Lobos in the semifinals of the Texas 5A state playoffs with a 14-0 record. His overall record sits at 211-43 with a 6A state championship in 2018. King is a past president of the Texas High School Coaches Association and has served on the THSCA Board of Directors. He has served on several committees for the THSCA as well as Treasurer of the East Texas Coaches Association. King was inducted into the East Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor in 2019 and was named Texas Sportswriter Association 6A Coach of the Year, along with Longview News Journal and American State Bank Coach of the Year in 2018. He has won 15 District Coach of the Year honors in his 19 seasons.
Todd Sloat has coached football for 23 years, with the last 21 coming at Fall River High School. His overall record in eight years as a head coach sits at 78-16 with one California 7AA state championship and six Northern Section titles. Sloat earned California Coach of the Year honors in 2021 and six other Coach of the Year honors in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2018, and 2021. He stepped down as head coach after the 2021 season and works as an assistant coach with Fall River, helping the Bulldogs to a 12-0 record and the Northern Section championship.
0:50 Meaning of Power of Influence Selection
1:55 Pillars/Culture of Each Program
10:20 Impact of Program
13:50 Significant Influences
18:05 Creating a Community within Your Town & Team
21:00 Camaraderie of Coaches
Previous Episode
2022 AFCA Convention - GA Panel
This week on Inside the Headset, we are featuring our GA panel from the 2022 AFCA convention. The panelists discuss what they look for in a GA, how to be successful, and maintaining discipline through adversity.
Bret Bielema recently completed his second season as the Head Coach of Illinois. Bielema arrived in Champaign with 24 years of collegiate coaching experience and a 12-year record of 97-58 as head coach at Wisconsin and Arkansas. While at Wisconsin, he led the Badgers to three Big Ten championships and six consecutive bowl games including two Rose Bowls.
Coach Sean Lewis recently completed his fourth season as HC at Kent State and recently took the offensive coordinator job at Colorado. Lewis brings an extensive coaching résumé to Colorado after his time at Kent State and has been one of the fastest-rising coaches in the nation over the last decade.
Ryan Riemedio completed his first season as the Head Coach at Mercyhurst and his 10th year on the Mercyhurst University football staff in 2022. In 2021, he was elevated to Assistant Head Coach and defensive coordinator while coaching the team's linebackers and continued his role as the program’s strength and conditioning coordinator. Riemedio joined the Mercyhurst football coaching staff in 2012 as a graduate assistant working with tight ends, fullbacks and assisting with the offensive line.
Dr. Alvin Parker completed his fifth season at Virginia Union University in 2022, and his 24th overall on the collegiate level. Dr. Alvin Parker got his start in coaching at Virginia Union in 1999 after he finished his playing time there. He served as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach at VUU until 2003. In 2004, Coach Parker was hired as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Elizabeth City State University for where he spent 12 seasons.
Julian Griffin currently serves as the running backs coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio. In 2021 coached Griffin coached C-USA Player of the Year, Sincere McCormick on the way to the school’s first-ever conference championship title. Griffin was also selected to the 2022 AFCA 35 Under 35 Leadership Institute. Prior to UTSA, Griffin served as the offensive quality control assistant for two seasons at the University of Arkansas.
Next Episode
NAIA Coach of the Year Panel
This week on Inside the Headset, we are featuring our NAIA regional coaches' discussion. The coaches recap their seasons, and the team’s culture, and reflect on some influential leaders in their life. The regional selections for NAIA are:
Region 1: Mike Jasper, Bethel University (Tenn.) Mike Jasper recently led his Bethel Wildcats to an 11-1 record and a berth in the NAIA playoffs. Coach Jasper is a graduate of Bethel and was the first-ever Wildcat drafted to the NFL in 2011 when selected by the Buffalo Bills. He spent three years in the National Football League with the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.
Region 2: Jordan Langs, Indiana Wesleyan University Jordan Langs had successful stops at previous institutions such as Indiana Wesleyan University (NAIA), Head Coach [2016-2022] and Wheaton College (NCAA DIII), Defensive Coordinator/DB’s [2012-2016]. Coach Langs was previously named the 2021 & 2022 Mideast League Coach of the Year. Coach Langs recently took an assistant coaching job at Iowa State as the Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs coach.
Region 3: Joe Woodley, Grand View University Joe Woodley recently completed his 15th year with the Vikings and his fourth year as head coach. Prior to being head coach, he was the offensive and defensive coordinator. Woodley has been instrumental in the Vikings’ success since the program’s inception in 2008. In 2013, Grand View finished 6-0 in the MSFA Midwest, 14-0 overall and won the NAIA National Football Championship.
Region 4: Matt McCarty, Northwestern College Matt McCarty finished his seventh season as the Red Raiders’ head coach. McCarty was the team’s defensive coordinator for 11 years and served as assistant head coach from 2012 to 2015. He has led the Northwestern football program to two National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Football Championship Series (FCS) semifinals three times (2020, 2021, 2022). He has made one NAIA FCS National Championship game appearance (2020). McCarty led the Northwestern football program to their first NAIA national title in 2022 since the 1983 season.
Region 5: Troy Purcell, Carroll College (Mont.) Troy Purcell became the 21st football coach at Carroll College on Dec. 7, 2018 and most recently led the Fighting Saints to the program’s 45th conference championship. The 2022 Fighting Saints won their final five games of the regular season, culminating with a 21-6 win over College of Idaho to secure a share of the Frontier title, and the conference auto-bid to the NAIA Football Championship Series. Carroll finished the season as the No. 16 ranked team in the final NAIA Coaches’ Poll. Purcell was named the 2022 Frontier Conference Coach of the Year.
1:15 Season Recap
2:30 Positive Effect of Players Returning
6:00 Maintaining Culture through Adversity
8:00 Influential Mentors
14:15 Conclusion
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