Monday, September 12, 2011

Mom's Night for Wednesday, September 14th

Parents and Players,

This is a reminder that we will be honoring our mother's at our team dinner this week as well. The team dinner will begin at 6:00 pm in the High School cafeteria. We will have a late practice on Wednesday starting at 7:30. All of the parents are more than welcome to attend.

Talk to you soon,

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Week 3 Players of the Week and Schedule Adjustment

Parents and Players,


Congratulations to the following players of the week:


Offensive Player of the Week: Sam Haskell
Defensive Player of the Week: Brandon Terry
Offensive Scout Player of the Week: Jaylen Thomas
Defensive Scout Player of the Week: Robert Farrug
Special Teams Player of the Week: Lonnie Bolden
Big Stick of the Week: Matt Fitzpatrick
Count on Me Player of the Week: Joe Sheilds


Now that school is underway, we will have our defensive film/scouting report reviews at 6:15 am every Monday. All three levels will still be in the weight room before practice on Monday, giving us a normal finish time of 6:25. We will have our offensive film/scouting report reviews at 6:15 am every Tuesday morning. There will not be any lifting on Tuesday's, therefore all three levels will be able to finish practice at 5:45. Our goal is to have only one late practice on Monday, with the rest of the normal, padded practices ending no later than 5:45 each day.


With all three levels at a 2-1 record, this will be a great week to show how focused we are as a team and bounce back with a victory against Royal Oak.


Coach Heppner

Week 2 Players of the Week

Parents and Players,

Congratulations on another hard fought - well deserved - win for the Red Hawks!!! This was certainly a great win for the program. Once again, these young men proved that they will fight for four full quarters to ensure our teams success. I've attached the stats for the Pontiac game. With Clarkston just around the corner, it is time for us to truly realize that we are the team to be reckoned with in the OAA. We must approach every game with a focused and determined attitude that we can't be stopped. We must never become complaisant with our level of effort and performance. Every day we must strive to become a closer and more mentally focused team. With the progress that we have made so far, we seem to be headed in the right direction.

Players of the Week for Week 2:

Offensive Scout of the Week = Antonio Mitchell
Defensive Scout of the Week = Brandon Terry
Special Teams Player of the Week = Ivan Kharchenko
Big Stick of the Week = Matt Fitzpatrick/Alex Lewis
Offensive Player of the Week = Kris Gervin
Defensive Player of the Week = Brandon Terry
Count on Me Player of the Week = Corey Thai

Thank you for your continued support. See you at 6:00 on Monday. Enjoy the weekend.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Congrats and Week 1 Players of the Week

Parents and Players,

Congratulations on a well deserved victory this Thursday. I'm am very proud of the way we executed, and the fact that we continued to fight hard for four quarters. We will face a very fast and strong football team this Friday against Pontiac; but the thing that they must understand is that they will face an even stronger and faster team of Red Hawks. Our practice this week must be more fundamentally sound than last week. Flawless execution, and total discipline will undeniably lead us to a victory this Friday. My expectation is that each one of our players comes to practice each and every day with a relentless mentality to challenge one another on every play so we can continue to prove that we are the most dominant football team in the conference/area/state.

Just a reminder that the varsity team will lift at 2:00 tomorrow before practice. The Freshman and J.V. will begin their lifting session at 2:40.

Here are the Players of the Week for week 1. Remember, these guys would not be able to achieve their individual accomplishments without the help of their hard-working teammates.

Special Ops Player of the Week: Jake Spinek
Big Stick of the Week: Lonnie Jaynes
Offensive Scout of the Week: James Ortmann
Defensive Scout of the Week: Grant LaBeau
Defensive Player of the Week: Lonnie Jaynes
Offensive Player of the Week: Lonnie Bolden
Count on Me Player of the Week: Matt Fitzpatrick (Will lead the team out with the flag)

Let's have a great week of practice. All business . . . all week . . . so we can celebrate on Friday night.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Film help needed for games and scouting

Parents and Wild Bill,

I am in need of some volunteers to help film our football games this year. Last year worked out perfect with the rotation that we had. Brian Blank, whose son Max was on J.V. last year, would come early and film the Freshman games; and Andy Bartnowak, whose son Patrick was a freshman last year, would then stay and film the J.V. games. If we could get a Freshman/J.V. parent film combo going like that again this year, it would be greatly appreciated.

Joe Haddad is still going to film our Varsity games this year, but he will be operating the helmet camera from the back of the end zone instead of being up on the press box. I will still need to have someone help film our games from the press box for the film exchange with our opponents.

Also, I will need someone - preferably a J.V. or Freshman parent - to help Pat Patercsak with scouting this year. Pat is a scouting wizard, but will need someone to film the game while he records the opposing teams offensive and defensive plays/formations and takes digital shots of these plays/formations.

Brian, Andy, and Joe had a great system set up last year. If they, or any of you, would like to volunteer this year to help film, I would truly appreciate it. The film aspect of football is vital to the success of our young men. Please email me before the end of the weekend if you are interest to help. I can coordinate a time for us to meet with Joe and get a plan in place.

