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August 27, 2025 12 mins

Today we’re at Panther Stadium to talk with our Athletic Director, our new OHS Head Football Coach, Matt Weber, and students from our football leadership council to hear how it has been going and what’s on tap for this new season. 

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SPEAKER1: Oh, yes. Hang on, hang on. (00:03):
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SPEAKER2: As temperatures get a little cooler and the daylight gets shorter, we're preparing for the new season. (00:08):
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It's a new season of Inside the OSD, our fourth season, and a new school year, along with all the co-curricular activities that surround
it. Fall athletics are already underway and our student athletes are hard at work practicing and preparing for competition.

(00:29):
Today we're at Panther Stadium to talk with our athletic director, our new OHS head football coach Matt Weber,
and students from our Football Leadership Council to hear about how it's been going and what's on tap for the new season.

SPEAKER3: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids. (00:46):
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Here is your host, lifelong educator and our superintendent, Doctor Leslie Bergstrom.

SPEAKER2: Could you start by introducing yourself to our listeners and your role in the OSD? (01:00):
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SPEAKER4: Hi, my name is Brittany Spencer Grant. I am the director of athletics here at Oregon High School. (01:05):
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SPEAKER2: Now, you've been the athletic (01:10):
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SPEAKER4: director (01:11):
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SPEAKER2: for quite some time now, which means you have experience with many, many events. (01:11):
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What are the key things that create a successful athletic event?
A lot of the

SPEAKER4: activities that go into planning of the event. (01:22):
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So a lot of the work is actually prior to game day.
Um, game day itself is kind of the culmination of all the work that kind of leads up to that particular contest.
So, you know, scheduling officials, event workers, making sure our fields and everything are prepped.
We have a wonderful grounds crew led by Ron Nowinska, who preps our fields with love and attention and like,

(01:49):
his attention to detail can't be beat. So we are super lucky to have him and his team working to to help prep our fields.
I agree. Um, and then, you know, once it's game day or game night, it's--it's kind of seamless.
Um, you know, once people are on site, we let the kids on the field kind of compete to the best of their ability,
and our coaches are providing them guidance throughout the event, and our administrative team and event supervisors are just working to make sure

(02:14):
that things in the crowd and outside of the actual game don't become distractions for our competitors.

SPEAKER2: Thank you. So what can our students, fans, and spectators do to contribute to the success of our teams? (02:20):
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SPEAKER4: Um, you know, first and foremost, show up. (02:26):
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Um, you know, we love to see people in the crowds.
We love to hear people in the crowds. As long as they're being positive and displaying some of that positive sportsmanship that we like to hear about.
Um, you know, we understand that every once in a while we might have to redirect a student spectator or an adult spectator on,
you know, something they might be saying or doing. Um, but, you know, as long as those conversations are approached and reacted to in a

(02:52):
positive light, you know, we're all able to move forward from them.
Um, you know, in terms of our events themselves, we ask all seventh, I'm sorry,
all eighth grade and younger students to be present with an adult.
It doesn't necessarily have to be their parent or guardian, but we want people on site that if we do need to have a conversation,
we can say, "hey, can you take me to the person who, you know, brought you here tonight, or who's responsible for you so that we can

(03:16):
just kind of redirect some behavior?" And having that person on site is super helpful for us so that we can keep everybody,
you know, safe and wanting to come back to our events.
Um, you know, we have people in the crowd that we want to keep in the crowd.
So we try to minimize, you know, students and adults kind of hanging out behind the bleachers or below the bleachers.
So, you know, a lot of times what we'll say is, "hey, you came to watch the game.

(03:39):
Like, let's, let's get into the stands where we can actually watch the game" and just kind of be mindful of--of others around them.
We try not to encourage people to stand on the railing or anything like that, knowing that they're likely blocking the view of,
you know, people behind them who also, you know, paid to attend the game.
So just kind of being mindful of, you know, not only yourself but those around you helps to make the experience a positive

(04:01):
one for everybody.

