Post by Free Agent Fan on Jan 8, 2007 16:00:11 GMT -5
New coach confident Express will be better
With all but one player returning from its 13-3 season, Reading coach Kelly Logan is expecting big things from the Express this season.
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
If confidence and enthusiasm count for anything, the Reading Express will do just fine under new head coach Kelly Logan.
Promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach last month when general manager/head coach Ollie Guidry left for the Arena Football League, Logan predicts big things for the Express' second season.
“Our goal this year is to go undefeated, our goal is to win the championship,” Logan said. “Every one of our players that I spoke with said the same thing, ‘Coach, I've got a bad taste in my mouth. We've all got to come back and win a championship.' ”
The Express went 13-3 in its inaugural season and won 12 straight before losing at home in the Sovereign Center to Canton in the Northern Conference championship game.
Logan expects all but one player, center Jon Broussard, to be back when camp opens at the Grand Slam Sports Complex Jan. 20. Reading opens the season in the newly named American Indoor Football Association at Pittsburgh Feb. 18 and plays its first home game the following Sunday, Feb. 25, against Erie.
Players expected to return are Reading High grad Carmelo Ocasio, a wide receiver who earned Offensive Player of the Year honors last year, along with Defensive Player of the Year Armar Watson, Defensive Lineman of the Year Adam Vogel and placekicker Erik Rockhold, the Special Teams Player of the Year.
Also expected back are Reading High grad Ian Cooper, a wide receiver and defensive back, and Central Catholic and Kutztown University grad Matt Sola, a defensive lineman and linebacker.
While Guidry, who was voted Coach of the Year in the American Indoor Football League last season, was credited with much of the Express' success, Logan said the everyone on the staff also played a big role.
The rest of the coaching staff will stay intact with Steve Gaunt, last year's defensive line and special teams coach, taking over for Logan at defensive coordinator.
“Ollie was a great head coach, but at the same time I realized that I played a big part of that,” Logan said. “Being a leader myself, I take on challenges very easily.”
Logan, 39, heads a non-profit organization and travels the country speaking about teen violence and gang awareness. Logan is a former police officer whose daughter was killed in a gang incident.
Logan, a Willow Grove, N.J., native, played at Livingstone College in North Carolina and Texas Southern University. Last year was his first indoor coaching experience.
Logan actually left the Express for about two months late last year to accept the position of assistant head coach/defensive coordinator with the Lehigh Valley Outlawz of the Continental Indoor Football League.
But when Guidry took a position with the Austin Wranglers, Logan jumped at the chance to return to the Express and continue what Guidry started.
“I'm not nervous or I'm not concerned that you're going to see any difference,” Logan said. “In all respect to coach Guidry, with him here or with him not here, we're going to be a better team. I don't see a dropoff.”
Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.
With all but one player returning from its 13-3 season, Reading coach Kelly Logan is expecting big things from the Express this season.
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
If confidence and enthusiasm count for anything, the Reading Express will do just fine under new head coach Kelly Logan.
Promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach last month when general manager/head coach Ollie Guidry left for the Arena Football League, Logan predicts big things for the Express' second season.
“Our goal this year is to go undefeated, our goal is to win the championship,” Logan said. “Every one of our players that I spoke with said the same thing, ‘Coach, I've got a bad taste in my mouth. We've all got to come back and win a championship.' ”
The Express went 13-3 in its inaugural season and won 12 straight before losing at home in the Sovereign Center to Canton in the Northern Conference championship game.
Logan expects all but one player, center Jon Broussard, to be back when camp opens at the Grand Slam Sports Complex Jan. 20. Reading opens the season in the newly named American Indoor Football Association at Pittsburgh Feb. 18 and plays its first home game the following Sunday, Feb. 25, against Erie.
Players expected to return are Reading High grad Carmelo Ocasio, a wide receiver who earned Offensive Player of the Year honors last year, along with Defensive Player of the Year Armar Watson, Defensive Lineman of the Year Adam Vogel and placekicker Erik Rockhold, the Special Teams Player of the Year.
Also expected back are Reading High grad Ian Cooper, a wide receiver and defensive back, and Central Catholic and Kutztown University grad Matt Sola, a defensive lineman and linebacker.
While Guidry, who was voted Coach of the Year in the American Indoor Football League last season, was credited with much of the Express' success, Logan said the everyone on the staff also played a big role.
The rest of the coaching staff will stay intact with Steve Gaunt, last year's defensive line and special teams coach, taking over for Logan at defensive coordinator.
“Ollie was a great head coach, but at the same time I realized that I played a big part of that,” Logan said. “Being a leader myself, I take on challenges very easily.”
Logan, 39, heads a non-profit organization and travels the country speaking about teen violence and gang awareness. Logan is a former police officer whose daughter was killed in a gang incident.
Logan, a Willow Grove, N.J., native, played at Livingstone College in North Carolina and Texas Southern University. Last year was his first indoor coaching experience.
Logan actually left the Express for about two months late last year to accept the position of assistant head coach/defensive coordinator with the Lehigh Valley Outlawz of the Continental Indoor Football League.
But when Guidry took a position with the Austin Wranglers, Logan jumped at the chance to return to the Express and continue what Guidry started.
“I'm not nervous or I'm not concerned that you're going to see any difference,” Logan said. “In all respect to coach Guidry, with him here or with him not here, we're going to be a better team. I don't see a dropoff.”
Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.