Thanks in advance,

Coach Heppner

Monday, August 8, 2011

Tuesday Install and Practice Thoughts

Parents and Players,
Here is the install for Tuesday's practice. The players are to review the following page numbers in preparation for tomorrow's practice.

Varsity, J.V., and Freshman Defense:

Pages: 22, 26, 27, and 28

Freshman Offense: No additional install

Review pages: 54,56, 58, 60, 74, 81, 82, 87, 88, 89, 90

Varsity and J.V. Offense:

Review the following pages: 54,56, 58, 60, 74, 81, 82, 87, 88, 89, 90

Install: 55, 61, 86, 91.

I'm very proud of the effort by all of our young men today. The challenges they face over the next few weeks will only make them stronger as a team. Please encourage them to continue to get their mental reps in their playbook as well. The complete comprehension of each play is their number one battle. The only way we can move forward as a team is to make sure that we can simply react, rather than have to think about the plays we are trying to execute. Please remind the players that they are to bring whatever money they have collect during the initial Entertainment Card sale in to the cafeteria tomorrow by 1:30. Our sales representative will be giving more instructions regarding the rest of the sale at this time as well.

Day number 1 went well. Let's continue to improve the complete way our players prepare, execute, and work for each other during the days to come.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Football Reminder's

Parents and Players,

With sign-up quickly approaching, there are a few reminders I need to make sure all of you are aware of. For this Thursday's sign-up, please make sure that your son brings his physical form so we can keep the appropriate records. If your son has yet to get a physical, then it must be turned in to me no later than 12:30 pm on Monday, August 8th. Any player that does not have a physical form turned in will not be able to participate until that exam has been completed. It is also important that each player bring a combination lock and a three-ring binder to the sign-up as well. I want to make sure that each player secures a locker for the season. That being said, it is important that any items they bring to their scheduled sign-up time be locked up in a locker before they leave. We will be passing out playbooks at this time as well. The players do not need anything fancy for their playbook, but a simple three-ring binder with pockets will do. Please be sure to remind your son that they will also need to have a writing utensil with them to all meetings throughout the season.

During the sign-up on August 4th, we will be measuring heights and weights, along with collecting the appropriate contact information. We will also be fitting any player new to the program that has not received a helmet yet. Any player that was unable to purchase a practice jersey by the July 24th deadline, please make sure to bring a check for $20.00 made out to Tri-County Sports. We will have extra's for purchase on Thursday. I can't guarantee that the players will receive the player gear – shorts and t-shirt -that I’ve individually ordered by the 4th, but we will make sure to get all the necessary cloth items to them by the start of practice on Monday the 8th. I will double check with our vendor tomorrow and let all of you no immediately. Each player will be receiving a football shirt and pair of shorts for the 2011 football season.

Just a little more clarification regarding Thursday's sign-up. We will be waiting until the following Thursday - 1st day of pads - to be officially handing out the rest of the player's equipment. One of the reason's being that in the past we've had players show up on the Thursday before 2-A-Days, get all of their equipment, and then disappear. . . And you thought part of my bald issues were caused from a genetic disorder. As you can tell, we are trying to change the image of Troy Athens football, along with the way each player respects the game itself. One of the many lessons we are trying to teach these young men is that you will have to work hard to earn certain privileges in your life. Therefore, we will challenge them physically, but most importantly mentally for the 1st three days of camp, in order for them to feel that they have earned the rite to wear their Troy Athens football equipment. My goal is to create a sense of pride in these young men that each and every time they put on those pads, they - along with their Red Hawk brothers - realize that each one of them has made the appropriate sacrifices for each other to wear that equipment. We will bring each one of the participants in one-by-one during their scheduled time the morning of Thursday, August 11th, to go over their goals and hand out the rest of their equipment. It will be important that they check all the straps and buckles on their pads to ensure everything is ready to go when practice starts that afternoon. The times for the final equipment distribution and goal review will be the same as this Thursday, August 4th.

Lastly, to ensure that we have enough funding to purchase each individual player their promised game polo, we are kicking off our entertainment card fundraiser on Friday, August 5th at 9:30 am. It is imperative that all players attend the 9:30 scheduled meeting time in order for our representatives at Extreme Entertainment to explain the details of the sale. My goal is to raise enough money from this fundraiser to not only purchase each player their game polo's, but to also help pay for our team dinners at all levels. If we all team together and work hard on this, then we can ensure less out-of-pocket money from our football family members.