SPEAKER2: Thank you. I'm going to go to you, Coach Weber. (04:02):
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Um, you can also begin a little bit by telling us about your background and your roles in the OSD?

SPEAKER5: Yeah, I'm Matt Weber. Uh, it's eithewr coach or Weber or Mr. (04:11):
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Weber. Uh, beyond just coaching, I'm also a social studies teacher here at the high school.
Uh, and I'm a 2006 grad of Oregon High School as well.

SPEAKER2: Very nice. So it's your first year as a head coach. (04:24):
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Talk with us about what led you to this position and the coaching philosophy you're bringing to the program.

SPEAKER5: Yes. So it's kind of a--I had a head coaching position about 12 years ago at Belleville is where I started. (04:33):
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And then, uh, I went up north for a little while, and then I came back during Covid.
And--I remember. We talked about it with my wife, about where we wanted to be, and Oregon was the place that we wanted to be.
And when Coach Kissling decided to hang up the whistle, I was more than honored to be able to step into that role.

SPEAKER2: Who was your High school football coach? (05:00):
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SPEAKER5: Bob Prahl. (05:01):
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SPEAKER2: Of course. Of course. So how have practices been going and what are you most proud of with respect to this team? (05:02):
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SPEAKER5: So we, uh, practices have been going great. (05:09):
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Our kids have bought in. We've changed how we practice.
One of the biggest things that when we came here and we were putting together a staff,
was that we wanted to change the culture of Oregon.
And we talk about pride. Pride has been something that's within our school for a long time,
but we labeled pride as taking pride in your attitude, taking pride in your effort,

(05:33):
and taking pride in your team. So we base everything that we do behaviorally around that.
And I have a great group of seniors who have really bought into it and taken it upon themselves.

SPEAKER2: I'm excited to hear from them pretty soon, too. (05:44):
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The OSD's always considered athletics to be an extension of the classroom, so what are some examples of lifelong skills you believe the athletes on your
team are building?

SPEAKER5: So it goes back to pride, right? Like your attitude and your effort are two things you have absolute control over in every situation, (05:57):
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right? You can choose to show up, and you can choose to work hard, and you can choose to have a positive attitude that you're going to get better
every day. And that applies to just about anything that you do in the real world and then also supporting your teammates.
Um, like as a teacher, like we work within PLC's that's supporting our teammates every day.

(06:23):
Um, something that applies from the field that they can take into their real--into the real world.

SPEAKER2: Oh, so many things. So our athletic events draw pretty excited crowds and that's really fun. (06:28):
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So what is the best way fans can support the team?

SPEAKER5: Uh, so a couple things. One, we have, uh, I'll give the shout out to the cheerleaders who do a wonderful job of making a (06:38):
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game day atmosphere. Um, our band does a wonderful job.
And then as as Brittany said before, show up, get kids to come out and show up.
Um, we have a senior group who's got some stuff up on social media, what their themes are,
and they have the directions as to where you sit based upon your class.

(07:01):
So they do an excellent job of, of, of promoting our games.
So to show up for all of that stuff, cheer along with the cheerleaders and take pride in your home team.

SPEAKER6: Thank you. (07:11):
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SPEAKER2: So what messages do you have for our players, fans, students and other spectators as they get ready for the season--season? (07:12):
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I bet you're going to say show up. I bet that's number one.

SPEAKER5: Yeah. And beyond that, there's a lot of ways of supporting our team. (07:22):
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I'll give our booster club a shout out as well.
Um, you can always join boosters if you--beyond just showing up.
Otherwise, cheering is a great way to do it and relatively inexpensive way.

SPEAKER4: So. I (07:36):
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SPEAKER2: appreciate that. (07:37):
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SPEAKER6: Thank you. (07:38):
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SPEAKER2: Um, and now for our student athletes. So I'd like you to start by introducing yourself, (07:39):
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which would be your name, your grade, position you play, and anything else you'd like our listeners to know about you.

SPEAKER7: My name is Jake Hensel. I'm a senior at Oregon High School. (07:51):
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I play defensive back for the Panthers, and I also play basketball.
Um, I'm Nolan Erfurth. I go to OHS. I'm a senior.
Um, I play safety here, and I also play basketball and lacrosse.

