Week 11 Pictures

Here are some of the pictures from our game at Cowboys Stadium. What a great memory that will be for our team and for your sons and family for many years to come. I would really encourage you to look at Keller Pix and see if there are any memories that you would like to have. These are great pictures and they capture some amazing moments and scenes from our football season.

Enjoy the photos and I will be posting more after the holidays. Keep checking the blog for important information about our football program, and have a great end of the week.

Go Blue!

Kevin Atkinson

2009 Wrap Up 2

The end of a season is similar to death. It happens so fast and without very much warning and then all of a sudden it is over. No work on Sunday, no film Monday morning, no practice, no planning. It is just over. The week after football season is the week I dislike the most for the entire year. This week does not fit into the routine at all.

Our final game tradition is great in my opinion. It provides closure and an opportunity to say thank you and to pass the torch. Underclassmen thank the seniors, seniors give encouragement, and coaches, players, fans and family have a chance to say goodbye to a football player. To describe it as emotional would be a very bad understatement. Young men are saying goodbye to something that they have poured years of their short lives in to. It is an ending of a chapter of their life and transition into their next phase of life. I am grateful to be able to share these moments with them.

Some of your sons cry. Some of them bawl. Some hugs last longer than others. Some coaches share special words and give encouragement and guidance for the future. Some laugh and crack jokes. Parents and siblings hold on longer and linger in the hall way. Even at 1:30 in the morning it is tough for them to walk out the door and leave football behind. These emotions and tears remind me that we teach more than just football here. We are teaching life to these boys and that is our main goal. Football teams will come and go. The real success comes in the future years when your sons use the lessons from our football program to make decisions. To have Courage, or to be Humble. To Believe, to Love, to Unite and to Encourage. To have Empathy. To Overcome Adversity. To Finish what is difficult. To Win, to have Passion, to Overachieve. We wanted your sons to be great at football and to have a positive experience in athletics. But more important to us is that your sons become strong young men, who become faithful husbands and loving fathers. Those are the successes that we are working toward. We do what we do in football to help raise your sons to be the best they can be. It is our privilege to do this and we are grateful for the opportunity.

Go Blue!

Kevin Atkinson

2009 Wrap Up 1

It was a great season and I was very pleased with the effort and desire that your sons gave at last night's game. We played hard, caused Coppell to turn the ball over and moved the ball down the field but in the end we were unable to capitalize on some of their mistakes and came up on the short end. I am very please that we played well and fought the entire evening. I was so happy for our team to be able to experience Texas Stadium and have that memory.

The evening ended with our traditional receiving line for the seniors. It was a late night, early morning, but well worth it and the Indian Football Family benefits from those final moments in the locker room. I will share more about that event later on when my thoughts are more gathered and I get more than 4 hours of sleep.

Thank you for your time and support this year. The parents and football community at Keller High is special and the love and unity that is here at Keller is unlike any school I have been at before. Have a great Sunday, love on your sons and I will post again later.

Thank you again.

Go Blue.

Kevin Atkinson

The Night Before the Night Before

We are close. We are getting ready. We are almost there, but we are still waiting for our time. I remind the team often that we do not need to be ready to play until it is time to play. Being ready now does not make us ready at kickoff. I ended practice today encouraging your sons to mentally prepare for the next 48 hours. The physical preparation is almost finished. We will still do some practicing and have another walk through, but the mental side of the game is what they need to be working on now. Seeing their reads, their blocks, their gap, their fit, their route, their running lane, their throw and catch and their victory. Being physically prepared is only part of the game. We must be ready to execute and win mentally.

Now let me tell you that that has been a great week of practice. The tempo is high, the energy is contagious and the mood is positive. Your sons have done everything we have asked them to do this week and we are nearly ready to play.

