Post by Banana Cat on Jul 7, 2011 4:17:41 GMT -5
minneapolis.cities2night.com/read/3023/q-a-with-lfl-minnesota-valkyries-head-coach-tony-nguyen
Q&A with LFL Minnesota Valkyries Head Coach, Tony Nguyen
by Mary Ziotas
Minneapolis2night.com had the pleasure to meet the players and coaching staff of Minnesota’s newest sports team, the Minnesota Valkyries- part of the Lingerie Football League (LFL). After spending a few days with the team at the Vandais Sports center, the serious tone of the practices was becoming more evident. A dedication, athleticism and desire to play the game quickly dispelled the idea that we were just going to watch a “bunch of girls in sports bras and booty shorts playing grab ass with each other!” These girls can definitely throw it down! To the ladies’ credit, they are in great physical condition.
We had an opportunity to sit down with the man selected to be the head coach of the Minnesota Valkyrie, coach Tony Nguyen. His passion and respect for the game translate into a coaching style that inspires the girls to push themselves beyond their physical limits, while simultaneously refining their skills on offense and defense.
Coach Tony, tell me a little about yourself:
I love football. It’s pretty clear to anyone that knows me. I coached everyone from youths to being an assistant at the University of Minnesota and I believe that’s the reason why Mitch [Mortaza, Commissioner of Lingerie Football League] chose me for the job. I don’t get caught up in what these girls wear, I only see the football aspect. I’m an Operations Director by day and a coach by night. It’s something I enjoy-my true passion-to bring good technical football back to Minnesota. I dreamed of working with the NFL—and it didn’t work out. These girls have an opportunity that is so rare. Lingerie might be an operative word-but I would play naked in front of 10,000 people to play for something that I love. They have that opportunity to do it-with a ton of fans on national television. That’s why myself, defensive Coach Scott Sandbo and Offensive Coach, Everette Lindsay- a former Vikings player who also served as a line coach with the Arizona Cardinals- are so hard on them.
What’s your coaching style?
Technique. Technique. Technique! I’m a firm believer that technique is key. In this type of league technique is especially important. I know a lot of other LFL teams are just including attractive girls on their roster, but I feel like we can really compete with teams that are well experienced if we have good technique. We have scripted practices and we don’t waste any time. It’s simple: if you’re here, do your job. Learn. Listen. Work hard—everything will fall into place.
Given that we just started at the end of April, the team (after final cuts that led to 20 team members- 14 dressed and 6 on the practice squad) has started to improve drastically with respect to core strength. That’s not to say there’s not a long mountain to go-but we are climbing. Stick to the basics. One step at a time, it’s not about reading complex packages; it’s about getting the good core fundamentals and setting up good techniques.
How are the girls adapting?
I’ll be honest, at first I thought I just hated them [with a passion]. They didn’t have to go through college or grueling high school seasons and work their way up. They went from whatever sport they were playing (given they were qualified to make it through the multiple try out sessions) to playing in front of a national television audience. I don’t get on them because I like yelling at them. I have them try and see once they start doing things the right way it’s more fun for them---for us as well. We spend 3 hours a week watching film as a team. We see the technical gaps, the errors that are made by the other teams. It gives them a mental picture of what everything should look like and then they try to apply it on the field. We don’t want to put out a product, especially in this state, that’s not a true winning product. They have to put in the time now, we don’t play until August but this is when the foundation is laid to see what type of team they will be.
If you weren’t a coach, would you still buy tickets and come out to see the LFL play?
Absolutely. At first when I first caught glimpse of the game in 2009-I really wasn’t into it because there wasn’t much technique involved. It was more of a side show but as the league is growing-you see more of a polished product and that’s what we are trying to bring to Minnesota. If anyone watches footage of the other LFL teams, the girls are hitting—hitting hard—without any pads below their knees. If it wasn’t real football there would be no reason for me to be here.
Do you think the LFL will have a fate similar to the football league the WWE attempted a few years ago?
