May 10th, 2017 Hudson Raider 9th Grade Football Players and Parents: I hope this letter finds all of you well. For those of you who have driven to the high school in recent weeks, you can see there is something exciting going on at the school. For over 50 years, Hudson Raiders have called Newton Field our home. We will always look back on our history and have great memories and pride when we think of Newton Field, capping off its tenure with a thrilling 19-14 win over BRC rival Chippewa Falls in the WIAA playoffs. But now, as we look forward to another season of Hudson Raider Football, we will open a new chapter in a brand new stadium. We are so appreciative to the community for the support in this endeavor and are excited about the opportunity to call this field our new “Home of the Raiders”. As we approach this monumental season, I wanted to give you a full schedule of events and all of the dates and times that 9th grade football players and parents should know. Note: These events and dates are for players who will be in 9th grade this fall. A separate letter for players in grades 10-12 was already sent out to players and parents since some of the dates and times are different. NAVY-WHITE SPRING GAME: Friday, June 23rd (7:00 PM) It is time for our 8th annual Navy-White Spring game at Newton Field to conclude our five-day mini-camp. Come to Newton Field on Friday, June 23rd to get a sneak preview of the 2017 Raiders. All players in grades 10-12 will participate. The Benchwarmers will be providing food during the event, so parents and families can arrive early and have a chance to enjoy the evening with others as they watch the Raiders for the first time in 2017. ABC & RAIDER PRIDE FOOTBALL CAMPS: (Monday - Thursday) July 10th – 13th Another staple of the Hudson Football program has been the annual ABC Football Camp, in its 17th year. Many current and former players were introduced to the game at these camps. This year, the ABC Football Camp will again include athletes going into 3rd grade through 6th grade. Taking place concurrently with the ABC Camp will be the Raider Pride Football Camp for athletes in grades 7-9. We will continue to focus on fundamentals, teamwork, and making the game safe and fun at the lower grades. For players in grades 7-9, we will also incorporate some of the schemes and techniques that we do at the high school to get these players ready for the middle school and 9th grade programs. And, since we do not have high school mini-camp for players in 9th grade, they are encouraged to attend this camp to get a jump on the upcoming fall season. This year’s camp will take place at Newton Field and the adjacent fields near EP Rock, and is coached by the high school and middle school football coaching staffs as well as by many of the current high school players. Registration can be done online at the Hudson Football web site, www.hudsonfootball.org. Conference Champions 1936, 1942, 1944, 1948, 1954, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1974, 1982, 2009, 2012, 2013 WIAA State Playoff Participants 1996, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 State Semi-Finalists 2012, 2013

RAIDER ELITE - SUMMER 2017: Monday, June 12th through Friday, July 28th Raider Elite is a specialized program for the athletes of Hudson School District entering grades 9-12. It is made possible through the partnership between the athletic department and Catalyst Sports Medicine. A team of certified strength and conditioning coaches from Catalyst Sports Medicine design and implement the program with the goals to teach proper lifting techniques, injury reduction, and gain strength, speed, and power. Summer 2017 Dates: Begins on Monday, June 12th and continues every week Monday through Friday* and ends Friday, July 28th (No sessions on Tuesday, July 4th). Every session is 1 ½ hours long (except the 4:00 pm session at Catalyst Sports Medicine is 1 hour). On Fridays* athletes will have the opportunity to participate in a recovery workout (including yoga, foam rolling, and stretching) for an hour from 10:00-11:00 am. Yoga dates are June 16, 23, 30 and July 7, 14, 21. Times/Days for Raider Elite Summer 2017: 7:00-8:30 AM (Co-ed Athlete Session) Monday-Thursday at HHS Weight Room 8:30-10:00 AM (Female Athlete Only Session) Monday-Thursday at HHS Weight Room 10:00-11:30 AM (Co-ed Athlete Session) Monday-Thursday at HHS Weight Room 4:00-5:00 AM (Co-ed Athlete Session, Limited to 20 Athletes) Monday-Thursday at Catalyst Sports Medicine *10:00-11:00 AM (Recovery/Yoga) Friday at HHS Weight Room Price: $115.00 includes all 39 sessions of weight lifting, speed, agility, and quickness training, as well as recovery/yoga on Fridays. Notes: We will need every athlete planning to participate to come to the HHS weight room during our Test-In Week of Tuesday, May 30th - Friday, June 2nd from 3:00-5:00 pm. If those dates/times do not work, Test-Ins will continue June 12th-15th when summer starts or call Scott Hintz, Head Strength Coach, to set up a different Test-In time. We would like to get as many athletes tested as we can before we start on June 12th. How to Register: 1) Go to the Hudson High School Athletics webpage and scroll down to the Raider Elite Summer info. - OR 2) Go to the Catalyst Sports Medicine webpage, go to Services, and scroll down to Strength and Conditioning, then scroll down to Raider Elite. - OR use this link: https://tms.ezfacility.com/OnlineRegistrations/Register.aspx?CompanyID=4149&GroupID=1817566 FALL SPORTS REGISTRATION: Online beginning mid-July Online registration will again be in place again for fall sports this year. Forms for registration can be completed online around mid-July. Check the high school athletic website for details as to when the online registration is open. Here are the 3 things that need to be done in order to register for football before August 7th: 1. Register and pay online in FeePay. If families chose to pay by cash you may do so, but you still are required to fill out the registration form in FeePay. Click on "add to cart" for football. This brings up the registration form. You must fill it out and add it to your cart. Once it is in your cart, the athletic office can go in and update if you are paying with cash. 2. Students must go to their Skyward Account and complete their Athletic Registration. It is their acknowledgement of the Rules of Eligibility, WIAA Concussion and Code of Conduct. 3. WIAA Physical or Alternate Year Card must be turned into the Athletic Office. Make sure all forms are completed before August 7th, including physical if needed. Physicals are needed every other year. If you are not sure if you need one, check with the athletic office at the high school. The athletic office will be open during the day the week before football begins.

