Under Curtis, Tigers Making Big Strides
October 4, 2018 at 4:43 p.m.
Under Curtis, Tigers Making Big Strides
By Aaron [email protected]
That was the first thought that went through Warsaw quarterback Josh West’s mind when he met his coach, Bart Curtis.
It’s true, Curtis is tall and has an imposing figure. But his impact on Warsaw’s football program looms much larger than his 6-foot-2, 280-pound frame.
Curtis has won eight sectional titles, two regional championships, and made a trip to the state final in his 28-year head coaching career.
Now he’s with Warsaw, and the Class 6A No. 11 Tigers are 6-1 fand off to their best start since 2001, when Phil Jensen coached them to a 10-1 record.
Jensen resigned after last season after coaching 18 years at Warsaw; he roamed the sidelines from 1996-03, and returned in 2008.
Curtis may not have seemed like the most likely candidate to succeed Jensen, whose spread offense is vastly different than Curtis’ triple-option attack.
However, Curtis took an interest in the position for reasons both personal and professional. Warsaw has never won a sectional, and he saw that as a challenge.
“I like to do things that people say can’t be done,” he said.
The biggest draw was the opportunity to coach with his son, Michael, who was hired by Jensen in 2016 as the offensive line coach.
The coaching staff already knew Bart Curtis through his son, and Curtis knew Warsaw principal Troy Akers through Akers’ coaching days at Warsaw.
Curtis and Akers chatted about the job before Curtis declared his interest to Warsaw Athletic Director Dave Anson.
Anson’s reaction: “Wow.”
“I probably did that verbally,” Anson said.
There was apprehension over how well the Tigers would take to the run-heavy offense after years of emphasizing their passing game.
Diehard Tigers fan Marshall Thompson, who was on Warsaw’s last undefeated football team in 1964, was skeptical when he heard his favorite team had hired Curtis.
“I wasn’t real excited when he came, because I knew some of the other choices they had and I thought, ‘I’m not sure I want to watch that (offense),’” Thompson said.
Thompson’s concerns were quickly abated when summer practices began. Curtis’ strict style and familial focus were received with open arms by the Tigers.
“He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and he was serious about football,” West said.
Michael Curtis, who played under his father at Mishawaka, was both excited and nervous about his father coming to coach. He was glad to have someone of his dad’s prowess taking charge, but he also knew the expectations that came with that.
“The guys I’d been coaching with, I wanted them to know, ‘Hey, I want to rise up to that expectation,’” Michael Curtis said. “I just didn’t want to disappoint them.”
The coaching staff brought a heightened sense of discipline to the program. Players are to say “yes, ma’am,” and “no, sir,” when addressing adults.
“I want it to be, how do we conduct ourselves on and off the field?” Curtis said. “That, to me, is far more important (than football). If you do those things right, you learn how to practice hard consistently, I don’t think you can help but to do a little better.”
Only a handful of players quit the team. Most who stayed got used to Curtis’ way of coaching, or, as he put it, learned to love “extreme reinforcement of exercise.”
That included log rolls – rolling one’s body from one end zone to the other – for three players who were late to a practice.
“Those three young men have yet to be late again,” Curtis said.
That discipline was essential in learning the triple option, which is a deceptively simple running offense that requires, patience, precision, and plenty of repetition.
“He pushed us a lot harder, and a lot more guys had to step up,” said senior defensive tackle Cobe VanHouten.
The Tigers spent all summer learning the offense, drilling the same five plays thousands of times.
Their steadfast diligence paid off with a 10-8 victory over Columbia City in Week 1.
VanHouten said that’s when everything started to click, and Warsaw defeated East Noble 17-10 the following week.
The Tigers got their first taste of adversity in Week 3’s 32-29 overtime loss against Northern Lakes Conference rival Plymouth.
The game was decided on a Plymouth field goal that video evidence proved to be no good. Regardless, Curtis refused to make excuses.
“If you take care of business, it doesn’t come down to an official’s vision,” he said. “We didn’t execute well enough to win that game, and didn’t deserve to (win).”
Warsaw wasted no time bouncing back with a 14-7 win over Elkhart Memorial. The Tigers went on to rout Northridge, shut out Goshen and trounce Wawasee to become 6-1.
The 35-0 win over Goshen showcased yin of the Tigers’ intensity with the yang of their unity. Curtis promised to take the defense out to breakfast if they posted a shutout.
