First on the field
Salem Academy holds midnight practice to kickoff season

by Mark Gilman, Full Access Sports

August 23, 2010

The Oregon School Activities Association set the start of high school full contact fall sports practices for August 23rd.

New Salem Academy football coach Jim Stomps decided his team wasn't going to wait for the sun to come up.

At 12:01 am, the Crusaders donned their gear and went out to under the lights at the East Salem campus, becoming the first Oregon prep football team to practice for the 2010 season. Coaches hope they will be among the last teams to practice when the season winds down in December.

The 39 year old Stomps comes to Salem Academy from Jacksonville University in Florida after a year as an assistant coach there. He has a total of 15 years of coaching experience, and served as a head or assistant coach at several high schools in the south from Georgia to Mississippi. He answered an online application from Salem Academy was hired late last spring.

Stomps does have a connection to the Pacific Northwest--he worked with Craig Howard, who served as head coach at Beaverton's Jesuit High School and was the last coach at Oregon Tech before the Klamath Falls college shut down its football program in 2000. Most recently, Howard worked with quarterback Tim Tebeau at the University of Florida for three seasons.

Working at Salem Academy is a natural fit for Stomps, who has a strong Christian faith and grew up as the son of a minister. His wife, Emily will be teaching at the school. The couple and their two children will be at many school functions.

Stomps would like to produce a winning program. Salem Academy has 38 students out for the team, and Stomps hopes the spread offense he has installed will produce some points and propel the Crusaders to the playoffs. He is cautiously optimistic, but Salem Academy has moved up a classification into the 3A Pac West Conference.

But regardless of the record when the season is over, Stomps knows there will be no doubt about the team's effort and character.

"I am putting an emphasis on all aspects of life, not just football," says the enthusiastic Stomps. " I try to teach lessons on being successful."

"The players know they need to put it all out on the field, and if they do that, the rest will take care of itself."

Salem Academy begins its season September 3 at Horizon Christian.

Mark Gilman can be contacted at mark@fullaccesssports.com