NCHSFCA clinic aims to teach coaches more than just Xs and Os
Former football coach Frank Luisi at his home in Mineola on Aug. 19, 2002. Credit: Richard Slattery/Richard Slattery
The way Frank Luisi sees it, there are football clinics, and then there is the Nassau County High School Football Coaches Association (NCHSFCA) clinic.
“Every clinic will have its Xs and Os,” said Luisi, the NCHSFCA Clinic Director and a former Oceanside head coach and long-time teacher. “But to us, you get to meet and work with some of the best coaches around, and it’s a real brotherhood of coaches from Nassau, Suffolk and the New York City area, who are looking to teach the values of the game to youngsters, including don’t quit.”
The clinic, in its 28th year, will be held on Friday, March 6 from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Oceanside High School, and is open to all area high school, middle school and youth coaches.
The cost is $50 per person if purchased before Feb. 28, and $60 thereafter. If you are paying at the door, you must call 516-265-1050 by Feb. 28 to reserve a place at the clinic.
Previous speakers over the years have included coaches and players from the collegiate and professional level, including Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Joe Paterno, Dick Vermeil, Greg Schiano, Phil Simms, and Boomer Esiason, Luisi said.
This year, the clinic will feature Brown defensive coordinator Tim Weaver; Temple offensive coordinator Mike Uremovich; Army head coach Jeff Monken and assistant head coach John Loose; Stony Brook head coach Chuck Priore and co-offensive coordinator Carmen Felus; and LIU head coach Bryan Collins.
There also will be football product companies in attendance, as well as video-taping companies for coaches to see. Luisi added that the “Don’t Quit Award” will be given to both Marianna Winchester and Dees Nursery.
Winchester has helped raise money for military families who had a relative injured or killed in service. Winchester's son, Ronnie — a Chaminade alum — was killed in combat in Iraq in 2004.
Dees Nursery, located in Oceanside, has shipped hundreds of Christmas trees and Menorahs to American military members in the Middle East for over the last 15 years as part of a program called Trees for Troops.
"It’s going to be a great afternoon, evening, as well as a great dinner,” Luisi said. “We’ll have some unbelievable speakers, who can help area coaches with techniques, plays, motivation and game-planning for their football programs.”