Come Saturday morning, Warsaw’s defenders had a belly full of pancakes, bacon, and omelettes.
The Tigers’ impact is not limited to the field. Warsaw’s players attend games of Warsaw’s feeder program, Young Tigers, and also do community service with Baker Youth Club.
Their positivity has spilled from the field into the hallways of Warsaw Community High School.
“When you can be successful on Friday nights, it does help bring a little bit of an energy to the student body,” Anson said.
All that excitement has created high hopes.
“We can build this program to the point where hopefully we can compete with some of the best and biggest schools in the state,” Anson said.
Thompson is thrilled with the Tigers’ success this season, and said they remind him of the legendary 1964 squad.
“We were a very tight-knit group when we played, the seniors and our underclassmen, and I see that in this group, too,” Thompson. “They’re pretty much one family.”
New Prairie’s Bill Gumm coached under Curtis during his tenure with the Cougars, and is not the least bit surprised by the Tigers’ success.
“That’s (Curtis’) strength, getting the community to buy into his philosophies,” Gumm said. “Every community wants to have that success, but they gotta be willing to go through it. It’s gonna be a process.”
Michael Curtis is enjoying that process, even on days when his dad has an extra edge.
“(There’s) moments where I can tell he’s is in one of those moods where practice probably isn’t going to get off to a great start,” Michael Curtis said. “And it makes you think back to some of those memories (as a player). You hated it going through it, but looking back on it you’re like, ‘Wow, it made us better.’”
Curtis emphasized the Tigers’ success as a total team effort. He complimented the coaching staff and players with a stellar start, and showered praise on his wife, Sara, for her support of him.
“I don’t know how my mother-in-law and father-in-law ever let my wife marry me, because she is the true head coach,” he said.
Warsaw faces its toughest opponent yet Friday at Class 4A No. 2 NorthWood. The game will play a part in deciding the NLC championship.
Curtis, who played on NorthWood’s 1980 state runner-up team, said the keys to winning are a great week in practice, and being smart with the football.
However, more than a win against the Panthers, more than a sectional title, even more than a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium, Curtis wants his players to become great men.
“I want to be better than we ought to be,” Curtis said. “I want to be better at the end of today than yesterday.
“I want our young men to conduct themselves on and off the field like they’re representing something really special.”
That was the first thought that went through Warsaw quarterback Josh West’s mind when he met his coach, Bart Curtis.
It’s true, Curtis is tall and has an imposing figure. But his impact on Warsaw’s football program looms much larger than his 6-foot-2, 280-pound frame.
Curtis has won eight sectional titles, two regional championships, and made a trip to the state final in his 28-year head coaching career.
Now he’s with Warsaw, and the Class 6A No. 11 Tigers are 6-1 fand off to their best start since 2001, when Phil Jensen coached them to a 10-1 record.
Jensen resigned after last season after coaching 18 years at Warsaw; he roamed the sidelines from 1996-03, and returned in 2008.
Curtis may not have seemed like the most likely candidate to succeed Jensen, whose spread offense is vastly different than Curtis’ triple-option attack.
However, Curtis took an interest in the position for reasons both personal and professional. Warsaw has never won a sectional, and he saw that as a challenge.
“I like to do things that people say can’t be done,” he said.
The biggest draw was the opportunity to coach with his son, Michael, who was hired by Jensen in 2016 as the offensive line coach.
The coaching staff already knew Bart Curtis through his son, and Curtis knew Warsaw principal Troy Akers through Akers’ coaching days at Warsaw.
Curtis and Akers chatted about the job before Curtis declared his interest to Warsaw Athletic Director Dave Anson.
Anson’s reaction: “Wow.”
“I probably did that verbally,” Anson said.
There was apprehension over how well the Tigers would take to the run-heavy offense after years of emphasizing their passing game.
Diehard Tigers fan Marshall Thompson, who was on Warsaw’s last undefeated football team in 1964, was skeptical when he heard his favorite team had hired Curtis.
“I wasn’t real excited when he came, because I knew some of the other choices they had and I thought, ‘I’m not sure I want to watch that (offense),’” Thompson said.
Thompson’s concerns were quickly abated when summer practices began. Curtis’ strict style and familial focus were received with open arms by the Tigers.
“He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and he was serious about football,” West said.
Michael Curtis, who played under his father at Mishawaka, was both excited and nervous about his father coming to coach. He was glad to have someone of his dad’s prowess taking charge, but he also knew the expectations that came with that.