Thanks again for your time and patience. I can’t wait for the season to begin. See you at the BBQ on Friday.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Thank You's and Clarification's

Parents and Players,

I wanted to start out by thanking you for the successful start of our Troy Sports Camp week. We had excellent numbers at all levels, and each of these young men worked extremely hard. Once again, I am fully aware of the tough financial times that members of our football family are going through. The fact that people were able to make certain financial sacrifices to register their son’s for camp means a lot as well. I am also fully aware that I ask a lot of our parents and players to get this program to the level it needs be in order to function at a championship level. As financial times cease to quickly improve, I will continue to set a fundraising schedule for the year that does not exhaust our efforts to raise money, but rather sets the standard of what is expected from all parties involved. My number one goal is to supply all of the equipment and apparel your son will need for each football season. With that being said, $9,000.00 dollars of our fundraising money has already been accounted for to purchase new uniforms this year. This money could have easily been used to purchase other items, but new uniforms have been the number one goal of the program for the last two seasons. Now that we have purchased the uniforms, with a well planned, yearly fundraising schedule, we will be able to help defray the cost of many related football purchases in the future.

Understand that the tone of this email is not meant to be a negative one. Nor is this email being sent out of frustration. I am just simply stating – and trying to clarify - that if our players and parents choose to be a part of Troy Athens Football, then all of us are going to have to fundraise and/or do the extra work required to ensure our players get the best out of this program. Remember, this is not my program, this is our program. All of us are going to have to work hard in some fashion to help build the traditions of success our players deserve. My number one goal is to take care of these young men. This will be a program built on extremely hard work, great character, and a never give up/never give in mentality. Understand that the best interest and the success of every team member in this program is the highest of priorities. In order to do this, I - along with my staff - am going to need help from the people that bless us with these young men on a daily basis. Money aside, each day we get closer to putting Troy Athens Football on the map of consistent success – for all members involved - is time well spent.

Thank you for your time and understanding,

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

It's Great to Be a Red Hawk / Skill and Drill Change for 7-20-11 to 7-21-11

Parents and Players,

I can't tell you how great it felt to be representing my Red Hawks back in my home town of Marshall, MI these last two days. As you know, Shawn and Kathleen Loughrige lost their son Issac two years ago to H1N1 complications. Because Issac was such a giving person, they started the "I've Got Your Backs" foundation in honor of their son. For those of you who haven't been able to take a look at the foundation yet, can check them out at www.ivegotyourbacks.org. I was blessed to have joined them the last two days and help run their 2nd Annual I've Got Your Backs Football Camp. Our first camp was held on Monday in Marshall, and the second camp was held on Tuesday in Battle Creek. I have to tell you, both camps ran like a finely tuned machine and the campers truly enjoyed themselves. What was more exciting was to now be sharing the same field with some of the best coaches and mentors I had growing up over the years, as a coach myself. The traditions and memories I had walking onto that field, are the inspiring memories I wish to give to your sons as they journey through their high school career. We had over 230 participants both days at each location. There is nothing better than seeing young men from 3rd to 9th grade thoroughly enjoying themselves on a football field. We had several campers that signed up for the Tuesday camp in Battle Creek, simply because they had such a great time in Marshall on Monday and were hungry for more. I think the most important aspect is the fact that I had multiple parents and campers coming up to me after each camp saying, "Troy Athens huh?" "Man I can't wait to see what you boys do over there on the east side this year."

Neither can I!!!!!!! Neither . . . Can . . . I!!!!! I'm so jacked out of my mind right now I can't even think straight. With total buy-in to this program, year three should be the year that we - this Troy Athens Football Family - start seeing some serious results!!!

The Varsity 7-on-7 that was scheduled for Thursday, July 21st at Dakota High School has been cancelled. To ensure that all of my staff is able to attend the Skill and Drill session for this week, I am moving tomorrow nights session to Thursday. The freshman will still report at 6:00 pm, while the rest of the team reports at 6:45. Thank you for making this adjustment.

Also, just to clarify; we will still have the players attend all lifting sessions the mornings before the Troy Sports Camp. It is not too late to register for the camp if you haven't already done so. The Varsity participants who are attending the 1 Day 7-on-7/Big Man Camp in Cincinnati will still need to register for the Troy Sports Camp as well. Next week - during the Troy Sports Camp - is our last big push before we test, register, and get this thing rolling in high gear. Therefore, it is vital that we take advantage of all training sessions before we start 2-A-Days.

I'm excited to get back and see my boys on Wednesday. This summer is shaping up to be a very promising season. Thanks for your support.

Coach Heppner

Friday, July 8, 2011

7-9-11 Can Drive Reminder

Message from Beth Ingram:

Please save your cans and bottles for our annual can and bottle drive on July 9th! Such and easy and inexpensive way to help our team! Please help us by picking up the cans on the 9th or earlier and we will be collecting them at the school on the 9th at 1:30. We need parents and players to help us turn in that day so if you can, please help.

