By Bobby Samuels (Instagram: iambobbysamuels)
Football has three main coaches; Offense, Defense, and Special teams. Special teams make up around 17% of a football game. That might not seem like much but the impact that it gives on the game could be the winning factor. Here at Hamilton, Coach Mark Behnke is the special teams coordinator.
Coach Behnke has been coaching for 29 years at the high school level, 22 of them have been at Hamilton. He not only is a football coach here at Hamilton but he is also the teacher of one of the elective classes called Covering Hawkeye Sports, and the Varsity Softball coach. He loves all things football: the strategy of the game, working with players and seeing players improve throughout the season.
Some things that Coach Behnke does as special teams coordinator are scouting the other teams, making up game plans, and designing what to do in the game for special teams. Coach Behnke is also in charge of clock management and analytics of game decisions that include special teams but also reach to offense and defense.
We ask him what his life is like in the off-season. “It’s football. ” He studies football 24/7 and lives for the sport. He also coaches varsity softball in the spring. It’s very rare if Coach Behnke isn’t doing something related to Hamilton Athletics.” This shows how involved he is around here.
One of the last questions I wanted to know was, “how does it feel to be on the sideline under the spotlight during varsity football games?” He answered with, “When you’re young, you feel all of the excitement and hear the sounds that American culture has romanticized in television and film. As I’ve gotten older, I become very unaware of those things and I’m either analyzing the action on the field, watching their sideline, or reviewing action on state-approved technology. You feel the pressure but it’s compartmentalized by your work to do.”
Coach Behnke makes an impact here at Hamilton he is not only the special teams coordinator and a softball coach but he is someone that people feel comfortable talking to and coming to for random advice. You will always see him walking around with a smile on his face and asking people how they are doing.