Fresno State Athletics
Countdown to Kickoff: 7 Days
8/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 25, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - John Baxter is in his 12th season at Fresno State. He coaches the Bulldogs special teams and wide receivers and is the architect of Academic Gameplan.
1- What makes coach Hill such a good coach?
There are a lot of things that make him a good coach. Number one, I think players are a mirror of their coach. He is a tough guy and I think our team reflects his toughness. Number two, I think he cares an extraordinary amount about the players. Any amount of fundraising he does is for the players and not for himself. He always has the players at the forefront of his mind. The third thing is he tries as hard as he can every time to get it right and do the right thing. We always say doing the right thing isn't always easy but it is always right. He does the right thing and the other thing is he believes in teaching and helping kids. He is committed to this team and coaches.
2- What is something people may not know about you?
For all the success I have had as a coach I really don't like sports. I don't follow pro baseball, pro football and pro basketball. I don't watch scores and I really don't even know how the Olympics are going. I do keep up with the Cubs because that is my team. For the most part I could really careless about the news and who is winning and losing. The only thing I care about is our football team. A lot of people say they don't read the paper but I absolutely don't read it. I have too many things to do to waste a half an hour doing that. If I am going to read I am going to read some kind of book. I love coaching football and I love when I am not coaching football. I love spending time with my kids and I love welding. I like to turn the rock music up loud and melt metal.
3- How did Academic Gameplan get started?
Technically it has been going my whole adult life. Adversity and problems are usually the mother of invention. What happened is I flunked out of high school as a sophomore and went to college on academic probation. I was asked to leave college and got a second chance in both instances. I was never a discipline problem in school. I just didn't execute. I didn't know what to execute, when to execute and how to execute. I had some friends that were good students that when my back was against the wall in college they gave me some advice. In a nutshell once I figured out the game of school, as a graduate assistant I saw all these kids having the same troubles I had and nobody doing a lot to help them besides study hall. I taught a bunch of lessons and I became fascinated with how people learn and what makes people an effective student. I decided I was going to teach school like a game. I was going to teach them rules, fundamentals and technique. If I can get a kid to run 60 yards full speed, I can teach them how to take notes. Now it is what it is. A couple of tens of thousands of kids later it is a plan that has given kids a fighting chance.
4- Did you ever envision Academic Gameplan to be as big as it is?
No. I just tried to get my own degree. Then I tried to help a couple of kids struggling get there degree and just kept repeating the formula.
5- What is your favorite football memory?
The first call I ever made as a Division I full-time coach was Arizona against Illinois in the opening game in 1990 we blocked a punt. I remember who, where and the spot on the field. Every single block and return that has happened as the coach is Bulldogs is special. I really believe our kids are put in position to be the absolute best in special teams in the country and I really believe they go out and prove it. To watch these kids execute the plan we put together is fun. To watch somebody else play your music is fun.
6- What are your hobbies outside football?
Welding and horses. I have been learning how to rope even though I am not very good. Anything I do with my family is fun.
7- Your wife is the daughter of a head football coach (Ron McBride). Does she ever give you coaching tips?
My wife has some unbelievably great insights into this profession. She will tell you it is way different when your dad is a coach and when your husband coach. It takes an amazingly independent person to be a coaches' wife. My wife's insights are so good that sometimes I just don't want to hear it even though I know she is right.
8- What is the most rewarding part of being a part of Fresno State football?
On a personal side I have had the opportunity to be here 12 years. I have seen my kids go from birth to middle school here. I hope to be here long enough they can go through college. To live in the Central Valley is one of the greatest places on earth from year round temperature to recreational activities to the mountains to the ocean. The people and schools are great. I have the opportunity to work for Pat Hill who I consider one my best friends in life. I feel every day that I am here that I have hit the lottery. You think about it. I am a Division I coach. My kids go to the best schools in America and they have experienced going to a bowl game with their dad almost every year of their life. We have been able to create tremendous stability which there isn't much of that in this profession. Everything here is good. Being a Bulldog is something special.
9- Who is the most influential person in your life?
I don't know there is one. I believe every person is a sum total of all their experiences. Our coach in college Bob Bierie, I wouldn't be here without him. My mother has been an absolute rock in my sister and I's life. I have been with Pat Hill for over a third of my life. I have coached with him for 15 years. I would have to say every teacher, coach and player that I have been around has had some impact on me. I don't think people ever really know how much impact players have on you. Jack Hanna has been the greatest male role model any coach could have.
10- What is your greatest accomplishment?
The greatest thing is when you see kids you have worked with leave, get good jobs, start businesses, have families and then they tell you they run their business the way you taught them.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The first Big Ten team will travel to the Valley on September 13th as the No. 25 `Dogs take on Wisconsin in the home opener at 7:30 pm. The game can be seen nationally on ESPN2. All tickets are on sale now. In the month of August, get your official Wisconsin game day t-shirt at the Bulldog Shop for only $10 with any purchase. To purchase tickets, click on the tickets icon at the top of this page, call the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS, or stop by the Bulldog Ticket Office.