Thank you!
248) 854-6400
beth.ingramschocs@sbcglobal.net

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Bald Man is Happy

Parents and Players,

I wanted to congratulate all of the young men who participated this week during Pride/I've Got Your Back Camp. The practice tempo was great. The enthusiasm was high. We still have a lot of work to do, but this was definitely a great way to kick off the summer training. I hope each one of your young men enjoyed themselves, but were also able to start grasping the type of tempo, focus, attitude, intensity, and high level competitiveness we are expecting out of them day in and day out. I, along with my staff, see a lot of potential at all levels of this program. Now it's up to each one of these young men to see the potential, capitalize on it, and make sure that every member of this Red Hawk Football Family is taken care of. If we can do that, the rest will take care of itself.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Updates

Parents and Players,

I have just confirmed with the Berkley coach that we will be conducting a Varsity 7-on-7 with them at Athens, Wednesday, June 29th at 6:30 pm. We will still have the Freshman/J.V. Skill and Drill session that Wednesday starting at 6:00. Also, there has been an adjustment to the football schedule during the season. During the week of homecoming - West Bloomfield - the Freshman/J.V. teams have been re-scheduled to play on Friday at West Bloomfield. I will know more specifics once we get closer to the season, but we are trying to schedule the J.V. to play at 4:00 and the Freshman to play at 6:30.

Clarification for the Varsity 7-on-7 and Big Man Camps at CMU & U of C: Both of these team camps have already been paid for: We have already registered the team with a specific number of players for both the Big Man and 7-on-7 camps. This is one of the many reasons we fundraise; so we can allow many of our players the college exposure they need without having the parents paying the registration fee.

Brian Blank, and Gary Hazen have already volunteered to help drive some of the boys to Central Michigan. I'll need to know any other parents that would like to volunteer their time to help drive as well.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Eastbay Website

Parents and Players,


Here is a copy of the Eastbay link, and one of the shoe styles that the players are choosing.


Coach Heppner



www.eastbay.com


adidas Malice D - Men's
Adidas Malice D - Men's Product #: 222781

Price: $89.99
Now: $79.99

FREE SHIPPING
ON ORDERS OF $75 OR MORE*
APO/FPO addresses now eligible on all free shipping offers!


*Use promotion code IPEBV6E4 at checkout. Promo Code box is located in Step 4 of checkout. Order value must total $75 or more before services, taxes, shipping and handling. Valid online at eastbay.com. and eastbay4kids.com Offer is limited to standard delivery within the contiguous US and APO/FPO addresses. Excludes bulk orders and drop ships. Entire order must be shipped to a single address. Does not apply to prior purchases or open orders and cannot be combined with any other offer. Customer is responsible for shipping costs on returned merchandise. May not be used toward purchase of GiftCards or team orders. Promotion may be modified or terminated at any time. Certain restrictions and exclusions may apply.
Offer expires 6/25/2011 (11:59 pm CT).

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Meeting Reminder

Parents and Players,

This is just a reminder about tomorrow evenings meeting at 7:00 in the high school cafeteria. A few parents have emailed me in regards to their inability to make the meeting. I will be sure to email out the information to you later on this week. Those of you unable to attend will have to swing by the school in the main office and pick up most of the material I will be handing out. Also, if you haven't already done so, please be sure to send in your Pride/"I've Got Your Backs" Camp registration form before the end of the day on Friday, June 19th. Enjoy your evening.

See you tomorrow night,

Coach Heppner

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Hat Orders

Parents and Players.

The link for the hat orders are posted directly to the right of this blog. I will also post it on our website at www.troyathensfootball.com.

Dedication Week is now upon us! We will see what type of tone these young will set heading into our summer training after our Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning workouts. If you can't tell . . . I'm excited!!! The anticipation of the potential all three teams bring to the table this year should be motivation enough to make sure we all take advantage of every opportunity we have to ensure the success of all our Red Hawk teammates. Our guys need to understand that seasons come and go with the blink of an eye. When they blink, will it contain a snapshot of success, or a sense of regret? I can assure you that this season will be the season that defines our identity as a football program. With continued hard work, and a blue-collared mentality of persistence, these young men will have the snapshots they will never regret; and carry with them the life lessons they will always remember.

Go Red Hawks!!!

End of the year schedule

Parents and Players,

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, I wanted to make sure we are all on the same page regarding our training schedule. We will continue to lift after school Monday through Thursday for the next two weeks. We will finish our last regular morning running session this Thursday at 6:00 am in the Aux Gym. Next week at 6:00 am, we will be conducting our "Dedication Week" running sessions Monday, June 6th; Wednesday, June 8th; and Friday, June 10th. After "Dedication Week," the players will have the rest of the school year to study and prepare for final exams. Once again, if you feel your player may be in any type of academic trouble, please notify me immediately. We will not have any form of lifting or conditioning during this time. The next football "type" function will begin during Monday, June 21st which will simply be for the "I've Got Your Back"/Pride Camp registration.

There will be a mandatory parent/player meeting Wednesday June 15th in the high school cafeteria 7:00 pm. We will be meeting to discuss the summer schedule. It is important that all players along with one of their parents attend this meeting.


Talk to you soon,


Coach Heppner

Go Red Hawks!!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Congrats to Lucas Bezerra!