Saturday night will be life long memory and we want to make the most of it. I hope you are prepared for a great evening in an amazing stadium. Let me encourage you to enjoy these moments because they come and go quickly. Enjoy every second and talk to your sons about what they are experiencing. Have them tell you about practice and the locker room and the bus ride over to Texas Stadium, and the tunnel leading to the field and the feeling they have when they first enter that magnificent place. Your boys are experiencing something that only a handful of high school athletes will get to experience. Help them enjoy and remember these days.

We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday evening. You are a vital part of the Keller Indian Football Family and we as a coaching staff would like to again express our appreciation for all of the sacrifices you have made for our team to be here. Enjoy you Friday.

Go BLUE !!!!!!!!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Pictures

Here is the latest sample of pictures from Keller Pix. The rest of the album is great and I would really like to encourage you to check out all of the great shots that Robert gets of our players and football family.

We had a great weekend of work and are confidently planning our game plan for Week 11. It is great to be in the playoffs again, but we are not satisfied with just getting here. We want to make the most of every minute we have in the post season and we will be preparing your sons to play fast and with confidence. This is just the beginning.

Have a great week and we will see you at Texas Stadium.

Go BLUE !!!!!!!!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Week 11 Sounds Great

It is a wonderful thing to say that we are heading to the playoffs. If adds to the excitement and joy when we get to play our first playoff game in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. What a great event for our players, coaches, families and community to get to enjoy. I can't wait until Saturday night at 8:30 when the Indians of Keller High take the field. I hope you will all be able to come and support our team.

I will have information on tickets, playoff T-shirts and other items that you will want to be informed of in the first part of the week. As details get finalized I will pass on information to the community using this blog and the cyber-sport email. Be looking for information and share any news you get with the Indian Community.

Friday was a special game and the players did do most of things we asked them to do. They did fulfill their end of the bargain by meeting the goals that we set for our team back in May. We are the Keller City Champs in football for 2009 and that is something to be very proud of. We are going to the playoffs and no other Keller I.S.D. football team is doing that this year. That is also something to be proud of. Now we will work to fulfill the other goals as they come within reach and encourage our team to do everything they can for their team and for our community.

I would like to share some difficult news at this time. Most of you have received my emails but for those who have not I would like to inform you that we had two J.V. football players sustain injuries in Thursday nights games that required medical attention.

Tyler: He has a lacerated Spleen. He is in the hospital in Fort Worth. As of now they do not think surgery will be necessary. He has been in ICU, but should be in a regular room by tomorrow...hopefully the spleen will heel and will not need to be removed.

Jordan: He was injured during the JV Blue game after a big hit. On Friday he was still feeling a little numbness in his arms. He then went to his primary care physician where x-rays were taken. He was then sent to Harris Methodist in Fort Worth because he had a broken neck. Jordan had extensive surgery today that lasted well over 8 hours. After talking to his parents, everything went very well...and we are hoping and praying for a full recovery.

Some of our coaches have visited these two young men and our hearts and prayers go out to them and to their families. Please keep these boys and their parents in your prayers. We have a great Indian Family and I believe there is nothing more powerful than the power of prayer. I will keep everyone updated during the next few days.

Pictures of the win against Fossil will be here soon and I will post them the minute I get them. Have a great weekend and start making your plans for Saturday. It will be a great day.

Go Blue!!!!!!!!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Tough Loss # 2

We have had two this season that could have and should have gone our way. Little mistakes have kept us from wins against GHS and CHHS, but we cannot dwell on those games. The most important game of the year is this Friday, and it will be great atmosphere. Our playoff hopes rest in the outcome of our game with Fossil Ridge and we are doing everything possible to prepare our team for victory. The goal of the week is to be our BEST. We are asking for each player to give their BEST this week so we can be our BEST as a team this Friday.

On a different note we are celebrating the end of the 9 week grading cycle with stickers for "A's". For each "A" that a varsity player gets he is rewarded with a Golden Tomahawk for his helmet. I will have a complete total of the number of "A's" that our program has achieved, but many of our athletes will earn 5 and 6 Golden Tomahawks. It is a tribute the the quality of student athlete that we have at Keller High.

