Missouri FB coaches to gather for insight, fellowship at Dexter

Dexter High School football coach Chad Jamerson speaks to his team following a victory this past season against state-ranked Southern Boone at Charles Bland Stadium in Dexter.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

Dexter High School football coach Chad Jamerson has been picking up nuggets of gridiron knowledge since he was a scrawny kid growing up on the athletic fields of East Prairie. That devotion to learning through the decades paid dividends this fall, as Jamerson led Dexter to its most successful season ever with the Bearcats finishing with an 11-1 record, dominating the SEMO Conference Central Division, and advancing to the MSHSAA Class 3 State Quarterfinals.

As he has for years, Jamerson is organizing the annual Bootheel Football Coaches Clinic next month, not only for himself to continue his never-ending quest to improve but for all coaches to do so.

“For me, as a coach,” Jamerson explained, “I saw a need for (a clinic) where coaches in this area could come together for fellowship, and also to get professional development out of it.”

The Southeast Missouri Area Football Association used to do something similar, but the pandemic of 2020 halted that, and it was never revived, according to Jamerson. He began to conduct a private, invite-only clinic at East Prairie, where coaches would gather around his backyard firepit with their white boards and talk schematics.

In 2022, when he was hired to guide the Dexter football program, he looked at the resources and facilities that school offered, and he expanded on his idea.

“I want to offer, not only for older coaches, an opportunity for fellowship and to learn,” Jamerson said, “but younger coaches, as well.”

This year’s clinic will be held at Dexter High School on February 8 at 8 a.m. and runs into the afternoon following a lunch break. The cost to attend is absolutely free, while the knowledge that is imparted will be invaluable.

“We’re going to have a great turnout,” Jamerson said. “We have a great speaker lineup coming up.”

Those speakers include 10 coaches, including Dom Guglielmo (Caruthersville), Ian Penrod (East Prairie), and Andrew Webster (formerly of Kennett) from the Bootheel.

“We bounce ideas off of each other,” Guglielmo said of his clinic experience. “We spend so much time competing, it’s nice just to spend some time with each other and get to know each other.”

Caruthersville High School football coach Dom Guglielmo and his counterpart at Charleston High School, Justin Hutchings, embrace prior to competing against each other this past season at Charleston High School. (Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com)

Guglielmo, Penrod, and Webster will be joined by Bill Voorhis (Fair Grove), Andrew Gunterman (South Shelby), Chad Masters (DeSmet Jesuit), Bobby Cole (Hazelwood East), Dan Swofford (Mountain Grove), Terrance Poe (DeSmet Jesuit), and Dalton Hill (Palmyra).

Guglielmo will be speaking on how college recruiting of high school athletes has been altered in recent years while Penrod will touch on the intricacies of the flex defense.

Webster will deliver an address on scouting an opponent’s offense and how he has prepared defensive game plans.

“There will be coaches from all over the state,” Jamerson said, “and hopefully, we’ll have some good learning going on.

“If you can leave a clinic for one or two good ideas, it has been a success for you.”

Coaches who would like to attend can reach out to Jamerson via social media, as he is on X (Twitter), as well as Facebook. The Bootheel Football Coaches Clinic has its own page on Facebook, as well.

Jamerson can also be reached via email at cjamerson@dexter.k12.mo.us.