Parents and Players,

Lucas Bezerra was recently named the freshman M.V.P. of the National Underclassmen Combine in the State of Michigan, and has now been invited to the elite 100 combine. Lucas is just one of many players who have fully committed to working extremely hard over the off-season. I'd like to not only congratulate him, but also all of our extraordinarily dedicated Red Hawks, committed to the success of our TEAM. His success is a direct reflection of the hard work and leadership we have by our core group of dedicated players throughout all levels of this program. With summer just around the corner, I'm asking many of our players this common question: "If the team was working as hard as you, how successful will WE be?" I need all of my parents to ask the same question to each on of their players as we quickly approach the 2011 football season. We know that they CAN find it within themselves to make each other and this program great, but the real question is: WILL they? Have a blessed and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!!!

Talk to you soon,

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

2nd Phase Testing/Lift-A-Thon Schedule

Parents and Players,

Here is the schedule for next week:

2nd Phase Testing /Lift-A-Thon Schedule
Monday, May 16th – Saturday, May 21st
(Testing is for ALL players; including in-sport athletes.)
Monday, May 16th:
•2:45 pm
oLight afternoon workout. 60% of your Max.

Tuesday, May 17th:
•6:00 am
oBench Reps
oVertical
oSquat
Light afternoon workout. 60% of your Max.

Wednesday, May 18th:
•6:00 am
o40 Yard Sprint
oLong Jump
oPower Clean
•No afternoon workouts

Thursday, May 19th:
•6:00 am
oL-Drill
oDead Lift
oPro Agility
•No afternoon workouts.

Friday, May 20th:
•6:00 am
oMake-up testing
•2:45 pm
oWeigh-In (Locker Room)
oGym Set-up (All Players)

Saturday, May 21st:
•12:00 pm
oAll Players Report
•1:00 pm
oShow Time!

Make sure all of your Lift-A-Thon money is turned in by the end of school Friday the 20th, and all of your Raffle Ticket money is turned in by Wednesday the 18th! I will obviously accept Lift-A-Thon sponsorships turned in at the event, but they must be turned in to me at the high school by 11:00 am. This will help me in regards to record keeping.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Troy Athens Football/Dick's Sporting Goods

Parents and Players,

I just wanted to give all of you a heads regarding our partnership with Dick's Sporting Goods on the corner of Rochester Road and Avon. I spoke with the managers today with hopes to set up a day where all Troy Athens Football members could come to Dick's Sporting Goods for a discounted, one-stop shopping spree to purchase football cleats, gloves, under armor, etc, etc... The most important item I'm concerned with is the purchase of our football cleats. We want to make sure that we purchase white cleats with a red logo. I'm not concerned with any particular brand, as long as we have a unified color throughout the whole program. It would be nice if all our players had the same brand, but our young men all have different types of feet that fit more comfortably in specific brands. I would also like to add that any gloves, or other types of apparel - not purchased by the program - i.e. long sleeve under armor type shirts, be red. It gets cold during the playoff's you know ; ) The gloves can most certainly have a little white in them as well.

In the past, Dick's has offered a 10% discount to certain items purchased by a team. The gentlemen I spoke with today said they would be more than happy to arrange something like this for us in the near future. I will certainly keep you posted in regards to this one-stop, shopping event happening for our program.

Once again, thank you for your diligence and persistence with our fundraising events. I truly appreciate all of your efforts. Enjoy the rest of your week. We'll be in touch soon.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Lift-A-Thon and Pay it Forward

Parents and Players,

This is just a reminder that the Lift-A-Thon packets are ready for distribution. If you attended the meeting on Tuesday the 26th, then you are all set. Any player who did not receive their Lift-A-Thon information on the 26th can pick them up from me any time. It's hard to believe that in just three short weeks the Lift-A-Thon will be upon us. Please extend my gratitude to not only yourselves for the hard work you have been doing this off-season regarding fundraising, but to the people who have been gracious enough to support as well.

Also, State Champs and Goodwill have extended their “Pay it Forward” deadline to this Wednesday, May 4th. If you haven't already, please remember to turn your Pay it forward packets in to the nearest Huntington Bank. If you could also give me an idea as to who helped raise money for the community service project, along with the total amount of money, that would help our record keeping as well.

Hope you guys had a great weekend! Talk to you soon.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

"I've Got Your Backs" Getaway Raffle Update

Parents and Players,

Unfortunately none of the people from our football community won the "I've Got Your Backs" raffle, but I wanted to thank all of you for supporting a great organization. Shawn and Kathleen have already used some of the proceeds to help one of our local families in need. Thanks again your support. I felt it was necessary to forward you the following information.

Coach Heppner

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Kathleen Loughrige
Sent: Mon, March 21, 2011 8:26:37 PM
Subject: IGYB Getaway Raffle

Hi Everyone,

We want to start with a huge "Thank You" for helping us to make the IGYB Raffle a huge success. We finally got all the numbers in and we sold 878 tickets, that's an amazing amount of tickets sold and $17,560 raised for the I've Got Your Back Foundation!!! We are so grateful--we could have never done it without you.

