Falcons head coach hosts virtual clinic for 300 Georgia high school coaches

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn always talks about the brotherhood within his football team and organization.

Recently, he extended that brotherhood to include high school coaches all over Georgia. More than 300 coaches from every classification joined the virtual clinic hosted by Quinn and the Falcons.

The clinic lasted three days with each day focusing on offense, defense and special teams.

Channel 2 sports director Zach Klein spoke with a few coaches who participated in the clinics.

“Coach Quinn sets the example that we’re all going to share this. When it comes from him, he’s the top guy in the state,” said Kyle Hockman, head coach at New Hampstead High School.

“We’ve got to be learning from each other. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel,” said Dalton High School head coach Matt Land. “If somebody’s doing it, show me how to do it and we’ll try to do it better. Somebody will come learn from me one day.”

The Falcons host coaching clinics for high school coaches every year but like with other events, the coronavirus pandemic shifted the clinics from an in-person event to a virtual one.

“I spent my life’s blood as a high school coach. I wouldn’t have traded those years for anything,” said Falcons defensive line coach Jess Simpson. Simpson spent years running the Buford High School football program.

Members of the Falcons staff were not the only ones teaching.

Coaches from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State also jumped in to offer advice on how high school coaches can help their kids improve.

“Having a college coach talking about the mental aspect of our kids is a good thing as well,” Booker T. Washington head coach Derrick Avery said. “It’s something we’ve never been a part of before with what we see going on right now.”

The Falcons said the clinics will be available soon to watch on the team’s website.

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