I have received pictures from the previous weeks from our hard working photographers. They are behind schedule and they are aware of that, but you should know that they take roughly 2000 pictures per weekend for our football program and finding the best ones to keep is a difficult process. Here are some of the latest and I really encourage you to visit Keller Pix and save some of memories that your sons have created this year.

Have a great week and I will communicate again before Friday.

Go BLUE !!!!!!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Healthy???

The sick bug is flying around. We are almost 100% healthy and we need to stay that way. Coach Berry has been out sick for 2 days and I tell you this so you will be watching your sons closely and making sure they are healthy. Coach Berry tried to come in to practice today and I made him go home so he would not spread whatever he has.

Let me encourage you to get some Vitamin C in your sons and remind them to get plenty of rest. Remind them to wash their hands often and not share drinks with each other. These are little things but they can help and possibly prevent any more sickness in our field house. I have told your sons this very statement many times: "there is not one of us that is going to win the game for our team, but there might be one of us that could cause us to loose." I have said this primarily in reference to the guys doing their job on the field, but I want to make sure that sickness does not cause one of us to miss practice or a game. Please take care of your sons and help them stay healthy.

On the other hand I am very grateful for the Defensive staff who has not missed a beat with Coach Berry being gone. Practice has been smooth and we are getting ready for Friday night. I expect a great crowd and I look forward to seeing the stands full. Have a great week.

Go BLUE!!!!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Great Game!!!

It was a great night for high school football. The weather, the stands, the kids going wild on the field, and the boys playing with heart and passion. I was very proud of the entire effort that was given and proud of the victory that our team achieved.

It was not a perfect game, but it seemed that when ever the offense had a struggle or gave the ball up the defense was ready to step in and hold the line. And the offense came through with some big plays and some long drives that created scoring opportunities for the team. It was a great team effort in all phases. And I would be making a huge mistake to not mention our sophomore kicker Seth Wicks and his ability to finish the game and seal the deal.

Now we move forward to our next task. I know it seems that we don't celebrate the victories enough, but as a team and as a staff we have to move on to the next goal and build on what happened on Thursday night. Colleyville is a strong team and we will have to be physically and mentally ready to defeat them. We will be playing at home again and would like to encourage everyone to come out to the game and bring a friend. We will be working diligently to bring another victory to our school and community and we take all the support we can get.

Have a great weekend and pictures will be here soon so keep checking in with the blog. Also, send this web site around to your local friends and make sure everyone is aware of the our team blog.

Go BLUE !!!!!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Northwest Pictures

Here are a few of the latest pictures from Keller Pix. I would encourage you to view all of the pictures taken at last weeks games, from all levels and see some of the great pictures of your sons. Have a great week.

Go BLUE !!!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Getting Closer to Our Goals.

We have moved one step closer to our goal of playing in December. The victory on Friday night against Northwest was not exactly as we had planned, but a Win is still a Win and we are pleased and ready to move forward. Several weeks ago I mentioned to our team and to the coaches that we are basically the only team to really challenge Trinity. We play them very well. I sometimes feel that everyone else feels that same way toward us. Everyone seems to play better against us then they did the previous weeks, and that is something that we accept. Our promise is that we will work harder this week than we did last week and that we will give your sons every opportunity to be successful on the football field, and in life.

This coming week is a short one for our players, coaches and fans. We play L.D. Bell on Thursday night at our stadium and the kick off will take place at 7 p.m. This is a significant game for us and we will be working hard in this short week to be mentally ready for the game. We benefit from the wonderful encouragement of our fans, the great spirit of the Cheerleaders, Indianettes and Spirit Crew, and the Keller High Band creates a special atmosphere for all of use to benefit from. We will need all Indian supporters there for this weeks game. It will be a great on.

Have a wonderful Sunday and first half of the week.

Go BLUE !!!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Follow Us

Let me encourage you to join Clete and become a FOLLOWER of the Keller Indian blog. Click on the link to the right that says follow and the directions will be there. It would be great to see a full list of faithful fans of the Indians.