Just in the last few weeks we have been able to help with the following requests:

* financial help for a student's educational expenses-- his father passed away and his mother lost her job
* students who would like to attend Acquire the Fire, a Christian based personal growth conference, who could not afford it otherwise
* support a student who will be studying with her school in Alaska over the summer
* help to sponsor youth in an athletic development program
* help a young couple who is going to Uganda to work in an orphanage

These are just a few of the requests that we have been able to say "yes" to because of the funds generated through your partnership with the IGYB Raffle. We know that Isaac is so proud of all of us and our desire to make a difference in the lives of youth.

Always be thankful,

Shawn, Kathleen and family
www.ivegotyourbacks.org
http://www.facebook.com/ivegotyourbacks
269-317-1064

Cookie Dough Sales and Pay it Forward Reminder

Parents and Players,


This is another reminder about the cookie dough sale we have going on right now. If your player was unable to pick up their order form last Wednesday, I have extra's in the P.E. office. Austin Paul is our leader in sales as of right now. He has already sold 35 boxes which earned him the C.J. Barrymore $50.00 gift certificate for the first player to sell 20 boxes, and the opportunity to have three pulls from the money bag. Michell Kish - our sales rep - will have a money bag full of $50's, $20's, $10's, and $5's on the turn-in date. For every five boxes each player sells over 20, they get a pull from the money bag. The top seller will also receive a personalized Dri-Fit hoodie.


Here are the details:



Price: $15 per box (team makes 50% profit)

Goal: 20 boxes per player

Turn In Date: Tuesday, March 29th



Money and orders are due on March 29th to ensure delivery by April 20th. Make Checks payable to Troy Athens High School.


Also, our teamed effort with State Champs and Goodwill is well under way. Each player was handed an envelop from Huntington Bank at our meeting last Wednesday as well. They are simply asked to talk to a minimum of 25 people and collect a dollar from each person. After they have collected their minimum $25.00, the players can then either turn their envelop in to me, or to the nearest Huntington Bank. For every 1 dollar raised, Goodwill will donate 6 dollars to help the unemployed in Troy. They player who raises the most money will receive a $1000.00 scholarship from Huntington Bank. The team that raises the most money will have a weekly practice and game filmed, which will be aired on the State Champs Sport Network. It is important to know that we are also competing with other schools in the area to help raise money for a cause all to close to home. The deadline for this event is April 22nd.


I can't thank you enough for all your time and effort.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Mom2Mom Sale Update and Thank You's

Parents and Players,

The Mom2Mom Sale this past weekend was another success! Thank you to Jenny Vleck for heading up this project. All of the mother's, father's and volunteer football players that contributed were a huge help as well. Each one of the vendors we had were truly impressed with how helpful and professional our young men were during the loading and unloading process. We are still tallying our totals, but it is safe to say we made a little over $1,500.00. Thanks again to the following people:



Anne & Gary Hazen

Patti and Scott Aurand (and family)

Frances Blank

Cindy Colo

Rachel Spinek

Sherri Rockensuess

Martha Nelson

Laura Duzey

Karen Bartnowak (sign maker)





Thanks again,

Coach Heppner

Progress Reports

Parents and Players,

Now that we are on the home stretch towards the end of the semester, it is extremely important that we not lose focus of our educational goals for success. I have a few players that are currently turning in Progress Reports every Friday, but I highly encourage all of the players get themselves into the Friday Progress Report routine. It is up to the players to make sure each one of their teachers fills out the appropriate information for each class. They are to then turn the report in to me at the end of the day. I will make a copy for my records, but they will turn the hard copy in to you when they arrive home.

Please continue to encourage each of these young men to communicate not only with me, but also with any of the teachers whose subject area they may be having trouble with. A player will be ineligible to participate in the 2011 football season if they have two failing grades. We must exhaust every academic opportunity to ensure none of our players find themselves in this situation. Please send me an email if you would like your son on a weekly progress report routine. This will help me keep track of the players needing to fill our these reports. It will be mandatory this fall for all players to have progress reports filled out on their designated days during the season.

Thank you for your support and consistency to this teams academic success.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Congrats to the Power Lifter's

Parents and Players,

I would like to congratulate all of the young men and Emily who competed this past weekend at the State Power Lifting Championships. Coach Divito has done a tremendous job preparing everyone on the team, and it truly showed this weekend. Not only did we send 10 people to the State Championships representing Troy Athens, but all 10 came home with medals!!! We are truly putting the strength of Troy Athens on the map. The following members include:

Varsity:

A.J. Morey, 194lb, 3rd Place

Blake Atwell, 207lb, 5th Place

Chris Churay, 165lb, 10th Place

Corey Thai, Super Heavy Weight, 4th Place

Andrew Aurand, Super Heavy Weight, 5th Place

J.V.:

Jalen Thomas, 275lb, 5th Place

Miles Ingram, 275lb, 2nd Place

Aaron Hazen, 207lb, 7th Place

Anthony Ward, 181lb, 2nd Place

Women:

Emily Decraene, 114lb, 1st Place


Great Job!!!

