Dear Poudre Impalas,

Welcome to the Impala Family! Knowing that your high school years will be the cause of reflection in years to come, it is our hope that your time at Poudre is something you will look back on with great joy.  We also hope you look back on these years as a time when you experienced growth.  To that end, our mission for Impala football is to challenge each player to become the best version of themselves.  Our mission as coaches is to put each student athlete in the best position to be successful in the classroom, society, and the football field.  This can only be accomplished when everyone understands this mission.

High school football is a demanding sport both mentally and physically, and for us to be as successful as possible, we all need to be positive and encouraging to ALL players and ALL coaches.  Playing football is a privilege and not a right and as with any privilege, it can be taken away.  We will need to accept coaching and understand that we are all here for the same reason: to be as successful as possible in all aspects of life.

Football is ultimately a team game; to have a successful game you need to have each of the eleven players on the field doing their jobs to the best of their abilities.  At Poudre football the emphasis is placed on the TEAM over the individual.  We will emphasize WE over ME.  When athletes don't take coaching, show up late, or have bad grades, they are making selfish decisions and saying to the rest of the team, “I am more important than the team.”

As coaches we will demand a lot from your student athletes, and we will demand a lot from ourselves.  We will hold your student athlete and ourselves to a high standard.  We will look to improve ourselves as coaches just as we expect improvement from the athletes.  We all want to be as successful as possible and that will come from all of us working TOGETHER.

Four Challenges for an Impala Football Player –

Work – Will you put in the work necessary to be successful?

Effort – What effort will you give towards making yourself and the team better?

Competitor – Will you compete in everything you do?

Toughness – Will you continue to persevere when things are difficult?

Coach Tonkin