Go BLUE !!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Tough Loss

I am still looking for the best words to explain the way that our team and coaching staff feels about the loss on Saturday afternoon to Grapevine. We were so very near to having a really solid game, and film on Sunday showed us that the errors that we made were small but very significant. I am still disappointed, but I have pledged to our staff and to the team that we will not let the loss to Grapevine beat us twice. I share with them the monkey story, and I let the team and staff know that we will let go of this game and it will not come back to beat us again. What is in the past will not return to cause us more pain.

So we prepare for our game against Northwest and we look forward to Friday night when the past can be erased with a victory. The boys had a great workout this afternoon and we are aggressively preparing your sons to be a wise and prepared team. We will be adjusting our practice times slightly to avoid the possible rain that is fore casted. Hopefully we will be able to have a normal practice week, but if the rain does come please be aware that our times and locations on practice might be altered.

As always I would like to remind you how fortunate we are to live and work in this community. We are grateful for the great showing of support at the games and we welcome you to visit practice if your work schedule allows it. Your sons are doing everything we ask them to do and we as a staff would not trade their heart or desire for anything. We hope you have a great week and I can't wait until Friday.

Go BLUE !!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Pictures From Central

Here are a few pictures from the Central game. We have had a great week so far and we are getting ready to take on the Mustangs of Grapevine High. Don't forget the homecoming carnival that begins at 12 noon on Saturday with kick off taking place at 4 p.m. See you there.

Go BLUE !!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

1 and 1

First of all, here is a link to the news report of our homecoming pep rally that took place Friday morning. The gym was full and the energy was the best it has been in a long time. We had the varsity players escort in our Breast Cancer Survivors and they were honored again at the football game. What a true story of courage that those women have given us. Enjoy the broadcast.

We played well against the Central Chargers. There are always many things to improve and work on from a Friday night game, but when you win those corrections are much easier to make. I was very proud of the way our boys played and I am very happy to be one step closer to our first goal of being Keller Champs. That is something we will be working on and dreaming about in the coming weeks.

I know that sitting on the visitor side is weird for all of you, just as it is for out coaches and players. We are not used to being at that field and looking at the visitor score, but when we win I'll accept it, for now. I hope you noticed the home side stands and the abundance of empty seats that were there. We are very fortunate here at Keller High to have such a wonder parent and school based support system, but we also carry to community name and with that comes a large fan base that is not currently connected to our school. The other schools do not have such a luxury and I want to express to all of Keller that we ware grateful for the fan base that comes out to support the Indians.

This upcoming week is Homecoming for Keller High and there will be plenty of alumni around to see The Keller High School. Please check the Keller High School web site for all of the details involved in this week. I know you will all want to be at the homecoming parade on Monday afternoon and there will be a homecoming carnival on Saturday before the football game against Grapevine which begins at 4 p.m.

I will post the pictures of this last weeks games against Central and I would encourage you to visit Keller Pix and see what memories might have been captured of your sons and their friends. The staff at Keller Pix do a great job of taking action shots of all of the athletic events of Keller I.S.D and we appreciate their involvement.

Have a great weekend and stay dry.

Go BLUE !!!!!

Kevin Atkinson

Trinity

Friday night was an unbelievable experience. The players were ready, the stands were packed, the cheerleaders and drill team were great, the band was loud ..... Keller High was well represented.

Your support was tremendous and the boys did so well. We are always disappointed to loose, but we knew from the beginning that this game was not a factor in the goals that we set for ourselves back in May. We want to be the Keller Champs, to Practice on Thanksgivingand to Play in December. These are the goals that our team has and The Trinity Trojans were not going to play a significant role in us reaching these goals. But the Indians still hate to loose. I told your sons and the coaching staff that I hate to loose more than I love to win. I hate it.

