JOHN MARSHALL HIGH SCHOOL

Pat Ferschweiler discusses his new job as Western Michigan head coach, coaching in the NHL, his playing career on The Rink Live podcast

Jess Myers — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 22:20:22 GMT

Pat Ferschweiler has been around Western Michigan's hockey program for three stints. He was a forward for the Broncos from 1990-93 and then served two stints as an assistant coach (2010-14 and 2019-21). He was named to replace Andy Murray as the team's head coach on Aug. 3. Between his two stints as an assistant for WMU, he spent one season as an assistant coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL (2014-15) and four seasons as an assistant for the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. He grew up in Rochester, Minn., and played high school hockey for Rochester John Marshall and junior hockey for the USHL's Rochester Mustangs. He discusses his career The Rink Live's Mick Hatten and Jess Myers.

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Darrell Thompson as a Husker? Former JM, Gophers star had Nebraska at top of his list

Guy N. Limbeck — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 10:30:00 GMT

ROCHESTER, Minn. — How good would Darrell Thompson have looked in the Nebraska backfield in the 1980s?

Considering that he went on to become Minnesota’s all-time leading rusher, probably pretty good.

The Rochester John Marshall running back was an elite player and heavily recruited when he played for the Rockets back in the mid-1980s. He had plenty of options from high-powered football programs such as Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska.

“The Big Red Machine (Nebraska) was a powerhouse back then, and I loved the way they ran the ball, and I loved their offense,” Thompson said. “There’s nothing more that a tailback wants to do then dot the ‘I’ for the University of Nebraska, especially during the 80s and 90s.

“There wasn’t any better place for a running back, in my opinion.”

Thompson, a 1986 John Marshall grad, had plenty to sort through as he contemplated his college choice. And his recruiting trips played a major impact.

“It was overwhelming, quite honestly,” he said. “It was an interesting time because we didn’t have all the things, like now I’m sitting in front of my computer, I’ve got my cell phone. We didn’t have that.”

When Thompson was being recruited, his parents were divorced, but they only lived three blocks apart.

“I would get like five to eight letters a day from different colleges,” Thompson said. “I didn’t really know what to do. It was a different time. People came by and they had a three-ring binder. (Nebraska coach) Tom Osborne would come and he would give me a little flyer and talk about the offensive line.”

Coaches such as Osborne and Minnesota’s Lou Holtz were among the many who either came to visit Thompson, watch him play or were in contact with him.

‘A different time’

Thompson ended up taking official visits to Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. He didn’t take his fifth and final official visit.

“I didn’t take the last one and it was interesting,” he said. “I was playing basketball and we had a pretty good team. … I was going to visit UCLA and the (JM) basketball coach said, ‘OK, we have basketball practice on Saturday morning and I wouldn’t want you to miss practice.’ So I didn’t go, and it was that simple. Now it would be like, ‘Why wouldn’t I?’

“It was just a different time, priority wise,” he added.

Heading into his visits, Nebraska was the top school on Thompson’s list.

“Actually, I loved Nebraska until I went on my visit,” he said. “I would have gone to Nebraska, but when I went there my visit was very, very mediocre. I said, ‘I don’t really have a lot going on with my family as far as finances so I need a summer job.’ They said, ‘We got that.’ And I asked about tutors and they said, ‘Yeah, we got that.’ That’s all they said. Every other school went on about it for about 45 minutes. So I was like, ‘It doesn’t seem like education is too high of a priority here.’ But the football would be awesome. And it was awesome. We played them and they knocked our blocks off my senior year in college.”

With his lukewarm trip to Nebraska on his mind, Thompson decided to play at Minnesota.

“I really felt like, and I still do, that Minnesota was the best fit for me in case football didn’t work out,” he said. “Their might have been schools that were obviously stronger football schools that recruited me.”

The right choice

Going to Minnesota proved to be a solid move for Thompson. After four strong years with the Gophers, he was a first-round draft choice of the Green Bay Packers. Thompson played five years in the NFL. Since the end of his playing career, he has been a businessman in the Twin Cities and has also been doing radio broadcasts of Gophers football games for more than 20 years.

“It’s a city, it’s a community, businesses, jobs, Fortune 500 companies,” Thompson said of the Twin Cities. “I’ve been able to raise a family, I just had my first grandchild, it’s been tremendous.”

Thompson has also been part of plenty of up-close recruiting situations as a father. All four of his children have been recruited as Division I athletes.