Coach Heppner

Go Red Hawks!!!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Football Reminders: Cookie Dough, Pay it Forward, Getaway Raffle, Mom2Mom

Parents and Players,

This blog will be decently long so bare with me. There are many things that we are kicking off this week, so I will be sending out multiple reminders for all of them. We are starting off our fundraising projects with our cookie dough sales on Wednesday, March 16th. We will meet after school on Wednesday in the cafeteria. The information is as follows:

We are kicking off 2011 with the first fundraiser for the Troy Athens Redhawks Football team!
On Wednesday, March 16th the players will be asked to meet after school to receive a sales packet for the Cookie Dough Fundraiser.
The sales packet will include an informational letter about incentives for the players!

Here are some other dates that will be important to the success of this fundraiser:
Turn in date will be Wednesday, March 29th.
We will need every play to turn in their forms by the March 29th date to ensure delivery on Wednesday, April 20th.

We will also be passing out our community outreach packets to the players on Wednesday as well. Troy Athens Football has teamed up with State Champs and Goodwill to help our Troy community members in need. All we are asking is that each player collect $25.00 to help Goodwill and State Champs provide jobs for our struggling neighbors in need. After you have collected your money, all you'll need to do is write our schools information on the envelop we've provided, and turn it in to the closest Huntington bank. They will make sure each envelop get credited to Troy Athens High School The information is as follows:

MEDIA ALERT
STUDENT LEADERS ACROSS METRO DETROIT ANSWER CALL TO JOIN FIGHT FOR LOCAL JOBS, ONE DOLLAR AT A TIME. Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit’s New “Dollars for Jobs” Program Begins March 2nd.

WHAT: Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit, its partners and participating schools will formally kick-off and announce the details of the organization’s unprecedented region wide Goodwill Pass it Forward “Dollars for Jobs” High School Challenge.
The program gives high school students across Metro Detroit the opportunity to emerge as community leaders by combating the region’s unemployment crisis. Student leaders at participating schools will collect “Dollars for Jobs” in support of Goodwill’s employment education, placement and job creation programs. School registration will remain open through the duration of the campaign, which ends April 22, 2011. Information athttp://www.goodwilldetroitpassitforward.org.
Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit is the only organization in Southeast Michigan dedicated solely to helping local people overcome employment challenges and earn jobs. Partners in the campaign including Huntington National Bank, with 50 branch locations around the region, and STATE CHAMPS!, Michigan’s longest running high school sports show. Supporting organizations include 98.7 AMP Radio and Comcast.

WHY: “Young people around Metro Detroit see what is happening in our region and they want to be involved,” said Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit Vice President Lindsay Chalmers. “Working with Huntington and STATE CHAMPS!, we’ve created a simple program that will help high school students contribute directly to the health of Southeast Michigan’s economy by supporting the creation of new jobs and other efforts that can help their parents, friends and neighbors earn employment. ‘Dollars for Jobs’ will prove that even a small contribution from a large amount of people can make an incredible collective impact on the lives of thousands.”

WHO: Executives from Goodwill Industries, Huntington and STATE CHAMPS! Representatives from participating Metro Detroit schools.

Huntington Bank will be giving out a $1000 scholarship to a student that wins the Goodwill Ambassador Award for the Pass it Forward campaign. Details to come soon.


Getaway Raffle:

I must send out the raffle tickets by Tuesday, March 15th for the I've Got Your Backs Getaway Raffle. The cost is only $20.00 per ticket and he prizes include:

1st Prize: Hilton Head Golf Package
2 tickets to PGA Heritage Golf Tournament (April 19th -April 24th, 2011)
5 nights at the Hilton Head Resort and Spa (April 19th -April 24th, 2011)
$600.00 in American Express Cash

2nd Prize: Lake Michigan Getaway
2 night stay on Lake Michigan at Michimonamac Lakeshore Cottages
(Winner will arrange the dates)
$100.00 Gas Card
$100.00 in groceries.

The drawing will occur March 16th, 2011. You can purchase tickets online at: www.ivegotyourbacks.org, or you can write a check to the "I've got Your Backs Foundation" and give it to me. I have 100 tickets ready for purchase.

Last but not least. We are having our second Mom2Mom sale this Saturday, March 19th in the Axillary Gym at Athens High School. I will need two shifts of 30 football players to help unload items for our moms in the morning at 6:00 am, and to help load our moms back up in the afternoon. The Mom2Mom sale will start with the early bird sale from 8:00 to 8:30 and run until 1:00. I will have a sign-up sheet at the Wednesday meeting for our young men.

Thirteen of our football players will also be competing in the State Championship Power Lifting meet as well on Saturday. I will provide more information about the participants later this week. Many congratulations to Coach Divito and the young men who have qualified to represent Troy Athens High School.

Thank all of you for your time, and making it to the end of this email.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Getaway Raffle

Parents and Players,

Many of you may remember Sean Lowridge from last fall. He and his wife live in my home town of Marshall, MI and our extremely close friends of our family. Sean came and spoke with our Varsity team the Thursday before our Troy High game last year. His message was not only well received and inspiring, but by the request of many players and parents, I have been asked numerous times to bring Sean back for another speaking engagement.