But now that it is over and the film has been graded and the steps to improve have been put in place we can move forward and start the journey of reaching our team goals. This upcoming week is an important game. The Central Chargers are a strong team and we will surely see some tricks from them. We will begin our work tomorrow morning with film and practice to ensure that your sons are completely confident with the schemes that they will see while battling the Chargers.

The game will of course be at "our" stadium, but we are allowing the Charges to use "our home sideline" during this game, so remember to find your seats on the visitor side of the stadium. Check the Indian Football web site for times and locations on the sub varsity games and I would encourage you to go watch a J.V. or Freshman game and see those younger kids working hard so that one day they can be under the lights on Friday night.

Here are a few of the pictures from last weeks game. Sub Varsity pictures will be uploaded on Monday on Tuesday when I receive them from Keller Pix.

Thank you again for your support. We are grateful for you and your sons.

Go BLUE !!!!

Kevin Atkinson.

Hurry Up Friday!

The Indians are ready to play RIGHT NOW!!!! This has been a great week of practice and we are ready to put it all on the line against the Trojans of Trinity High.

We want you to believe that we are working hard to teach your boys everything they need to know in order to play fast this week. We are giving them every tool that they will need, and then we plan to turn them loose on the Trojans.

Playing at home, with a great crowd and an incredible atmosphere will be the perfect environment to upset the Trojans. Everyone expects them to win. Everyone expects us to loose. Everyone except the Indians and our fans. This is going to be a great night of Texas High School Football and we can't wait for Friday.

Big Win

We had a big win against the Haltom Buffalos' last Friday evening. They had picked us as there homecoming game and were hoping and planning for a victory for their alumni to enjoy. The Indians had other plans.

After a slow first 2 series on Defense and on Offense, the Indians struck back and were finally in the lead going into half time. We have a very young team, especially on Defense and the adjustment to the speed of the game is something that our guys are working on improving at every week. With strong offensive and defensive pressure in the 3rd and 4th quarters the Indians were able to pull away and finish the final preseason game with a 42 to 25 victory. Seth Wicks was once again flawless with a perfect 6 for 6 in the PAT department. 6 caused fumbles and 4 fumble recoveries on the defensive side proved to be a factor in slowing down the Haltom Offense.

We are busily preparing for the upcoming district opener against Trinity. They are a strong and dangerous opponent and we will be doing our best to prepare your sons for battle this week. Tell everyone you can to come enjoy our first district game this Friday night at the Keller High School stadium as we take on the Trinity Trojans. Your support is needed and always appreciated.

Kevin Atkinson

Go BLUU !!!!

The Little Things.

We are preaching to your sons that the little things matter. The teams, schools, companies, businesses and families that take care of the little things have a greater measure of success. We want our football program and players to focus on the little things, and to do them the right way every time.

In reviewing the film from last weeks game against Martin, I began to notice that when we took care of the little things we had success, but when just one of the players on the field forgot to do so, then we struggled. This cannot happen in our football program for us to reach the goals that we have placed before us.

On the other hand, last week we had 100% of our varsity team turn in their grade check sheets. We have the players of all levels give their teachers a grade sheet so we can monitor their grades every week. When 100% of the varsity team takes care of this, then we have proof that they are learning about the priority of doing the little things right.

Grade check sheets will most likely not help us win a game, but the principal of doing what you are asked to do and doing it correctly could help us win. This is the point that I want your sons to learn. This understanding of doing the little things right is what will help them be a great college student, faithful husband and caring dads. Doing the little things right is not always easy but it is what we should be doing, and if it does not help us win a game now, I want it to help your sons when the stakes are higher than a high school game.

Kevin Atkinson
Go BLUE !!!!

Pictures from Arlington Martin

We would like to encourage you to visit Keller Pix in order to view and enjoy the hundreds of pictures taken at last weeks games. Have a great second half of the week and we look forward to seeing you this Thursday and Friday as the Indians head into their games.

Kevin Atkinson

Go BLUE !!!!

Week 3

For those of you that came and support us in the rain, both Friday night and Saturday afternoon we are thankful for your faithful support of the Indians. The weekend did not produce the results that we planned, practiced and worked for and we are not satisfied with the results.

