To all eight graders (and parents) interested in Harmony football,
It’s mid-July and the 2016 T-Bird Football season is right around the corner. Currently student athletes should be working
on a regular basis to get in shape so that they are prepared to experience an exciting and challenging football season. We
had a very successful football camp last week. 23 Harmony boys attended and I appreciate all the hard work they put into
participating. I am also extremely excited about the talent and attitudes I witnessed at camp, we should have a fun and
prosperous season.
The coaching staff at HMS views the Thunderbird Football Program as a stepping stone into our feeder football program
at Blue Valley Northwest High School. Our philosophies, strategies, and techniques are directly modeled after the
“Husky Way” of football. I meet regularly with the coaches at BVNW to ensure this.
Remember – “Hard work” beats talent when talent doesn’t “work hard”. The bullet points below summarize what you the
student athlete, can be doing mentally and physically to prepare yourself for the upcoming season.

Start running. It is best to run on a track or grass rather than concrete. Take leadership and get with your
friend(s) and run at the Harmony Track and or grass field. Try to stay away from indoor treadmills, run outside in
order to get your body ready for practices in the heat (do not work out during the hottest part of the day). Your
running program for example could be at least 1 mile every other day (example: Mon. – Wed. – Fri.) Your target
is a seven to nine minute mile – but whatever your time – work to improve your time each run. Then on the other
off days (Tues. and Thur.) run at least 10 reps of 20 to 40 yard sprints. The time between each sprint should be a
30 count. Rest your body Sat. and Sunday. Always make sure you properly stretch for 10-15 minutes prior to
running with a walking 1 lap around the track followed with 10 minutes of stretching after the cool down.

Look for strength and conditioning opportunities. Although not required to play at Harmony, anything you do
that can help you get into better shape or get stronger to stay injury free is a benefit. For example, look for any
type of program that can help you build strength and get into better condition; you don’t need to lift heavy
weights. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull ups, stairs, lunges and agility drills are just as effective. Drink as much water as
possible and get plenty of rest at night (at least 8 hours).

Keep in mind the Husky Football mental approach to all practices, because it is also the Thunderbird Football
approach…….Discipline-Effort-Teamwork-Toughness.
Monday August 15, the first day or practice will be here before you know it. So submit your packet of required forms
(physical etc.) to the office as soon as possible. Here is a LINK to those forms.
Below is a list of upcoming dates and times to add to your calendar.
Football equipment check out (at Harmony) – Only attend one check out session
Thursday 8/11/14 from 3:00 – 4:00
Friday
8/12/14 from 3:00 – 4:00
Parent meeting for football participants (at Harmony 6TH grade pod)
Thursday – 8/11/15 from 5:30 – 6:30
1st day of practice (at Harmony Football Field) – The 1st 3 practices will be non-contact practices (no pads).
Monday, 8/15/15 from 3:00 – 5:00
1 st Official Game
Thursday – 9/1/15 @3:30 opponent TBD
Thank you, and enjoy the remainder of the summer,
Coach Newell
[email protected]
Football 2016-­2017 DRAFT DAY DATE TEAM THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 15 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22 MONDAY SEPTEMBER 26 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29 THURSDAY OCTOBER 6 MONDAY OCTOBER 10 KSHSAA -­ 1ST DAY OF PRACTICE CAN BEGIN AUGUST 15 ALL GAMES START AT 3:30. NO FILMING, UNLESS IT IS THE GAME YOUR TEAM IS CURRENTLY PLAYING. NO AFTER SCHOOL PRACTICE ON EARLY RELEASE DAYS.