Cornelsen has Indians surging

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When the Hays High Indians looked toward the scoreboard at Salina Stadium and saw the 21-14 victory they had just posted over Salina Central at the end of the 2010 season a sinking reality came crashing down. It wasn’t enough. The simplest way to put it…if Hays High beat Salina Central by 13 or more points, the Indians broke a 15 plus year drought of missing the playoffs.

The first two seasons under head coach Ryan Cornelsen have yielded a flashy 14-4 record. Some teams may rejoice after back-to-back 7-2 seasons, whether making the playoffs or not. That, however, is not good enough in the eyes of the young head coach that is considered among one of the top up and coming coaches in the state of Kansas.

“To me, I think you have to make a run at the state championship game. Half the teams are going to make the playoffs, so that shows you with us not making it, we are in the bottom half," Cornelsen said. "You can sugar coat it all you want with your record, reality of it is you got to make the top half of the teams in 5A. Our goal is to be one of the top six or eight teams year in and year out.”

For most football fans the last name Cornelsen takes them back to Liberal High School, where Ryan’s father, Gary, rolled to win after win and state title after state title behind a Redskin team that was feared from border to border. The question that Ryan Cornelsen gets asked more than any… “Do you feel you the need to do better than your dad?”

Simply put, “The reality of it is, I am very proud of what he did, I’m not trying to duplicate it. Yes I would like to be as successful as he was. That’s not a goal of mine to somehow over match him. I’m going to do my thing and try to be successful like he did. Hopefully we can have the same sort of tradition started here at Hays High.”

But let’s face it, if coach Ryan Cornelsen has the chance to match some of those records set by coach Gary Cornelsen, it will be a pretty stellar career.

The road to Hays High didn’t take too many turns. Cornelsen spent time in WaKeeney at Trego Community High School as an assistant coach and then took the LaCrosse program to new heights. With a wealth of 2A talent, Cornelsen quickly established LaCrosse as one of the best programs in the class.

Cornelsen compiled a 53-13 record in six seasons with LaCrosse and has run his overall head coaching record to 67-17 while at Hays High.

Cornelsen gives credit to several other coaches in helping shape his philosophy. From week to week Cornelsen will call Todd Wilson, the defensive coordinator when Cornelsen was a player in Liberal and is now head coach in Yukon, Okla.

From his dad, Cornelsen learned about needing a year round program and the mindset of expecting to win night in and night out. Cornelsen’s dad also taught him how to treat kids and how to get the most out of each kid.

He learned about intensity from Bill Keeley, former coach at LaCrosse High School.

While at LaCrosse, Cornelsen also spent time with head coach Bo Black of Great Bend learning the dynamics of how to implement a vaunted passing game in with a great running game. Cornelsen did this knowing that his own past had him well versed in the run game from his time in Liberal, but also knowing that the passing attack is something he would need down the road.

So how does Cornelsen get kids to buy into the program, and him? First, winning helps. Coming off successful years in LaCrosse and having just sent a player (Marshall Musil) to the University of Oklahoma, gave Cornelsen instant credibility. But it just isn’t on the field that Cornelsen gets through to his kids.

“I think number one you got to show them respect. I think they got to know you care about them beyond them just being a player. I hope our kids understand that the amount of time and effort that I ask of them, because of that I have a lot of respect for them as individual people. I care about them and care about what they do with their future where they go on to college, to a job, or to play football.”

While it is easy to spot the head coach stalking the sidelines before and during games (some say in a mirror image of his dad), Cornelsen would rather stay away from the spotlight. Instead he wants the praise and the accolades to land squarely on the shoulder of his kids. Listing public speaking as one of his biggest weaknesses, Cornelsen instead finds himself most at ease elsewhere.

“I’m most comfortable at the practice field or in the weight room where I can push the kids to be successful. As a coach there is a certain amount of attention you’re going to get and you have to be able to handle that. But the reality of it is, to me it’s about the kids. It’s important they get the recognition for their hard work. I’m not catching the ball or throwing the ball.” 

Hays High hasn’t made the playoffs since 1995. In fact the Indians have only been in the playoffs five times in program history. So, can it be done at Hays High?

“I really think it can. I wouldn’t have taken then job, if I didn’t think it can be done” Cornelsen says. “It’s a process, it’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. We’ve tried to change the culture. I feel like we’ve changed it to a certain extent. Our kids are buying in, our kids are working hard. There is a lot of little things that got to change to be at that level year in and year out. I think the core things you need are kids willing to work hard, good assistant coaches, and a mindset of winning.”

As a head coach at Hays High Cornelsen has taken the opportunity to assemble a staff that includes at least three coaches with previous head coaching experience.

So what will it take to move the Indians to the contender category? Well talent never hurts and Hays High should have quality talent to compete on a high level in 2011. Luck always has something to do with it. The Indians had enough bad luck at quarterback in 2010 to last the next decade. But a head coach that is highly respected as one of the best may be the key ingredient.

Only time will tell if Ryan Cornelsen will be regarded as one of the best to coach not only at Hays High but also in the state of Kansas. But one thing will be for sure…He won’t seek the spot light to tell you about it.