Very good question. Great question. How will it stand the test of time, is if it’s good football. If it’s just a sideshow with girls in sexy lingerie it’s just going to be a novelty act. Look at a League of their own for example. Once the women started playing real baseball, with the correct technique, that’s when the league took off; when the men were at war. That’s when there was a real product. I feel like this is the same. To be a real genuine product, there has to be real football. That’s the key. We are one of the few teams to take football seriously. The minute it becomes an after bar scene is when the league will completely fail. But I don’t think we will be one of those teams that fails because our team is putting in the hard work and they have demonstrated that they are not quitters- regardless of what we put them through.
Do you think the LFL serves to empower women like the WNBA?
Yes and no. At first people think it’s exploitation of women because of he way the league is set up with respect to the uniforms. But I think it’s driving itself and positioning itself to be in the position of empowerment as long as real football is being played. I’ll put it this way, I have a few younger girls that had zero confidence but once we gave them the football and taught them some technique you could clearly see their personalities grow. They start thinking “Hey, I’m really good at this, these teammates have my back, if I fail they all look bad. I want to work hard and excel.” That’s the type of inner confidence that as a coach, on a person level, it makes it worth it. You see young women growing both on the inside and outside.
What kind of defense are you going to run?
An awesome one! (Chuckle and a smile) Defense is all about reading and reacting. It’s all about making adjustment. Base defense is very solid—throw in a lot of different packages. The key on this team with offense and defense is to make your opponent think. If they are thinking they are not reading, reacting or trusting on what they have been working on.
What do you want our Minneapolis2night.com readers to know?
Number 1, Check out their website—find the best stuff going on, especially about us [the LFL]. (We kid you not-he did say that) Number 2-Don’t let the name fool you-we want to be winners. We want to bring some excitement back into the Twin Cities with respect to women playing a great sport, Football.
Minnesota Valkyrie's first game is scheduled on August 26 against the Green Bay Chill. Fans will have only two opportunities to watch the Valkyrie and LFL Football at Target Center with the home opener being Friday, October 14 and home finale on Saturday, November 19 at Target Center.
by Mary Ziotas
Minneapolis2night.com had the pleasure to meet the players and coaching staff of Minnesota’s newest sports team, the Minnesota Valkyries- part of the Lingerie Football League (LFL). After spending a few days with the team at the Vandais Sports center, the serious tone of the practices was becoming more evident. A dedication, athleticism and desire to play the game quickly dispelled the idea that we were just going to watch a “bunch of girls in sports bras and booty shorts playing grab ass with each other!” These girls can definitely throw it down! To the ladies’ credit, they are in great physical condition.
We had an opportunity to sit down with the man selected to be the head coach of the Minnesota Valkyrie, coach Tony Nguyen. His passion and respect for the game translate into a coaching style that inspires the girls to push themselves beyond their physical limits, while simultaneously refining their skills on offense and defense.
Coach Tony, tell me a little about yourself:
I love football. It’s pretty clear to anyone that knows me. I coached everyone from youths to being an assistant at the University of Minnesota and I believe that’s the reason why Mitch [Mortaza, Commissioner of Lingerie Football League] chose me for the job. I don’t get caught up in what these girls wear, I only see the football aspect. I’m an Operations Director by day and a coach by night. It’s something I enjoy-my true passion-to bring good technical football back to Minnesota. I dreamed of working with the NFL—and it didn’t work out. These girls have an opportunity that is so rare. Lingerie might be an operative word-but I would play naked in front of 10,000 people to play for something that I love. They have that opportunity to do it-with a ton of fans on national television. That’s why myself, defensive Coach Scott Sandbo and Offensive Coach, Everette Lindsay- a former Vikings player who also served as a line coach with the Arizona Cardinals- are so hard on them.
What’s your coaching style?