“The guys I’d been coaching with, I wanted them to know, ‘Hey, I want to rise up to that expectation,’” Michael Curtis said. “I just didn’t want to disappoint them.”
The coaching staff brought a heightened sense of discipline to the program. Players are to say “yes, ma’am,” and “no, sir,” when addressing adults.
“I want it to be, how do we conduct ourselves on and off the field?” Curtis said. “That, to me, is far more important (than football). If you do those things right, you learn how to practice hard consistently, I don’t think you can help but to do a little better.”
Only a handful of players quit the team. Most who stayed got used to Curtis’ way of coaching, or, as he put it, learned to love “extreme reinforcement of exercise.”
That included log rolls – rolling one’s body from one end zone to the other – for three players who were late to a practice.
“Those three young men have yet to be late again,” Curtis said.
That discipline was essential in learning the triple option, which is a deceptively simple running offense that requires, patience, precision, and plenty of repetition.
“He pushed us a lot harder, and a lot more guys had to step up,” said senior defensive tackle Cobe VanHouten.
The Tigers spent all summer learning the offense, drilling the same five plays thousands of times.
Their steadfast diligence paid off with a 10-8 victory over Columbia City in Week 1.
VanHouten said that’s when everything started to click, and Warsaw defeated East Noble 17-10 the following week.
The Tigers got their first taste of adversity in Week 3’s 32-29 overtime loss against Northern Lakes Conference rival Plymouth.
The game was decided on a Plymouth field goal that video evidence proved to be no good. Regardless, Curtis refused to make excuses.
“If you take care of business, it doesn’t come down to an official’s vision,” he said. “We didn’t execute well enough to win that game, and didn’t deserve to (win).”
Warsaw wasted no time bouncing back with a 14-7 win over Elkhart Memorial. The Tigers went on to rout Northridge, shut out Goshen and trounce Wawasee to become 6-1.
The 35-0 win over Goshen showcased yin of the Tigers’ intensity with the yang of their unity. Curtis promised to take the defense out to breakfast if they posted a shutout.
Come Saturday morning, Warsaw’s defenders had a belly full of pancakes, bacon, and omelettes.
The Tigers’ impact is not limited to the field. Warsaw’s players attend games of Warsaw’s feeder program, Young Tigers, and also do community service with Baker Youth Club.
Their positivity has spilled from the field into the hallways of Warsaw Community High School.
“When you can be successful on Friday nights, it does help bring a little bit of an energy to the student body,” Anson said.
All that excitement has created high hopes.
“We can build this program to the point where hopefully we can compete with some of the best and biggest schools in the state,” Anson said.
Thompson is thrilled with the Tigers’ success this season, and said they remind him of the legendary 1964 squad.
“We were a very tight-knit group when we played, the seniors and our underclassmen, and I see that in this group, too,” Thompson. “They’re pretty much one family.”
New Prairie’s Bill Gumm coached under Curtis during his tenure with the Cougars, and is not the least bit surprised by the Tigers’ success.
“That’s (Curtis’) strength, getting the community to buy into his philosophies,” Gumm said. “Every community wants to have that success, but they gotta be willing to go through it. It’s gonna be a process.”
Michael Curtis is enjoying that process, even on days when his dad has an extra edge.
“(There’s) moments where I can tell he’s is in one of those moods where practice probably isn’t going to get off to a great start,” Michael Curtis said. “And it makes you think back to some of those memories (as a player). You hated it going through it, but looking back on it you’re like, ‘Wow, it made us better.’”
Curtis emphasized the Tigers’ success as a total team effort. He complimented the coaching staff and players with a stellar start, and showered praise on his wife, Sara, for her support of him.
“I don’t know how my mother-in-law and father-in-law ever let my wife marry me, because she is the true head coach,” he said.
Warsaw faces its toughest opponent yet Friday at Class 4A No. 2 NorthWood. The game will play a part in deciding the NLC championship.
Curtis, who played on NorthWood’s 1980 state runner-up team, said the keys to winning are a great week in practice, and being smart with the football.
However, more than a win against the Panthers, more than a sectional title, even more than a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium, Curtis wants his players to become great men.
“I want to be better than we ought to be,” Curtis said. “I want to be better at the end of today than yesterday.
“I want our young men to conduct themselves on and off the field like they’re representing something really special.”
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