STURGIS - The 2008 football season is going to be both a teaching and learning experience for new Sturgis football coach Rod Richardson.

As one enters Richardson's classroom on a recent day, the white board contains the week's practice plans neatly outlined in black and red inks. The Scoopers opened their season last week against Sioux Falls Washington and look for their first win against Rapid City Central this weekend.

This is the first time in several years that Richardson is a head coach. He spent the last six years teaching and coaching at Fort Calhoun High School in Omaha, Neb., where he was the football team's defensive coordinator. Before that, he mentored the receivers and linebackers at Papillion-La Vista High School in Omaha.

Richardson previously lived in Kansas and was head coach at Wabaunsee High School for eight years. He is getting back into the routine of planning and organizing everything.

"It's something I've forgotten about, how much time it takes."

He earned his master's degree in educational administration from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and desired a leadership position. Family, and other factors, put that ambition on hold until this year.

Responsibility and leadership aspects are what Richardson missed while an assistant coach. He explained everything ultimately falls on a head coach's shoulders.

"My philosophy is to be very well-prepared and know exactly what you're doing on every play," Richardson said. He added Sturgis' players are doing a nice job of absorbing what Richardson and his assistants want done.

He went on to say the squad's intensity may currently lack a bit because of the learning. Preliminary numbers show 100 athletes in grades nine through 12 are out this year.

Defense is a Scoopers' strength this year, Richardson said. He said defensive coordinator Steve Lensegrav enjoys a great rapport with the players, and many starters return from the 2007 squad.

The Richardson style is trying to do what he can to build strong relationships and get the most out of his players.

"I'm not a hollerer and a screamer, but I'm not saying that I won't," he said.

Preseason practice schedules were a bit different in 2008. They ran from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday and Friday, with 30 minutes in between, so they are technically two-a-days, Richardson said. Practices on Tuesday through Thursday ran from 3:30 to 7 p.m. because of teacher in-services and the like.

Richardson explained gas prices and other factors led to this experiment. Planning is a bit more difficult, he said, but it works well.

He grew up in Loomis, Neb., and has been in football for as long as he can remember. Richardson, his brother, and four neighbors would gather in the yard and play three-on-three for hours.

Richardson sympathizes with this season's seniors who had the same coach (Adolph Shepardson) for three years but later got a new coach.

"That's exactly what happened to me," he said.

How does Sturgis maintain the momentum it has gained in the last three years? Richardson pointed to the strength and conditioning requirements the athletic department instituted. Activities director Mike Paris recently spoke to the team, Richardson related, and said the requirements take on added importance because Sturgis is a smaller school competing against larger schools. Athletes therefore need to be in the best possible physical condition, Richardson added.

Richardson defines "success" as players giving a full effort. He possesses a diminutive football statue which features this Vince Lombardi quote: "The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."