PRACTICE BEGINS FOR GRADE 9: Monday, August 7th (8:00 AM) We will have equipment hand-out as well as the first day of practice for 9th graders on Monday, August 7th. Check in will be at 8 AM and players must have all paperwork completed online, including fee paid and physical completed in order to get equipment and participate. The first day will conclude at 12:30 PM. This is an hour later than normal since we will be getting equipment as well in the morning. The only thing that is up in the air right now is where we will be practicing during two-a-days. We are scheduled to practice at Newton Field for the first couple of weeks, but there is a chance the stadium as well as practice fields will be ready at the high school for us to practice on right away in August. We will be ready for both cases, but will hand out equipment at the high school regardless of where we will be practicing on day one. We will continue to practice the same way as we have the past few of years due to WIAA regulations. The WIAA calls it their fall acclimatization guidelines for football, which essentially is the body adapting to exercising in heat to be able to tolerate physical activity. These guidelines do not allow for two-a-day practices on back-to-back days, limit the time that can be spent practicing, as well as requiring a long break between twoa-day practices. The highlights of the format to adhere to the WIAA guidelines are as follows:  Every other day can be a long day (which means we can have two practices)  Long Day 8:00 – 8:45 AM Meetings 8:45 – 10:45 AM Practice 10:45 – 11:30 AM Cool down and film 6:00 – 6:30 PM Meetings 6:30 – 8:00 PM Practice *Note: the evening practice will be helmets only  Short Day 8:00 – 8:45 AM Meetings 8:45 – 10:45 AM Practice 10:45 – 11:30 AM Cool down and film 11:30 AM – Noon Weight Lifting The calendar below outlines the schedule for the first few weeks of the season. Once the second week begins, the typical practice time for the 9th grade is from 3:00 – 5:00 PM (3:00 – 4:45 PM on Thursdays) and will continue throughout the season. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday August 6

