(Story courtesy of Southwestern University)
GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Team Stars & Stripes head coach Don De Waard has named his coaching staff for the fourth annual Tazón de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) to be played at La Fortaleza Azul (The Blue Fortress) in Guadalajara in Mexico at 12pm CET on Saturday, December 15.
De Waard has selected five assistant coaches who are all current or former head coaches in their own right and either have experience of the Tazón de Estrellas and Aztec Bowl or have taken teams overseas to play internationally through Global Football.
De Waard will take responsibility for the defense, while former Augustana College head coach Jim Barnes will assume the role of Offensive Coordinator. Joe Austin from Southwestern University and Tim Lester of Elmhurst College will also hold offensive duties, while Steve Briggs of Susquehanna University and Lake Forest College’s Jim Catanzaro will work with the defense.
Team Stars & Stripes Coaching Staff
Don De Waard, Central, Head Coach & Defensive Coordinator
Jim Barnes, Augustana College (Ret.), Offensive Coordinator
Tim Lester, Elmhurst College, Offensive Coach
Joe Austin, Southwestern University, Offensive Coach
Steve Briggs, Susquehanna University, Defensive Coach
Jim Catanzaro, Lake Forest College, Defensive Coach
John Roslien, Central College, Player Personnel Director
De Waard, the defensive coordinator at Central College (Iowa), is a veteran of previous Tazón de Estrellas and its predecessor the Aztec Bowl. This year he takes over the head coaching responsibilities from former Weidner College head coach Bill Manlove, who was at the helm from 2009 to 2011.
The 50-man Team Stars & Stripes roster of players nominated by head coaches at NCAA D-III colleges and organized by Global Football will look to avenge a 45-27 loss suffered last year at the hands of the home team drawn from the CONADEIP national conference of private schools in Mexico. The first group of players selected will be announced before the Thanksgiving weekend.
“A huge thanks to each of these quality coaches, each of whom is giving up a week of their personal time just before Christmas to coach some of the top D3 players in America, as they prepare to play Mexico’s very best,” said Global Football President Patrick Steenberge. “This is not a typical all-star game, but a very competitive contest which will take a huge effort on the part of our players and coaches if we are going to win. This will be a very special experience, and I am happy to bring along this select team to celebrate the 15th year of this event for Division III football.”
Team Stars & Stripes Coaching Staff Bios
Offensive Coordinator Jim Barnes spent ten seasons as head coach of Augustana College and led the team to three College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin titles and participated in two NCAA Division III playoffs. He takes over the offensive reins having been the Team Stars & Stripes running backs coach for all three previous Tazón de Estrellas games. In 2011 he traveled to Nigeria as part of a visit by the Amobi Okoke Foundation to hold coaching clinics and teach American football on the African continent.
Prior to Augustana, Barnes had five-year tenure as the head coach of College of Wooster in Ohio where he took over a Fighting Scott program that had been 1-9 in 1994. In the following two seasons, he led the team to records of 5-5 and 7-3. In 1997, he pushed the Scots to a 9-1 mark - their best in 74 years - and a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference title.
Tim Lester’s Bluejays posted a 9-1 record the 2012 season in his fifth year as head football coach at Elmhurst College. Lester made an immediate impact on the Bluejays in his first season in charge, guiding Elmhurst to a 7-3 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the CCIW and coached five Bluejays to all-conference honors. Lester played professionally for the Nashville Kats and Carolina Cobras of the Arena Football League, the Memphis Xplorers of the Arena Football League 2, and the Chicago Enforcers of the XFL.
Joe Austin was announced as Southwestern's Head Football Coach in February 2012, charged with reinstating football at a school that had not competed in the sport for more than 62 years. Austin was the Team Stars & Stripes Special Teams coach at the 2010 and 2011 Tazón de Estrellas. Austin came to Southwestern, who will commence play in 2013, after transforming Hanover College's football program in a short time frame. In three years at Hanover he took a team that was in a decline to a rising star in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, finishing in second place the last two seasons.
Steve Briggs continues to collect accolades and victories at Susquehanna University and began his 23rd season as head coach of in 2012. He has accumulated a 134–117 record during his tenure to stand as the winningest coach in school history. In 2010, the Crusaders embarked on their first season as a member of the Centennial Conference and went 6-4 in both 2011 and 2012. Briggs compiled 13 non-losing seasons in 20 years from 1990 to 2009, including each of his first 11 campaigns. In addition, Briggs has coached 223 games at Susquehanna, more than any coach in program history.
Jim Catanzaro marked his fourth season as head coach of Lake Forest College with an 8-2 record having been the team's defensive coordinator the previous three seasons. Under Catanzaro's direction, the 2011 Foresters set or tied 26 school records, including single-season team marks for points and yards per game, while in 2012 he posted an 8-2 record. Catanzaro came to Lake Forest from NCAA Division II Wingate University, where he was the defensive line coach for three seasons. The Bulldog defense tallied 86 sacks, led the South Atlantic Conference in turnovers twice, and helped the 2004 team post the best single-season record in the program's history.
John Roslien is a member of the staff for his 15th venture into Mexico for either the Tazón de Estrellas or Aztec Bowl. He came to Central College as head athletic trainer in 1986, becoming the athletic training education program director in 2003. He is also an associate professor of exercise science. Roslien was inducted into the Iowa Athletic Trainers Society (IATS) Hall of Honor in 2007 and is a past president of the organization. A native of Decorah, Iowa, Roslien received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in sports administration from Western Illinois University.
