Football Film Festival forges bonds

How well do you know your son's varsity football coach?

Better yet, how well do you know football?

West Aurora football coach Buck Drach has found a way to get to know him, and help parents (and anyone else who wants to listen and learn) understand the game better.

For the first time since he's been coaching at West Aurora, the longtime area coach recently hosted West Aurora Blackhawks Football Film Festival, a chance for Blackhawks parents to understand what takes up so much of their sons' time in the fall.

I recently sat in on one of the hour-long film sessions, which featured Drach and three of his assistants, Tom Davidson, Ryan Crawford and Ryan Sladek, breaking down film for parents.

Buck Drach is entering his 15th hour of being awake on this particular Tuesday night. He probably should have gone home a long time ago, but there's still something he feels he needs to do.

About 15 people - mostly parents of players in the West Aurora football program - have gathered in a warm wrestling room to listen to Drach and his assistants run the West Aurora Blackhawks Football Film Festival, where Drach breaks down film of a recent game for parents.

This is something he's wanted to do for a long time. Last year, he held a session called "Football for Females," which allowed moms, grandmas and girlfriends of the players to understand the game better. But this year, the session was canceled because Drach had to attend a wake the night the clinic was scheduled.

Instead, he decided the film breakdown was the best alternative for parents.

"They see one thing up in the stands, but these people saw some different things here," Drach said after the session. "They need to understand what we are trying to do."

The session began with Drach introducing himself and his assistants. Within minutes, Drach began the session. He used a projector where the screen was used on one of the walls in the wrestling room.

Drach broke down plays, often reviewed plays and went over both the offense and defense. He mentions to the parents what a valuable tool the "film" and the "tape" is - even though it is on a disk.

"We sell these kids these tapes pretty cheap so they have them the rest of their lives," Drach said. "To capture that on film and to have that forever is a great thing."

Filming is also good for other things beside reviewing the team's performance. If a coach misses something, he can go back and see what went right or wrong.

"They say the big eye doesn't lie," Drach said. "That big eye in the sky, the camera, shows it all."

About 45 minutes was dedicated to the film. The final 15 was a question-and-answer session with the coach. Parents asked about the Blackhawks' schedule, whether or not the school is going to get a turf field, next week's opponent.

At the end, Drach asked the group if they got anything out of this, and they answered with a collective "yes."

"I've enjoyed watching this," said Fay Leathers, whose son Josh plays on the sophomore team.

"My husband is not a sports (nut), but he gets excited for Josh and football, so anything that can help me learn is good. I'm all for it.

"It's just exciting, and to see it like this makes a difference from sitting in the stands. This really gave it some detail."

Ricardo Waller is a youth football coach in Aurora with a team for third through sixth graders called the Superstars. He also has a son Marcus on the sophomore team.

"I came to see what (Drach) had to say," Waller said. "It's nice for the coach to do something like this. I could use some of this."

For John Nunnally, whose son is the starting varsity quarterback, not only did he see his son on the big screen, he appreciated the connection Drach is trying to achieve with the parents as well as his players.

"It's good to get that closeness with the family and support the coach because I think (Drach) is the best thing to happen to West High football program for a long time," Nunnally said.

Drach is confident there will be more film sessions with the parents this year. He's hoping to get together every few weeks. Moms like Robyn Glissendorf knows she will be back.

Glissendorf not only has a son on the sophomore team (Grady), but she has another in eighth grade who will play at West Aurora in the future.

"I wish I brought my son with me to listen in because it was very interesting," said Glissendorf, who brought her daughter Riley to the session.

"I really love football a lot. Football is great."

• Do you have any unique and fun story ideas regarding varsity football? Share your ideas with me at cbolin@dailyherald.com or via phone at (630) 955-3515.