As the BSM football team transitions into a new era with the departure of former head coach Sean McMenomy, new hire Brad Anderson has a clear vision for where he plans to take the Red Knight football program in the coming season.
Anderson is excited about the new position and is ready for the challenge of coaching new kids that he can shape into capable football players. “When the opportunity presented itself here I looked at it as a challenge and something that I felt would be fun to do. I just looked at it as a place where I thought I could maybe make a difference,” Anderson said.
Anderson is no stranger to being a coach with a very successful career, at Wayzata he won 3 state championships in 18 years and had an overall record of 156-47. After stepping down as head coach of Wayzata, he began a career as an assistant coach at Orono where he too had great success. He plans to lead the Red Knights to victory by making everyone feel like they play a part in the program. “Everyone has a say in the program. The program is built around everyone contributing and our success will be the result of everyone having the opportunity to be a part of that,” Anderson said.
Anderson looks to reform the program after he gets a sense of what Red Knight football is, but he wants to know what is already working within the program, what can stay, and what needs to go. Anderson plans on doing this by getting to know the players and hearing their opinions. “Can’t presume to change something because there might be things that are working great and things I might think need change [after getting to know the team],” Anderson said
Coach Anderson started taking over the BSM coaching role in late January. He has been meeting with BSM faculty, reviewing the weight room, meeting with current varsity football players, and even going to other sports practices, such as basketball, to see what types of athletes BSM offers. “[I have been] looking at the locker room and looking at every single part of the program. I’ve been watching film from last year’s team trying to meet as many players as I can. Visiting the basketball practices here trying to get to see the students that are in other sports because I believe in multi-sport athletes,” Anderson said.
Overall, Coach Anderson has a lot of aspirations for this upcoming season and wants to push the team to meet their goals. “My goals are going to be tailored around the player’s goal, so I’m going to start with them. Then I’m going to challenge them on their goals to stretch a little bit further than what their goals [already] are,” Anderson said.