Veteran Coaches Excited For New Season and League

Bethlehem, PA:  The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks are excited to announce their coaching staff for the 2013 season, and their first in the Professional Indoor Football League. Returning for his second season with the team is Head Coach Chris Thompson. His staff will include experienced coaches in Kevin O’Hanlon, Ken Miller, John Zima, and Preston McKnight, all with vast coaching experience.

Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Thompson, also Assistant General Manager is already hard at work preparing for the 2013 season, helping to make the Steelhawks the best they can be both on and off the field. This is his second year in the Valley. His most recent coaching experience prior to the Steelhawks includes stints with Philadelphia Soul and the Reading Express. He helped to guide the Express to five AIFA Northern Division Championships, two Eastern Conference Championships, and an AIFA League Championship in 2009. Transitioning to a new league shouldn’t be a problem for Thompson, in his 12 years of professional football involvement, he has been apart of the NIFL, AIFL, CIFL, AIFA, AF2, AFL, and IFL.

Coach O’Hanlon will be returning for this third year with the Steelhawks as Defensive Coordinator. Before he was a member of the Steelhawks staff, O’Hanlon coached the Lehigh Valley Outlawz for two years. He has also owned and coached the Philadelphia Patriots, a semi pro team, and more recently the South West Philadelphia Falcons. His other coaching experience includes four years at the high school level in Delaware as well as several years coaching youth programs.

New to the Steelhawk family is Ken Miller, this season’s Offensive Assistant/Special Teams Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach. He brings to the Steelhawks twenty-two years of coaching experience at all levels from high school to professional.  Coach Miller’s career achievement has been five Divisional Championships, two Conference Championships, and one AIFA League Championship in the professional ranks.  Coach Miller and Coach Thompson have had a prior working relationship, where they spent 6 years together with the Reading Express organization.  This is where they won multiple championships together and a part of an amazing 73 wins out of 100 games in those 6 years.

Coach Zima is in his second year with the Steelhawks, this season he will officially be Assistant Coach/Director of Player Personnel. Zima has coached at the high school level in Berks County over the past eight years where he was responsible for special teams, kickers, and punters. During his coaching career he has produced an All-County punter and an All-State Place Kicker at Kutztown High School. Zima also runs “Kick It” a skill development camp for high school kickers, punters, and snappers. 

The last part to the coaching staff is Coach McKnight, Quality Control Consultant. McKnight has been coaching football for more than 26 seasons; he has worked at the NCAA Division II and III level on the staff of the Kutztown University Golden Bears. He was a part of the Reading Express coaching staff that was the AIFL Northern Division Champions and the AIFA National Champions. McKnight has continued his career in football as the founder of the Knight Group which provides football analysis and quality control in the AFL as well as the NCAA Division II and III levels.

Thompson is very excited about what the 2013 season has in store. "I am so excited to announce these guys as our assistant coaching staff for the upcoming 2013 season and moving into the new league. We made great strides in 2012 by making the playoffs, but we have some unfinished business in 2013. Not to mention, these guys are great recruiters and motivators, and their experiences and knowledge of the indoor arena football game will help us to continue to strive and bring home that first League Championship to the Black and Gold Nation."

The Steelhawks will be holding their first open team tryouts as members of the PIFL sometime in mid to late September. The team is hard at work recruiting for the 2013 season.  For further information please call Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Clark at (610) 282-3100, or visit our website at www.LVSteelhawks.com for the latest Steelhawks news!

Fans are reminded that 2013 season ticket deposits are being accepted now to reserve your seats for the 2013 PIFL season. You can reserve your seats by calling the Steelhawks front office at 610-282-3100.  Ticket packages start as low as $48!