His oldest daughter played volleyball at Wisconsin and was an All-American, while his youngest daughter played volleyball at San Diego State. His two sons are currently playing college ball. His oldest son is a walk-on wide receiver at Minnesota and his youngest son plays basketball at Indiana.

Thompson said technology has changed recruiting, as it’s easier to stay in contact with recruits. But the human element hasn’t really changed.

“That part is still the same, just from watching my kids,” he said. “They (college coaches) want to get to know you. Always the goal is to get to the mom, get to the dad. … there’s just a big difference with technology and social media.”

And the recruiting visits are much the same, although Thompson said parents now play a bigger role. He said he always went alone on his official visits.

“You still meet with an academic advisor, you maybe meet with the athletic director and get a tour of the campus, and you hang out with the players at night,” he said. “But to have the parents engage in it, too, to get a real feel for the family is important. I believe it does help the young man make a more sound decision.”

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The Recruiting Trail: From snail-mail to TikTok, Gustavus coach, JM grad Kelly is keen on it all

Pat Ruff — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 04:00:00 GMT

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Laurie Kelly is going into her eighth season as the head coach of the Gustavus Adolphus College women’s basketball team. Kelly, a 1989 graduate of Rochester John Marshall who went on to be an All-American at the University of St. Thomas, has head coaching experience at all three levels of NCAA basketball — Division I, II and III.

Kelly notes how different recruiting at Gustavus’ Division III level is, with the inability to bring in players with lower ACT scores and grade-point averages. Still, the recruiting tactics themselves aren’t much different at all three levels. Social media plays a big role in contacting and researching players. But Kelly says there is nothing as crucial as connecting on campus with a prospective player.

FNS: How early do you start recruiting a player?

KELLY: We start identifying players their sophomore or junior years. But our actually recruiting them happens later in their junior year. That’s when we start frequently contacting them. It’s different in Division I, with the recruiting starting when they’re sophomores and the offers coming when they’re juniors.

In what ways do you contact recruits?

We like to do that in all different areas. I love to hand write kids, the snail-mail way. I think it’s cool for kids when they see that handwriting and a stamp on the envelope. Emails are more directed at parents than kids. Most kids don’t communicate via email. We also use Twitter and Instagram. We also have a TikTok account now, believe it or not. I have a young assistant, a former player of mine, who is good at all of that stuff. I’m not much of a social-media person, but I like to use it for updates on tournaments and other information.

How soon can you tell if a recruit has genuine interest in your program?

KELLY: I can tell right away from their response. If I text a kid and it takes them three days to text me back, they’re not interested. You can also tell when you invite them to one of your team’s games, if they come or not. But my goal is to always get them on campus. Then you can meet them one on one, they can come look at what you have and have a much better understanding. If they see everything and meet the team, and they don’t pick you, then it’s just not the right fit for them.

What’s the toughest thing about recruiting at the Division III level?

KELLY: For 90% of kids, the money it costs to go to a Division III school (no athletic scholarships offered at that level) can be a major factor. Plus, there are high academic standards, and you have to do very well academically to get in. But the money is the most frustrating part for everyone involved. It’s a big-ticket item for parents.

What do you appreciate about the kind of kid you generally coach at the Division III level?

KELLY: At Gustavus, we don’t have to do class checks (make sure kids are going to class). Right now, we have four kids with 4.0 GPAs. It is great to be around such driven people.

What is the key to putting together a winning team at the Division III level?

KELLY: What you have to do is get kids who are good enough to be scholarship (Division II) players, but get them to come to your program instead. When you’re a top Division III program, you’re competing with the lower Division II programs for players. But it’s hard to turn away money. It goes back to what meets their needs.

You were a star player at University of St. Thomas. How much has recruiting changed since your playing days?

KELLY: Back then, I remember I went to an all-star camp in Indianapolis and a few other invite camps. My junior year, I started getting questionnaire letters. Everyone back then mailed you a form, usually with a return address on it. It used to be that recruiters couldn’t call you until June after your junior year. But I was a kid who fell through the cracks. We had no AAU programs then. You needed to make it to the state tournament for schools to see you. In today’s basketball, I wouldn’t have fallen through the cracks.

Why are high school players more visible for college coaches now than before?

KELLY: It’s harder to find the hidden gems of the world because all of the better players tend to play AAU basketball now. People come from all over to watch kids play in tournaments. You can see 1,000 players, all in the same venue. And there is just so much information out there on kids now, with scouting services and so many people evaluating.

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