IMA SPORTS

There’s far more that goes into a successful football season than practicing and winning games. It takes a lot of teamwork, and not just among coaches and players on the same team.

The football coaches from Northern Buckeye Conference programs came together last week for their second annual coaches meeting at Maumee. For Panthers coach Evan Karchner, it’s a great way to get coaches together and get on the same page before the season begins.

“It helps us discuss things like roster numbers, scheduling and how we’ll handle JV and freshman-level games across the league,” Karchner said. “Getting everyone in the same room allows for open communication, collaboration and consistency in how we operate.

“It also gives us a chance to build relationships with one another and keep the league moving in the right direction. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to do what’s best for our programs and our kids.”

While not all of the coaches could attend in person due to vacations and other obligations, they sent rosters, schedules and communications through emails beforehand.

One of the biggest things discussed was sharing videos. With some schools making a switch from Hudl to QwikCut and the challenges that creates with film exchange and the conference-wide film pool.

“We’re trying to find the best way to manage that so everyone still has fair and easy access to scouting material,” Karchner said.

The coaches also continued discussion about starting a NBC Prospect Combine or Camp, an idea that was originally brought up in 2024. Further discussions and a final decision won’t be made until after the football season.

“The goal would be to give our student-athletes more exposure and opportunities to get recruited, which would be huge for the kids in our league,” Karchner said.

It was a busy week for Karchner, who followed up the coaches meeting with a visit to the WTOL studios and a spot on the station’s preseason coaches roundtable show. Along with head coaches from Anthony Wayne, Liberty Center and St. Francis, Karchner fielded questions about the change to the number of playoff qualifiers, college recruiting and thoughts on the NBC.

Karchner said it was an awesome experience and an honor to be included with some of the best coaches in the area.

“WTOL does a great job promoting the sport and giving our programs a platform to be seen and heard. It was also great exposure for Maumee and our football program,” Karchner said. “It came about through an invitation from the station, and I really appreciate them including us in the conversation. Opportunities like that go a long way in building our brand and showing people what we’re about.”

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers
Reach IMA at insidemaumeeathletics@gmail.com