The Illinois head boss stops by to answer some questions about being a young coach in the MCLA.

Coach Dodson and I may not be sharing pleasantries on April 3rd, but at the end of the day he is a fellow MCLA coach and I will always be supportive of someone who is working to strengthen our league. He is also a first year head ball coach so we wanted to learn about his experiences behind the helm of the Illinois ship to see if we could relate to his trials and tribulations. In this two part interview, you’ll discover why Coach Dodson is a rising star in the MCLA.

Two years ago you were a member of the Illini. Now, you are the head coach. Have you always wanted to get into coaching?

I have. Around age twelve, I decided that I was going to become a high school Latin teacher. And, as I got more and more into sports, it just seemed like a hand in hand relationship, teaching and coaching. For the last six summers, I’ve had the pleasure of coaching alongside John Combs, now a legend in the state of Illinois, and he has helped me get my foot in the coaching world’s door.

How has the transition been from former teammate to current boss? Was it a little uncomfortable the first time you had to tell someone that you used to hang out with that they needed to use two hands on a ground ball?

I’ve always been the boss. Or, at least I have always been in charge of the defense at Illinois. I have a distinct memory of freshman year our coach trying to get us to switch into a defense during game play I just looked over to the sideline and yelled “No were staying in ____.” After that, he always looked to me for what the D should be running. This became more formal when my brother took over as head coach my senior year. He gave me full control of the D and essentially crowned me defensive coordinator.

What’s it like being a young head coach with no assistants? Have you found yourself talking to yourself during practice?

Actually, I think I do a little, or at least think out loud a lot. With no assistants, I don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of, but it has forced me to plan out practice to the point of knowing where every player will be, down all the way to two minute intervals. But by far the hardest thing about not having an assistant is trying to play both the good cop and bad cop, a lot of times in the same practice. My brother and I were great at this last year, and it happened very naturally, one of us would be really hard on a guy and the other would turn around and be his best friend. I find it’s one of the best ways to get individuals to push themselves.

You were an assistant last year under your brother. Have you noticed any significant changes in your coaching philosophy now that the team is in your care?

Well, I think it is too early in my career to say that my coaching philosophy is anything but ever changing and expanding. But no my brother and I are of very like mind and we are very much the same type of team this year as we were last year under him. He always considered me co-head coach and we shared the responsibilities equally.

Three of the top four coaches in the GRLC are under 25 years ago. Do you think this good for the league or standard issue?

I think younger coaches are great for the MCLA they are generally energetic, enthusiastic, and they can relate to their players in ways that older coaches can’t. That’s not to say there aren’t disadvantages for example being taken seriously by the administration. When I first got the job as head coach I tried to set up a meeting with the director of campus recreation and I remember him asking me, “Does 10am work for you? Will you be awake then?” I’m still not sure if he realizes I’m not a student.

Part two coming later today.