We did however find many positives in the game from Saturday and we are building on those for this next week and for the rest of this season. We taught from film this morning, and although there were many mistakes to correct we make every effort to build up your sons as we correct their mistakes. The positive from this adversity is that we will learn and grow from our mistakes and be a better team in this week of practice.

We are excited about our upcoming game with Haltom, and we are preparing to bring home a victory this Friday. Pictures from this past weekends games will be posted later today and I encourage you to visit the Keller Pix website and enjoy all the great photos from all of our games.

Have a great day and stay dry.

Kevin Atkinson
Go BLUE !!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away..........

We got rained out, as I am sure you all know. The plan right now is to kick off at Arlington Martin at 12 noon, and execute the same game plan that we were going to this evening. The boys adjusted well the delay and the coaching staff found a place out of the rain and off the bus where they could rest while we waited for the lightening to stop, which it never did. I hope you can all be at the game tomorrow. It will be well worth your time.

I am grateful for the adjustment that the Varsity Moms made and I am sure the morning will be just great. Thank you again for your support and we will see you at noon.

Kevin Atkinson

Go BLUE!!!

Midlothian Pictures

Great pictures from last weeks games against Midlothian. We hope you enjoy these and I would like to encourage you to view Keller Pix and see all the great shots from last weeks games.

Kevin Atkinson

Go BLUE !!!!

Back to Work

We are busily preparing for the upcoming game with Arlington Martin this Friday night. I truly believe that this game will be a rock fight. They were not fully ready for us last year, and we took advantage of that and gained a victory. This year they will be expecting more from us and respecting the Keller Indians more. The staff had a great day of work today and we are excited for practice with the Varsity on Monday morning.

I hope you are as excited as we are about the season that the Indians are preparing to enjoy. We are a focused and driven team and coaching staff, and we are working hard to prepare your sons to do great things both on and off the football field. As always are practices are open to all parents and we encourage you to come watch your son at practice.

I hope the weekend has been restful and that you have enjoyed some quality time with your family. I want to thank you as often as possible for the sacrifice that you as parents make for our football team. We are grateful for all of your support.

Kevin Atkinson
Go BLUE !!!!

1 And 0 is GOOD!!!

It is great to begin the 2009 season 1 and 0. The guys played with heart and passion tonight as we beat the Panthers from Midlothian. Defense played with a ferocious mentality and made some adjustments at half to be more sound in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Offense moved the ball with consistency and had big plays along with steady drives. Special teams are improving and there is still work to do in order to be solid. Highlight of the evening was Sophomore kicker Seth Wicks who was perfect on the night in PAT and Field Goals and did exactly what we asked of him on kick off. Welcome to the team "Little Wicks".

More details and pictures to come, but we are very pleased to begin the season with a win. Thanks for your support and encouragement.

Kevin Atkinson

Head Football Coach

Go Blue!!!!!!!!

Let's Get Ready.....

After a great summer of growing strong and faster, followed by an electric Fall Camp, and an eager beginning to the school year by our players and the coaching staff, your Keller Indians are now ready to take the field this week against the Midlothian Panthers. We are ready to hit the field and add to the longstanding tradition of honor and pride that is expected here with Keller High School Football.

This blog will be one new avenue of communication that I will use to inform our parents, fans and our community of the great things that are taking place here with Keller High Football. We encourage your to get all game day details, including schedules and game times from our team web site of Keller Football. Pictures of the games from all levels will be posted and available for viewing and purchasing from KellerPix, and we encourage you to share this blog site with your friends, both local and in other parts of our state and country so they can follow and support Keller High.

We are always grateful for your continued backing of our football program, our coaches and their families and most importantly our football players, your sons. We are very proud of the teams we have here at Keller High, and the young men that have committed to being Keller Indians in the football program are among the very best around.

Kevin Atkinson

Head Football Coach

Go Blue!!!!!!!!