13

No Practice 20

No Practice 27

No Practice 3

No Practice

7 First Day for 9th grade 8 AM-12:30 PM 6-8 PM Parent Meeting 7:45 PM 14

8 8 AM-Noon Gold Card Blitz 4:30-7:30 PM

9

11

8-11:30 AM 6-8 PM

10 1:00 – 4:00 PM Pigskin Picnic 5:00 – 7:00 PM

15

16

17 School Starts

18

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 4:45 PM

12

8 AM-Noon No Practice

19

No Practice 26

21

22

23

24

25

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 4:45 PM

28

29

30

September 1

No Practice 2

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

31 9th Blue EC North 4:45 3:00-5:00 PM

4 Labor Day

5

6

No Practice 8

No Practice 9

3:00 – 5:00 PM

3:00 – 5:00 PM

7 9th Blue Superior 4:45 3:00-5:00 PM

No Practice

3:00 – 4:45 PM No Practice

www.hudsonfootball.org

PARENT/COACH MEETING: Monday, August 7th (7:45 PM) For the second year in a row, the parent meeting for all players in grades 9-12 will be during the 2nd week of August, on Monday, August 7th at 7:45 PM. We have two-a-day practices on this day so the teams will be finishing up practice around 8 PM. As of right now, the site of the meeting is TBD due to construction at the high school. Coach Kowles will have a brief meeting with parents of players in grades 10-12 while Coach Grossenbacher will meet the 9th grade parents. The meeting will last no more than 30 minutes. RAIDER CARD BLITZ: Tuesday, August 8th (4:30 – 7:30 PM) Players will begin selling Raider cards on the first day of practice. We have extended the selling time of these cards into the second week to give players the weekend to sell and also to include the 9th grade in our blitz. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and is needed to offset some of the travel costs for this season as well as field equipment for the new practice fields. HUDSON RAIDERS PIGSKIN PICNIC: Thursday, August 10th (5:00 – 7:00 PM) We are excited for our fourth annual Hudson Raider Pigskin Picnic! Please mark your calendars for Thursday, August 10th from 5:00-7:00 PM for this fun-filled family event which will be held at Newton Field. We hope you will take time to come out and meet your extended football family! Our goal is for families and players to make connections, have fun, kick off the upcoming season, and continue to support the Raider Program. LABOR DAY WEEKEND There will be no practice for 9th grade players on Friday, September 1st of Labor Day weekend and also no practice on Labor Day, Monday, September 4th, so players will be able to take advantage of the long weekend. FINISH THE SCHOOL YEAR STRONG With still over a month left in the school year, it is crucial that we all finish strong in the classroom. Just as some of the most important plays in a football game can happen during the final moments in the fourth quarter, we have the opportunity to make tremendous gains in class. Pour everything that you can into the last few weeks. See your teachers for extra help. Use your football coaches as resources for extra help in classes as well. Set up study groups for finals. Let’s see what we can do as a group and get the job done. Set goals now. Turn B’s into A’s, turn C’s into B’s. Find a way to get the job done in the classroom. 2017 SEASON We are thrilled to embark on our new journey this season. It will be the first time the Hudson Raiders will play a true home game, with the stadium being right on campus. As we pondered mottos to represent the 2017 team, three themes continued to emerge and three quotes were the focus in creating this year’s motto. The first quote is one that speaks to challenges in life, and there is a way to overcome anything if the right path can be found, which can be difficult unless you begin trying whatever it is that you want to achieve. “Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.” - Theodore Roethke We always talk about team in everything we do. Our efforts can only be maximized by doing things together. It is not about the 11 best that matters on a football field, it is about the best 11 that truly makes the difference. My favorite quote deals with the fact that we are all in this together. There is a similar version of this quote that is credited to Harry S. Truman as well. “It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.” - John Wooden Finally, there are times when we want to do things that have never been done before. There may not be a direct path over a mountain because nobody has ever climbed it before. If we want to be the first to achieve these goals, we must do it using our own blueprint, and not something that others have done before. The following quote summarizes this idea. “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson By putting these ideas together, it became clear what this year’s motto should be.

HUDSON FOOTBALL 2017 – CREATE OUR PATH THANK YOU, PARENTS As always, a huge thank you goes out to all of the parents in the program. As coaches, we could not do what we do without your trust and support. Each year I am so impressed by the character of the young men that we are able to work with, and it’s because of all of you. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or at (715) 377-3800 ext. 6322. Thanks for your support and we’ll see you soon as we “Create Our Path”. Sincerely, Adam Kowles Head Football Coach 2017 HUDSON VARSITY FOOTBALL Opponent Site Scrimmage La Crosse Logan Kenosha Indian Trail Away Stevens Point Home Eau Claire North Home Superior Home Menomonie Away Rice Lake Home Eau Claire Memorial Away Chippewa Falls Home River Falls Away

Day Fri Fri Fri Fri Fri Fri Fri Fri Fri Fri

Date 8/11 8/18 8/25 9/1 9/8 9/15 9/22 9/29 10/6 10/13

Time 4:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM

Day Thu Thu Thu Thu Thu Thu Thu

2017 HUDSON 9TH GRADE BLUE FOOTBALL (not complete) Date Opponent Site Time 8/31 Eau Claire North Home 4:45 PM 9/7 Superior Home 4:45 PM 9/14 Menomonie Away 4:45 PM 9/21 Rice Lake Home 4:45 PM 9/28 Eau Claire Memorial Away 4:45 PM 10/5 Chippewa Falls Home 4:30 PM 10/12 River Falls Away 4:30 PM

2017 HUDSON 9TH GRADE WHITE FOOTBALL GAME SCHEDULE TBD* *Once into the league schedule, the 9th grade White team plays on Mondays