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Tjeerdsma Achieves Success the Right Way
By David Boyce
Mel Tjeerdsma is like most people. Things come up during the course of a day that can put him in a bad mood. It's natural.
But no matter what Tjeerdsma is feeling it's important for him to exude a positive persona to his Northwest Missouri football team.
The Bearcats will never see him throw a pity party, complain about circumstances or allow negativity to invade his program.
"I think that is really important," Tjeerdsma said. "I'm a positive person and I think you have to show that and be positive.
"I told our players in meetings in the fall that there are days when I don't feel like I'm the most positive person, but I fake it and that's what some of you guys have to do."
A lot of Tjeerdsma's success comes down to something as simple as having a bright outlook.
Sure, Tjeerdsma and his coaching staff have brought in numerous talented players over the last 16 years to help him compile an incredible 170-41 record.
And it definitely takes play-makers to get to as many NCAA Division II championship games as Tjeerdsma's teams have earned in the last 11 years.
Northwest Missouri, 13-1, will be making its fifth straight appearance and seventh in the last 11 years when the Bearcats take on Grand Valley State, 13-1, at noon Saturday in Florence, Ala.
But there is more to it than just talent. The MIAA consistently has two or more teams capable of reaching the championship game each season.
And there are at least 10 to 15 other teams across the country that have championship-type talent but falls short of the title game.
So what's Tjeerdsma secret?
"First off, he is just a good person and that's a big part of it," senior running back LaRon Council said. "He's got good people skills. He really cares about his players. He cares about all of us. I think that is a big part of what has allowed him to have so much success."
Tjeerdsma practices what he preaches.
Junior quarterback Blake Bolles is in his fourth season in the program and he has never seen Tjeerdsma arrive to practice in a bad mood.
Anybody who has spent time in the northwest corner of Missouri in late November and December knows there are days when it's easy to complain.
The cold north wind that blows through Maryville sometimes feels like it came directly from the North Pole.
On those days when players are shivering, Bolles sees Tjeerdsma, standing in one spot, giving out instruction with a baseball cap on as if it's an early fall afternoon.
"It's one of those things that goes back to body language," Bolles said. "He just always seems like he's in a great mood. It could be 10 degrees outside with 35 mph gusts of wind and we are outside and players are freezing and I look over at him and he doesn't even have a stocking cap on.
"You look at him and here's a guy in his 50s and he's not dressed up or moving around and he doesn't look cold at all. You think I better just suck it up. He's one of those guys you can just feed off his energy."
It's that energy that allows his team to bounce back from four straight losses in the Division II championship game.
"There are times when you might feel sorry for yourself but you got to be positive and if you have to fake it, fake it," Tjeerdsma said. "I just really believe that. There is so much more to come by being positive than by being negative."
Although he will never admit it, Tjeerdsma is a pretty good motivational speaker. He knows when to say the right words to his players at the right time.
A couple of players said Tjeerdsma told the team at halftime in the quarterfinal game at Central Washington that the 2009 Northwest Missouri team would be the most underachieving team in the last five years if it lost.
The Bearcats trailed 14-7 at halftime and scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter and won 21-20.
"It was one of those things that put a spark in you and get you fired up," Bolles said. "His exact words were, ‘do you realize if we lose this game that we underachieved this year as opposed to the last four years.'"
Tjeerdsma has seen some of those comments in stories and laughed. He's not claiming his players misquoted him. Tjeerdsma simply clarified his words.
"I said I want you guys to know that in the last 14 years the average record for our Northwest football team is a little more than 11 wins and a little less than two losses," he said. "If we don't take care of business we are going to finish 11-2 and that's below average and I don't think you are a below average team."
The bottom line is the halftime speech worked. But Tjeerdsma said he's not a big believer in big words firing up a team to play better.
"It is a fine line," he said. "I think there are times you do. As a coach, more important than anything else, you have to limit those times. You can't be the little boy who cries wolf all the time because they won't listen to you. I choose my spots pretty carefully."
One thing is certain, Tjeerdsma is having as much fun coaching this season as any since he's been at Northwest Missouri.
The irony is Tjeerdsma almost was close to leaving Northwest Missouri last March when he was a finalist for the Texas-San Antonio job.
By going through the process, Tjeerdsma realized something important.
"I feel so good now because I'm where I'm supposed to be," Tjeerdsma said. "It's so obvious. I've had as much fun coaching this year as I've ever had. It worked out exactly the way it was supposed to work out."
One of the things that has made this season enjoyable is the chemistry his entire team has shown.
Despite just one loss, Northwest Missouri has had games in which the offense didn't play well and other games when the defense gave up a lot of points. But Tjeerdsma never saw any finger pointing.
"The one thing that characterizes this team probably as much as any team we have ever had is they have a lot of confidence in each other," Tjeerdsma said. "They respect the fact everybody has a responsibility and they respect them doing their responsibility."
Respect goes a long ways in the Northwest Missouri football program. Tjeerdsma respects his assistant coaches. The coaches treat their players with respect. It all starts with the head coach.
"You have to start with he's very open and flexible and he lets us be who we are," offensive coordinator Adam Dorrel said. "He encourages us to be creative, whether that's recruiting or play calling. He's very, very easy to talk to. He's got a good personality. He's never in a bad disposition."
No matter what happens on Saturday, it has been another enjoyable season for Tjeerdsma. He loves where he works.
"It's not just our football staff; it's our entire athletic staff," he said. "People really enjoy each other. Our administration has been real supportive. We've gone through a change in presidency and that's been really good. This is an unbelievable community."
Tjeerdsma remembers a couple of years ago when his 8-year-old grandson said he wanted to go to Hy-Vee for breakfast.
Why?
"He said because all the people there wanted to talk about the Bearcats," Tjeerdsma said.
Tjeerdsma created that atmosphere.
"He's just a great man," junior offensive lineman Brett Grozinger said. "He coaches by example. He doesn't have a magical formula. He just does the right thing."
To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.
