Mothers of Siloam Springs football players were treated to a crash course on football Saturday morning with the first Moms' Football 101 event held at Panther Fieldhouse.
Several Panther football moms attended the event, which was hosted by the Siloam Springs football coaches.
The day started with classroom sessions inside the fieldhouse as moms got the inside look at what their sons go through as Panthers.
Several Siloam Springs coaches, including head coach/offensive coordinator Brandon Craig, defensive coordinator Cole Harriman, gave inside looks into the Xs and Os and terminology of the Panthers' schemes. Other position coaches gave presentations during the offensive and defensive sessions.
It was an enjoyable experience according to several of the moms.
"It is great fun," said Stacy Broyles, mother of senior wide receiver Tanner Broyles and former SSHS center Connor Broyles. "It's been informative and helpful and just to have an explanation and a visual for what they do at practice and how they implement that on Friday nights. It's been really effective. It's nice to see how they're learning.
"I appreciate the coaches taking the time and being so patient because it's like a foreign language," Broyles said. "A lot of it is like a foreign language. I've enjoyed having a greater understanding of what I'm seeing."
Moms were impressed with what all goes into playing football.
"My mind is blown," said Emilee Wills, mother of sophomore lineman J.P. Wills. "I had no idea all this went into it. He's going to get rapid-fire questions because now I know what I'm talking about."
The Moms 101 event was something Craig said he wanted to provide as a service to the moms. Craig said he hopes that Moms 101 can become an annual event for the program.
"I'm excited to do it. I think the moms like it," Craig said. "I think it's something that's informative for them, but I think it's also something that they see all the things that their boys are doing and learning. Football's not just a 'run your head into someone else' game anymore. It's a different game than it used to be. There's a lot more that goes into it."
After the offensive and defensive sessions, moms got a tour of the Panther Fieldhouse, including the training area and locker rooms before going out to the turf of Panther Stadium where they were joined by their sons to participate in some warm-up drills.
"(The moms are) the number one person and key to our success because they love their kids and they take care of them," Craig said. "I want them to know that we love their kids and take care of them as well."
The moms seemed to get the message from Craig and the football coaches.
"I think he is really trying to bring the overall community together," Wills said. "Parental involvement is really big in what we do, whether it's in the schools or coaching a sport. I think with his confidence and everything we've got going on it's just making everybody believers in what he's doing. I think it's super important."
Sports on 08/14/2019