SPEAKER8: My name is Braeden Hermsdorf. I'm also a senior here at Oregon. (08:05):
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I play tight end, and I also play basketball.

SPEAKER7: My name is Collin Mooreland. I'm a senior year at Oregon High School and I play wide receiver and yeah. (08:13):
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SPEAKER2: Thanks you guys. So tell us about what it means to be on the Team Leadership Council and what responsibilities come with it. (08:19):
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SPEAKER7: Yeah. It's truly an honor to represent our team, um, through games, practices and taking pride in our team, (08:26):
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our school and our community. Um, whether that's on Friday nights or, um, even during practices,
some of the responsibilities are cleaning up the locker rooms and busses after games,

(08:49):
um, making sure the practice fields are cleaned up.
But we're also co-captains on Friday nights, um, for the coin toss before the games,
um, we have weekly meetings with Coach Weber, and we discuss the team and kind of our habits that we want to build for the
season. And yeah, we're just a great group looking to have a great season.

SPEAKER2: Absolutely. It sounds like that. So what does it mean to you to be selected as a as a leader by your peers? (09:12):
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SPEAKER7: Um. Kids look up to me as someone they can come to, like, on the football field and off the football field. (09:19):
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Um, if they need questions or help, they can come to us like one of us. There's ten of us, so...

SPEAKER2: Do you have younger players coming to you, (09:30):
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SPEAKER6: sometimes? (09:31):
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SPEAKER7: Yeah. All the DB--We have a lot of DBs, so we like, we get them in check, get them in line and then they follow us, what (09:32):
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we do. We're always first in line. Wow. So yeah.

SPEAKER6: Thank you. (09:40):
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SPEAKER2: What's special about (09:41):
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SPEAKER6: our team? (09:42):
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SPEAKER7: I (09:43):
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SPEAKER8: think, so. Us seniors, we've been around now four different teams while you've played football here. (09:43):
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And I think, uh, in my opinion, this team is by far the least selfish.
We all want to win for each other. Our dedication is more built on pride rather than individual games.
So I think we all want to win for each other, and we can compete every day and still be close when it comes to Friday nights.

SPEAKER7: I feel like playing like as a group of players. It doesn't feel like that starting to feel like family, like. (10:09):
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SPEAKER6: Yeah, that's-- (10:15):
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SPEAKER2: That's really incredible, you guys. You're all seniors. (10:16):
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So what specific skills from this experience from this team or from the OSD in general,
do you expect to take with you in the future?

SPEAKER7: I would say communication. When I first came here my freshman year, I was afraid of like if I find friends or if I fit in or not. (10:30):
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But, you know, communicating well with people around me that love to do what I do just helps me gain and build bonds that is indescribable.
Wow. I

SPEAKER8: think I'll take some leadership skills with me and getting I'm I've gotten a lot better to advocate myself and just raise my voice. (10:49):
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SPEAKER7: So I have to agree with both of them. I mean, we're leaders on the football field can carry that on to our lives and our jobs. (10:58):
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Yeah, definitely through football. It's pushed me to be more of a vocal leader and a really good communicator with other people,
and I think that also served me well for the rest of my life.

SPEAKER2: Oh, it absolutely will. So finally, um, what messages do you have for younger students and student athletes who have (11:16):
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their eyes on you both on and off the field this season?

SPEAKER7: Yeah. So honestly, what I've learned is just to stay consistent, stay coachable. (11:27):
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There's always people watching you. So, you know, not just as a player but like just as your character.
So make sure your character is as strong as your game.

SPEAKER2: Wow. Thank you for joining us today. We wish you the best this season and we can't wait to see you play. (11:39):
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SPEAKER3: Thank you. (11:47):
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SPEAKER9: Remember that you can find links to all episodes of Inside the OSD and submit topic ideas on our website at OregonSD.org/podcast. (11:49):
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You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to get notifications on the most recent episodes.

(12:10):
We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD, where it's all about the kids.
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