Technique. Technique. Technique! I’m a firm believer that technique is key. In this type of league technique is especially important. I know a lot of other LFL teams are just including attractive girls on their roster, but I feel like we can really compete with teams that are well experienced if we have good technique. We have scripted practices and we don’t waste any time. It’s simple: if you’re here, do your job. Learn. Listen. Work hard—everything will fall into place.
Given that we just started at the end of April, the team (after final cuts that led to 20 team members- 14 dressed and 6 on the practice squad) has started to improve drastically with respect to core strength. That’s not to say there’s not a long mountain to go-but we are climbing. Stick to the basics. One step at a time, it’s not about reading complex packages; it’s about getting the good core fundamentals and setting up good techniques.
How are the girls adapting?
I’ll be honest, at first I thought I just hated them [with a passion]. They didn’t have to go through college or grueling high school seasons and work their way up. They went from whatever sport they were playing (given they were qualified to make it through the multiple try out sessions) to playing in front of a national television audience. I don’t get on them because I like yelling at them. I have them try and see once they start doing things the right way it’s more fun for them---for us as well. We spend 3 hours a week watching film as a team. We see the technical gaps, the errors that are made by the other teams. It gives them a mental picture of what everything should look like and then they try to apply it on the field. We don’t want to put out a product, especially in this state, that’s not a true winning product. They have to put in the time now, we don’t play until August but this is when the foundation is laid to see what type of team they will be.
If you weren’t a coach, would you still buy tickets and come out to see the LFL play?
Absolutely. At first when I first caught glimpse of the game in 2009-I really wasn’t into it because there wasn’t much technique involved. It was more of a side show but as the league is growing-you see more of a polished product and that’s what we are trying to bring to Minnesota. If anyone watches footage of the other LFL teams, the girls are hitting—hitting hard—without any pads below their knees. If it wasn’t real football there would be no reason for me to be here.
Do you think the LFL will have a fate similar to the football league the WWE attempted a few years ago?
Very good question. Great question. How will it stand the test of time, is if it’s good football. If it’s just a sideshow with girls in sexy lingerie it’s just going to be a novelty act. Look at a League of their own for example. Once the women started playing real baseball, with the correct technique, that’s when the league took off; when the men were at war. That’s when there was a real product. I feel like this is the same. To be a real genuine product, there has to be real football. That’s the key. We are one of the few teams to take football seriously. The minute it becomes an after bar scene is when the league will completely fail. But I don’t think we will be one of those teams that fails because our team is putting in the hard work and they have demonstrated that they are not quitters- regardless of what we put them through.
Do you think the LFL serves to empower women like the WNBA?
Yes and no. At first people think it’s exploitation of women because of he way the league is set up with respect to the uniforms. But I think it’s driving itself and positioning itself to be in the position of empowerment as long as real football is being played. I’ll put it this way, I have a few younger girls that had zero confidence but once we gave them the football and taught them some technique you could clearly see their personalities grow. They start thinking “Hey, I’m really good at this, these teammates have my back, if I fail they all look bad. I want to work hard and excel.” That’s the type of inner confidence that as a coach, on a person level, it makes it worth it. You see young women growing both on the inside and outside.
What kind of defense are you going to run?
An awesome one! (Chuckle and a smile) Defense is all about reading and reacting. It’s all about making adjustment. Base defense is very solid—throw in a lot of different packages. The key on this team with offense and defense is to make your opponent think. If they are thinking they are not reading, reacting or trusting on what they have been working on.
What do you want our Minneapolis2night.com readers to know?
Number 1, Check out their website—find the best stuff going on, especially about us [the LFL]. (We kid you not-he did say that) Number 2-Don’t let the name fool you-we want to be winners. We want to bring some excitement back into the Twin Cities with respect to women playing a great sport, Football.
Minnesota Valkyrie's first game is scheduled on August 26 against the Green Bay Chill. Fans will have only two opportunities to watch the Valkyrie and LFL Football at Target Center with the home opener being Friday, October 14 and home finale on Saturday, November 19 at Target Center.