The Milwaukee Venom Add To Their
Award Winning Coaching Staff

Here in Venom country, there has always been one goal, to win the Championship and bring home the Joe Chudada trophy. With off - season moves such as new hires Derek Diehl as Venom Offensive Coordinator, long time standout MLB #56 Pete Henrikson as LB coach, and bringing back Special Teams Coordinator Scott Kobb, the Milwaukee Venom are putting themselves in prime position to make yet another run into the playoffs!

Derek Diehl has been a part of the semi-pro football community for quite some time and has been involved in many different facets of the game. Every where Derek has been, success as well as great players, have followed. The IFL first saw Derek in 2007, when an unfortunate personal injury on the field, allowed him to showcase his coaching ability, taking the Burlington Blue Devils into the playoffs. 2008 saw Derek as the Devils Defensive Coordinator as well as a player on the team, in which the Devils made it to the American Conference Championship game. In 2009 he switched gears, proving his versatility, and took over the Offensive Coordinator position, greatly improving the Devils offense, and once again taking them into the playoffs.

 

Derek will now be taking over the high powered Milwaukee Venom offense. An offense in which showcased multiple RB's, as well as, WR's, and an unknown TE that whispers say is the best TE in the game as we know it. "I'm very excited to be coaching The Venom. I had the chance to help teams in the past become playoff caliber teams and this time I will be taking on a playoff caliber team with the opportunity to win the Iron Bowl."
(Derek Diehl on the subject of becoming
The Milwaukee Venom offensive coordinator.)

Pete Henrikson is also a new hire for the 2010 season. Pete has been an anchor for The Venom defense at both inside and outside linebacker. A respected leader on the team, Pete has carried the defense on his shoulders emotionally as a captain since the 2005 season. Pete has helped groom new players to the team, coaching them while he was injured, as well as through his selfless play, helping them learn The Venom's complex defense. Pete comes in with the chance of taking what some call the best line backing squad in the game, perfecting their play, and molding them into much greater players than what they already are. Pete had this to say, "It's a natural shift for me since I already help coach with my pads on. The change will be my uniform to a coaches shirt and the fact that I can spend way more time with our younger players, bringing out the best in them."

Scott Kobb has taken the last couple of years off of coaching due to personal reasons and is now ready to return. When he first emerged as The Venom Special Teams Coordinator, he was an unknown coach to many. But Scott knew his craft well and brought innovation and toughness to Special Teams. Scott's Special Teams "sets" have been looked at and copied throughout the league. Many said that a 3 man wedge wouldn't work, but Scott proved it could be done. He also retained an amazing average of more than one Special Teams block per game on extra points, field goals, and punts. During his tenure The Venom accredited over half of their wins to Special Teams play. Feats that haven't been reached since he left. Scott now returns to The Venom who are in need of his help. The Venom Special Teams did not play very well in 2009, but should see huge strides and get back to form for 2010 with him at the helm. Scott had this to say, "Special Teams is one third of the game, yet it's over in an instant. You can switch momentum, come back from behind, or put a nail in the coffin. It's a time when everyone out there can light someone up and I can't wait to come back!"

All this being said, we must put things into perspective. The Milwaukee Venom had many obstacles to overcome in the 2009 season. Some of which started with the spiral of injuries that plagued the team, an unlucky 13 ironically. This led to depth issues and effected special teams play. The Venom saw 4 different QB's lead their team in only 11 games. There was the issue of many different players learning a new system. The list of things that went wrong seems to be one of a team that would go a season without a single win. We must put things into perspective, this is The Milwaukee Venom we are talking about, a team that has persevered through many many seasons of adversity! The coaching staff was the glue that held this team together through it's darkest hour and somehow managed to will it's team into the 2009 IFL Playoffs! We must put things into perspective, character is not shown when everything's all good, it is revealed when things go wrong! This team equals something greater than it's individual parts, the coveted Black and Orange mainstay of the IFL wouldn't have made it for almost the last decade if it was. The award winning coaching staff of The Milwaukee Venom (IFL Coaching Staff of the Year 2006 & 2008) is adding to it's already dangerous squad of innovators and changers of the game. The additions fit perfectly, 2010 will be a very interesting season here in Venom country!