Detroit, MI — The Detroit Lions have named John Bechtel of Farmington High School the week two recipient of the 2012 High School Coach of the Week Program presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
Bechtel led his Falcons to a 14-6 victory over #9 ranked Southfield on August 31 to run the Falcons record to 2-0. In his 15th season as a head coach (14 seasons at Farmington High School), Bechtel has a career record of 74-67. Bechtel has led Farmington to all eight of the school’s playoff appearances, including the last four seasons in a row. This Friday, Farmington will look to improve to 3-0 as they go on the road to take on Southfield-Lathrup at 7 p.m.
In addition to his accomplishments on the field, Coach Bechtel is proactive in terms of promoting player health and safety within his school. Bechtel personally reviews all paperwork and physicals of every student-athlete in the football program to provide himself a thorough background of the individual. Bechtel also emphasizes proper hydration with his student-athletes and monitors their water intake. In addition, all Farmington High School football players are required to sign a “Concussion Contract”, a document which acknowledges the student-athletes and their parents recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion. These student-athletes are given a baseline concussion test at the beginning of the year.
Coach of the Week Program
Each week throughout the 2012 nine-week high school football regular season, one coach that best develops his players’ character, discipline, and football skill in addition to emphasizing player health and safety in their program, will be recognized for his commitment to the team, school, and community. The winner is selected by a panel of high school football media members — Mick McCabe (Detroit Free Press), Hugh Bernreuter (Saginaw News), Bret Bakita (107.3 FM-WBBL, Grand Rapids), and Scott DeCamp (Mlive.com/Kalamazoo).
This season’s program will award $22,000 to aid in the development and promotion of high school football in the state of Michigan thanks to contributions from the Detroit Lions and the National Football League and presenting sponsor, Michigan Army National Guard.
Each winning coach throughout the regular season will receive a $2,000 donation to his school’s football program. All weekly winners will be honored at an awards ceremony during the Lions-Bears game at Ford Field on December 30. During the ceremony, the Lions will also introduce the High School Coach of the Year. This season’s Coach of the Year will receive a $4,000 donation to his team’s football program.
In addition to the monetary award, all winners receive a certificate signed by Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz and National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell. Winning coaches also receive a personalized game ball and a Detroit Lions “Coach of the Week” hat.
Currently in its’ 16th year, the Detroit Lions High School Coach of the Week program has awarded $290,000 to high school football programs throughout the state of Michigan. For more information on the Detroit Lions High School Coach of the Week program, contact Chris Fritzsching, Lions’ Director of Youth Football, at 313-262-2248.
