Story written by: Rob White, CHSAANOW.COM
Photo Credit: Marisa Kraus of the Colorado Springs Gazette.
AURORA – Liberty, a first-year program, started the flag football season by winning its first three games under coach Cody Jamison.
Today, he is being recognized as the Broncos High School Flag Coach of the Week. The Denver Broncos and CHSAA will continue to honor one flag football coach and one tackle football coach each week throughout the season.
Throughout the season, all Coach of the Week honorees will be recognized on the field during a pregame ceremony at Broncos home games.
Q&A with Cody Jamison:
How did you become a flag football coach, and how did you become the head coach at Liberty?
I've been coaching flag football. I coached my son and all his buddies in NFL flag, which is a great league. And then a few years ago, I started coaching my daughter. My daughter wanted a few of her soccer teammates, and some other friends wanted to play. ... I coached that for two years, and then, you know, just out of the blue, we heard that Liberty was getting a team. And I was like, 'Oh, man, that's so cool. I'm glad that my daughter can play some flag football, and then, people started telling me I should apply, and then one of the athletes at Liberty asked me if I wanted to apply. It's hard to say no to a kid when they believe in you and want you to do something.
When did you get the job and what kinds of organization and logistical things did you have to put in place?
That was a tough thing, because I knew how to coach football, but you don't think about the things behind the scenes, raising money or setting up meetings. The first thing I did was, I tried to find coaches. ... Once I solidified my coaching staff, it was time to start finding girls, and that wasn't tough, because in the area that we're in, I think, some of the girls were looking for something new. ... So, when I first started, the very first day of practice, I had like 29 girls or 30 girls. ... And everybody who showed up wanted to be part of the team and made my job easy.
What's it what's it been like coaching this team?
I had my parents' meeting the other day, because everyone says you need to set out your expectations, what you want this team to stand for. And I was thinking about my expectations, and it's like, being on time, showing up with a great attitude, and just this laundry list of things that you need to do to be a good football player. And I was thinking to myself, 'Geez, they already do all that stuff.' You know what I mean? The girls, they show up, they're eager to learn. They give all their effort. Their attitudes are always great, and we have great up-tempo practices.
Do you have a particular coaching style or philosophy that you adhere to?
I'm firm, fair, and friendly. People who hear that I'm coaching say, 'Geez, you're intense.' And I am intense; you know what I mean? I'm a strength coach by trade. So, I'm used to setting goals and then doing what we need to do in order to get there. I'm gonna show you what you need to do. You need to do it, and you need to do it right, or we're just gonna come back to the drawing board. ... I want these kids to be confident. That's something that I see the most when I work with kids in the gym, just how can I make them feel better about themselves and learn how to carry themselves throughout the day? They know that we're gonna work hard, and you're just going to have fun. ... I want them all to be confident, well-rounded human beings.
So for your program, how big was it to win, not just your first game, but your first three games?
At my parents' meeting, I told them, you know, we are going to win a lot of games. As a coach and an athlete, you can see athletes in other people. You can see greatness in other people. So, I knew that we were going to win a lot of games, but I definitely didn't think about winning our first three. There are a lot of great teams out here with a lot of great coaches, and teams that have been around for a while.
Does this start change your expectations for the rest of the season?
Obviously, every coach wants a winning culture. But I know what I see every day, and I know who we can become. So, my expectations for me, my team, my coaches, haven't changed. We're still going to compete, like we're competing for a state championship. I'd rather set that goal to my team than not even set that at all. ... But I don't even know how to make the playoffs. My first game playing on a regular 80-yard field was last Tuesday night? So, there's still a lot of learning to come and you can call me naive, but we're going to go out there, and we're gonna work hard. The bigger the goal, the harder the grind.