Sean and his wife, Kathleen, started the "I've Got Your Backs" foundation a year and a half ago after they lost their son Issac to H1N1 complications. The "I've Got Your Backs" foundation is a non-profit organization that looks to help others in need. Whether it be a scholarship opportunity to a high school student, buying beds, bedding, and groceries for families in need, to helping a single mother struggling financially pay her rent; Sean and Kathleen have dedicated their lives to help others the way Issac lived to help people as well. Sean and Kathleen have asked numerous times if there is anything they can do to help our community, they would be more than will to do so.

The foundation is having a "Getaway Raffle" if any of you are interested. It will cost $20.00 a ticket and the prizes are amazing. The prizes include:

1st Prize: Hilton Head Golf Package
2 tickets to PGA Heritage Golf Tournament (April 19th -April 24th, 2011)
5 nights at the Hilton Head Resort and Spa (April 19th -April 24th, 2011)
$600.00 in American Express Cash

2nd Prize: Lake Michigan Getaway
2 night stay on Lake Michigan at Michimonamac Lakeshore Cottages
(Winner will arrange the dates)
$100.00 Gas Card
$100.00 in groceries.

The drawing will occur March 16th, 2011 – Issac’s birthday/He would have been 22. You can purchase tickets online at: www.ivegotyourbacks.org, or you can write a check to the "I've got Your Backs" foundation and give it to me. I have 100 tickets ready for purchase.

Thank you for your time. Talk to you soon.

Coach Heppner
Go Red Hawks!!!

Cookie Dough Fundraiser

Parents and Players,



We are kicking off 2011 with the first fundraiser for the Troy Athens Redhawks Football team!

On Wednesday, March 16th the players will be asked to meet after school to receive a sales packet for the Cookie Dough Fundraiser. The sales packet will include an informational letter about incentives for the players!


Here are some other dates that will be important to the success of this fundraiser:

Turn in date will be Wednesday, March 29th

We will need every player to turn in their forms by the March 29th date to ensure delivery on Wednesday, April 20th!



Anne Hazen, CSQA

Senior Software Quality Control Engineer

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

248.879.7895 tel

248.224.1883 cell

anne.hazen@wolterskluwer.com



www.WoltersKluwerFS.com

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Email Clean-Up

Parents and Players,

I am cleaning up my address book and organizing each parent/player into Varsity, JV, and Freshman Contacts. I am also creating a contact list for parents who's player has left the program as well. Many of the email address's that I have are easy to correlate between the player and their parent, but some are not. Can you take a few seconds - only if your name is not included in your email address - and send me a quick note as to which email address belongs to which parent/player. Example: PrettyinPink1@hotmail .com gives me no indication that the address belongs to Bill Spinek unless he tells me.

Also, the main boss lady is in San Diego for business all week. I will schedule a meeting with my mother's for either Wednesday or Thursday of next week. I'm thinking we can meet at 6:00. Let me know which day works best.

Talk to you soon,

Coach Heppner

Monday, January 3, 2011

Let the Training Begin!!!

Parents and Players,

I hope that all of you had a blessed holiday season, and a great New Year. It's that time of year again for us to prepare these young men for the 2011 football season. We started our training today with an incredibly low number of participants. Our training will be Monday through Thursday, with our preliminary training starting at 2:45, followed by our training in the weight room at 3:30. My expectation is that our players work hard and efficiently to maximize their training in a reasonable time. You can expect them to be finished by 4:00 - 4:15 at the latest. All in-sport athletes can train with me twice a week - Monday and Wednesday morning - at 6:15. Our departed senior leaders Jake Duzey and Christian Conley were able to come in during these times last year and still prove to be extremely effective in their sport.

Also, I would like to schedule a meeting with our football mothers involved in much of our planning from last year - along with any of the new football mothers who would like to help- for next week. Please email me with the times and days that are the most convenient, so I can plan accordingly.

I have also put many of our young men on progress reports for the remainder of the school year. Every Friday morning, each player is to come to my office, grab a progress report, and then have it filled out by all of their teachers throughout the day. At the end of the day, they will bring the report back to me so I can make a copy and keep it on file. They will bring the original copy home to you for your records as well. Many of the young men on progress reports are good students; they just need a friendly reminder that the bald guys - along with their parents – are more concerned with their success in education. If this is something that would interest you, feel free to contact me and I'll make sure we incorporate this into our daily Friday routine.

Although I'm battling a 101 temperature the last two days - no I won't be in school tomorrow either until I'm well - I'm still incredibly focused and determined that the 2011 season will be a positive one for all Athens football fans alike. We cannot let the off-season expectations that our seniors from last year have established for us go by the wayside. As always, I'm looking forward to all of us strengthening the belief that we will be the most dominant football team in the state incredibly soon.

Talk to you soon,

Coach Heppner