Post by fwp on Jun 18, 2009 16:32:37 GMT -5
www.houmatoday.com/article/20090618/OPINION01/906189944/1166/SPORTS?Title=Conquerors-making-good-moves
The Houma Conquerors have experienced many growing pains in their inaugural Southern Indoor Football League season.
Whether it was the two-hour delay to the start of their first home game against Austin or the 0-5 record to begin the regular season, the Conquerors have faced a lot of challenges in their first year of existence.
But in the last three weeks, the Conquerors have started to turn things around thanks to a couple of moves made by owner Franklin Thomas.
First, the Conquerors hired the Louisiana Sports and Entertainment Group on June 3 to handle all of the marketing, promotion and sales for the team.
This was a good move because the Conquerors needed a lot of help with promoting the team to the local fans, which was an area they struggled with at the beginning of the season.
Hopefully with the addition of the Louisiana Sports and Entertainment group, the Conquerors will begin to attract more fans and sponsorships from local businesses, which are both vital to the team’s survival in Houma.
But the biggest of all the recent moves came Monday when Thomas announced his decision to resign as coach and focus more on his duties as the team’s owner.
I know Thomas, a former NFL player with the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, is a great coach who knows a lot about football, but being both the owner and coach at the same time was just too much responsibility to handle, especially when dealing with an expansion franchise. Now Thomas will get a chance to focus more on overseeing the front office and taking the necessary steps to prepare the Conquerors for the rest of this season and next year.
I also liked Thomas’ decision to name Clyde “C.J.” Maiden as the interim coach. Maiden coached Houma’s game against Acadiana last week in place of Thomas. As a 30-year coaching veteran, the 60-year-old Maiden was a part of five championship teams in various semi-pro and indoor football leagues as a coach, so the experience he brings to a young team like the Conquerors is very important.
Maiden, who was an assistant coach for the Houma Bayou Bucks, also has a great eye for evaluating talent. As the director of player personnel for the Conquerors, he brought in most of the key players on the team’s roster, including quarterback Omar Haugabook, who I think is the most dangerous quarterback in the SIFL due to his ability to run and pass.......article continues in link.
The Houma Conquerors have experienced many growing pains in their inaugural Southern Indoor Football League season.
Whether it was the two-hour delay to the start of their first home game against Austin or the 0-5 record to begin the regular season, the Conquerors have faced a lot of challenges in their first year of existence.
But in the last three weeks, the Conquerors have started to turn things around thanks to a couple of moves made by owner Franklin Thomas.
First, the Conquerors hired the Louisiana Sports and Entertainment Group on June 3 to handle all of the marketing, promotion and sales for the team.
This was a good move because the Conquerors needed a lot of help with promoting the team to the local fans, which was an area they struggled with at the beginning of the season.
Hopefully with the addition of the Louisiana Sports and Entertainment group, the Conquerors will begin to attract more fans and sponsorships from local businesses, which are both vital to the team’s survival in Houma.
But the biggest of all the recent moves came Monday when Thomas announced his decision to resign as coach and focus more on his duties as the team’s owner.
I know Thomas, a former NFL player with the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, is a great coach who knows a lot about football, but being both the owner and coach at the same time was just too much responsibility to handle, especially when dealing with an expansion franchise. Now Thomas will get a chance to focus more on overseeing the front office and taking the necessary steps to prepare the Conquerors for the rest of this season and next year.
I also liked Thomas’ decision to name Clyde “C.J.” Maiden as the interim coach. Maiden coached Houma’s game against Acadiana last week in place of Thomas. As a 30-year coaching veteran, the 60-year-old Maiden was a part of five championship teams in various semi-pro and indoor football leagues as a coach, so the experience he brings to a young team like the Conquerors is very important.
Maiden, who was an assistant coach for the Houma Bayou Bucks, also has a great eye for evaluating talent. As the director of player personnel for the Conquerors, he brought in most of the key players on the team’s roster, including quarterback Omar Haugabook, who I think is the most dangerous quarterback in the SIFL due to his ability to run and pass.......article continues in link.