MIAA Football Coaches Eager for Signing Day

By David Boyce

A chuckle came out and then Northwest Missouri football coach Mel Tjeerdsma quickly corrected any assumption that his program doesn't have to work hard on recruiting because of its 2009 NCAA Division II championship.

If anything, the competition for high school football players has only increased for the Bearcats and all the schools in the MIAA.

Five straight trips to the Division II championship game helps, but Northwest Missouri still needs to be aggressive to get the players it wants and like any school, the Bearcats don't get everybody.

"The landscape has really changed for us," Tjeerdsma said. "In some respect it is more competitive. In other respects it is more competitive with different schools.

"When we came 1994, 1995 and in the 90s, basically we were recruiting against the MIAA schools and that was pretty much it. Now, we are probably recruiting more against the I-AA schools than we are our own conference."

For most college football coaches, Wednesday is a day better than Christmas. It is national signing day, a time when the coaches see all the phone calls, travel and boasting about their school pay off with the signature of a high school senior.

As any coach or fan knows, a successful college football program needs a strong recruiting class each year.

It takes more than a good win-loss record and past tradition.

"I think with high school kids facilities are big," Tjeerdsma said. "I really do. For junior college kids it's not as big an issue because they are only going to be there for two years. Most of the junior college kids are concerned about playing opportunities."

In the last decade, schools in the MIAA have improved their facilities so much that many stadiums and weight rooms are on par or better than some of the Division I-AA programs.

"Everybody wants to win, but a lot of people in the last decade have really put money in their program, new stadiums, suites and weight room renovations," Missouri Western coach Jerry Partridge said.

Beginning this summer, the Kansas City Chiefs will have their training camp at Missouri Western and with their arrival will be a state-of-the-art indoor facility and locker room.

"Their indoor facility will be a big factor for them, no question about that," Tjeerdsma said.

Partridge said his program hasn't reaped the full benefits of the new indoor facility that is currently under construction.

Last year when he talked to recruits the indoor facility was a concept. This year when he walked recruits through it they walked in dirt and mud and saw concrete and steel beams.

"It's still hard to totally picture the flashiness of it, but they will next year. Next year we will really have a big stick," Partridge said.

"We tell them about it. It's the first thing that comes out our mouths right now. Generally, when they visit our campus our percentage of getting them is pretty high.

"When we walked them in the indoor facility and the locker room, that's when their eyes got big and they were so impressed with the size of both facilities."

The same probably happened when Washburn coach Craig Schurig gave tours of their new weight room to recruits.

Schurig was all smiles last week when he walked through the weight room and talked about it.

The weight room had a new-car smell that was so enticing that even a muscle-challenged sports writer who lifts nothing heavier than a slice of pizza would think about hitting the weights.

Imagine what a high school football player who has a strong desire to be an all-conference player or All-American thinks when walking through Washburn's weight room.

No question the competition for players, especially in the Kansas City area, is fierce among MIAA schools.

Even Nebraska-Omaha has come into Kansas City and is expected to sign a few players.

"They got some kids, definitely," Tjeerdsma said. "They got some commitments from kids on the Kansas side of Kansas City and a kid from Raytown that we recruited. It looks like they made a concerted effort to come this way. They got tired of us going into Omaha. They turned the tables on us a little bit."

Central Missouri recruited Kansas City well during the Willie Fritz era. New head coach Jim Svoboda was hired just a few weeks ago by Central Missouri and is a little behind, but not that much.

Svoboda was the offensive coordinator at Northwest Missouri when the Bearcats won back-to-back national titles in 1998 and 1999.

"Obviously, it has gotten more competitive," Svoboda said. "You are more aware of what you are up against. The familiarity with the conference helps because you know what kids see when they go someplace else. You can speak informatively about the league. All those things help out recruiting."

Svoboda is not going to let a late start in recruiting cause him to make dumb decisions.

"You have to be careful and not go into panic mode, and make sure you get the guys you want," Svoboda said. "We are going to get some good players. We will go past signing date and get some players. We will be fine."

Svoboda knows the Bearcats' way of doing things and probably will follow some of those tactics. One of his assistant coaches is former Northwest Missouri quarterback Josh Lamberson.

All this does is adds another layer of intrigue in MIAA football. Tjeerdsma pointed out that there are former Bearcats on five different coaching staffs in the MIAA.

That's just another reason Tjeerdsma hasn't been sitting around in his office in January watching snow, counting his championship rings and thinking all the top high school players are calling him to go to Northwest Missouri.

"It will be tough. It's not just Jim. He still has one spot open. There could be another Bearcat over there (Central Missouri). It does make it tougher," Tjeerdsma said. "They understand the system we use. It has worked for us.

"We have to continually look at what we are doing and improve what we are doing. We certainly can't sit back and say what we are doing works and we are not changing. Every year we try to improve on how we recruit as well."

To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.