A great success for Rosemount High School

Quarterback Kevin Larson, #4, led his team to a 12-1 season. Providing him running room in this photo are #61 Ryan Link and #23 Adam Jackson.

A great success for Rosemount High School BY JEFF ERDMANN, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, ROSEMOUNT HS Will. We Will.” This slogan was printed on the backs of the T-shirts for the Rosemount High School football team in anticipation of the 2010 season. I Will fill out my BFS card properly. I Will break rep records. I Will be a champion in making good decisions in the classroom, in the Iweightroom and in social situations. I Will invest in myself. I Will commit to doing my part for the team. We Will break rep records. We Will invest ourselves. We Will prepare like champions in all areas of our lives. The Rosemount Irish have had an incredible journey.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 Along that journey they have broken school records in the weightroom; they have become bigger, faster and stronger; and they have become champions in the classroom and on the field. Located in Rosemount, Minnesota, the Irish finished the 2010 season 12-1 with a South Suburban Conference Championship and a section championship, and made it to the state championship game. This was only the second time in the history of the school that an Irish team made it to the state finals. In the finals the Irish lost to Wayzata High School. Wayzata has a student enrollment of over 3,100 students, while Rosemount has about 1,950.

The last time the Irish played for the title (they won, by the way) was back in 1981. Since that time, the school district has split Rosemount High School three times to form new high schools in the district. Each time the split had a devastating impact on the athletic programs, and each time the community found a way to battle back. And make no mistake about it, Rosemount football is back. In the last five years the Irish have been to the state tournament three times.

The BFS Factor Head football coach Jeff Erdmann.

The execution of the BFS lifting program has been the most significant reason for the renewed success. The Irish hosted a Be an 11 clinic early in 2001 Nicholas Liksa is a powerful 215-pound running back and linebacker who power cleaned 287 pounds and squats 505 pounds. and transitioned to the BFS lifting program. In the five years before the clinic, the Irish averaged 1.6 wins a season. In the five years after the clinic, we averaged 4.4 wins a season. Now, 10 years after the clinic, we are averaging 9 wins a season. In the past five years, the Irish have won two conference championships and three section championships, have been state semifinalists twice and were state finalists this year.

Here are the details of this journey: 1996: 2 wins 1997: 1 win 1998: 3 wins 1999: 1 win 2000: 1 win 5 years: 8 wins Avg 1.6 wins/yr.

2001: 5 wins 2002: 6 wins 2003: 4 wins 2004: 2 wins 2005: 5 wins 5 years: 22 wins Avg 4.4 wins/yr.

2006:9 wins 2007: 6 wins 2008: 11 wins 2009: 7 wins 2010:12 wins 5 years: 45 wins Avg 9 wins/yr.

The Irish have also done big things in the classroom. The state of Minnesota recognizes the top eight teams in each division (Rosemount is 5A – the large school division) for academic excellence by arriving at a team GPA that includes every member of the team. The Irish have achieved the Gold Standard (highest) the last two years. We have lots of guys that participate in several sports, take challenging classes and are able to make time for their physical development. They do it because it means something to them. They want to invest in themselves. They have seen it pay off for those that went before them, and they want to make the most of their time playing for the Irish.

This past season we had 22 players in our 225-pound bench press club, 34 in our 300-pound squat club, and 15 in our 225-pound clean club. The improved strength also transferred to faster athletes, as we had 39 players run sub-5.0 forties. These successes don’t occur unless you have a large number of kids lifting all off-season and participating in our speed enhancement programs. At the beginning of the season, the Irish were committed to the “I Will. We Will” concept. Now that the season is finished, they can look back and be proud of what We Did.

#10, Andrew Hausmann ,#17, Jordan Tumilson #73, Joe Bjorklund #46, Nicholas Liksa #53, Joe Malicki 12: DEDICATED TO HELPING ATHLETES SUCCEED SINCE 1976

From BFS Magazine — January/February 2011. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).