Iowa Wesleyan College hires Kent Anderson

[Knorrski]

IWC hires Kent Anderson as new head football coach

MOUNT PLEASANT – Iowa Wesleyan College has named Kent Anderson as the new head coach of its football program, Athletic Director Mike Hampton announced Monday.

The 47-year-old Anderson becomes the 45th head coach in the 120-year history of Iowa Wesleyan's football program. He replaces Jason Smelser, who left the Tiger program at the conclusion of the 2009 season.

"We are happy to welcome Kent Anderson as our new head football coach," said Hampton. "Throughout the interview process terms like ‘dynamic', ‘disciplined', ‘experienced' and ‘leadership' continued to come through from those who interviewed him. He believes in students-first and has an extensive game plan on and off the field for his student-athletes, and we are glad to have him on board. "
Anderson comes to IWC with a unique background, having spent the past 15 years as a head coach in Germany. As a coach in the German Football League professional ranks, Anderson posted a 182-62-5 record and won eight national championships. He won titles with three different teams and was a six-time national coach of the year.

"I am just really excited," Anderson said. "For me it's coming home. It's a different situation from what I've been doing but I'm excited to get back into college coaching and in my home state."

Though he spent many years coaching in Germany, Anderson is hardly a stranger to southern Iowa. He is a native of Bloomfield, Iowa, and a graduate of Davis County High School, where he was all-state in football and basketball as well as a state champion in track & field. The son of Dennis and Barbara Anderson, he comes from a family with a background in coaching and administration. His father Dennis is well-known throughout Iowa as a long-time head coach and athletic director at Davis County High.

Anderson is also a 1985 graduate of Iowa State University, where he received a degree in general studies and was a wide receiver and special teams player and a three-year letter winner on the football team.

"I think one of my strengths is I have an understanding of Iowans, being from a small town," Anderson said. "I understand what's important, and that is education and being a good citizen. We're really going to focus on the connection between the team and community."

Upon his graduation from Iowa State, Anderson worked in the private sector for six years in sales. He then spent two years at the University of North Carolina working as a graduate assistant in the football program coached by Mack Brown, who is now the head coach at the University of Texas. Anderson coached wide receivers and the offensive line and was part of a UNC team that won the 1993 Peach Bowl, the Tar Heels' first bowl win in nine years. He completed a masters degree from UNC in athletic administration in 1993.

"One of the big influences in my career has been Mack Brown," Anderson said. "He's been a major force in helping me shape my coaching style and a major force in guiding my career."

Anderson also spent one year as an assistant coach at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, coaching wide receivers and coordinating the team's passing game. In 1994 he took over as head coach of the Braunschweig Lions in Braunschweig, Germany, and became the first coach in GFL history to take his team to the playoffs in his first year as coach.

While coaching in Germany, Anderson also oversaw many of his teams' football operations, including recruitment/scouting of players from the NCAA, NFL and Europe, developing corporate sponsorship and marketing programs, budget operation and personnel decisions. Outside of football he also developed skills as a motivational speaker for a number of high-profile businesses in Germany.

Anderson is married to Friederike, an elementary school teacher. The couple will relocate to the United States from Germany by Jan. 1st.

[Armin Istrator]

Dort hat Sheldon "Shelly" Cross auch mal gecoached- die Monarchs dürften ihn noch in guter Erinnerung haben!

[Thalan]

Urheberrecht und so...

[KP]

Urheberrecht und so...

Na ja, das sieht mir doch eher nach einer PM aus und die sind ja wohl dazu da, verbreitet zu werden

[Thalan]

Mal abgesehen davon, wird Anderson viel zu tun haben.

[Charly Manske]

Mal abgesehen davon, wird Anderson viel zu tun haben.

BOAH............die Stats sind ja echt vom Übelsten .
Nu bin ich mal gespannt, ob und wenn ja, in welchem Zeitraum K.A. das auffe Reihe kriegt .
DAS nenne ich doch mal ne echte Herausforderung für den erfolgsgewohnten K.A. .
Und dieses mal wird ihm keine Karawane guter Leute folgen .
Andererseits hat er da nix zu verlieren..........viel schlimmer geht ja nicht mehr . In den letzten 4 Jahren nie mehr als höchstens 3 Games pro Saison gewonnen . Wenn er in der kommenden Saison 4 Games gewinnt, ist er der große Macher .

[somanytimes]

Na damit hat mal wieder ein guter Trainer die Gfl verlassen allerdings wie gesagt wird er dort ein wenig mehr zu tun haben als in germany...viel Spaß Kent

[Ronald]

Also bei allen guten Wünschen zum Gelingen, ich kann nicht anders, als diesen Schritt als "downgrade" zu werten.
In einem 8.000 Seelen Dorf an einem NAIA Div II College anzuheuern ist nicht so der Schritt, den man von einem erfolgsverwöhnten HC erwartet.
Klar muss man sehen, wo man bleibt, aber selbst NCAA Div II oder III ist schon grenzwertig im Vergleich zu Top-GFL Football.
Da nützt es auch nix, dass man im Mutterland des Footballs einen HC Posten an einem College hat.
Ich hoffe, Kent ist/war nicht allzu verzweifelt, um diesen Schritt zu gehen, in ein Dorf, um das im Umkreis von 100 km mal so GAR NIX ist und die nächste Großstadt 3 Stunden entfernt.
Vielleicht aber auch nur der erste Schritt, eine Karriere als Trainer zu machen, und wer weiss, vielleicht sehen wir ihn ja bald als AC bei den Hawkeyes...

[coachonko]

Dort hat Sheldon "Shelly" Cross auch mal gecoached- die Monarchs dürften ihn noch in guter Erinnerung haben!

aua - schlimme bilder hab ich da im kopf. aber ne große klappe hatte er...