BMHS Shield CRIMSON SHIELD
THE ONLINE MAGAZINE OF BROTHER MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL		 BMHS Shield
May 2013
Published Monthly September through May
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From the Dynamite to the Bears to the Voodoo to the Crusaders

Coach Jon Norris
Jon Norris
In the spring of 1987, Jim Foster gathered a group of unem­ployed but hungry football players in Wheaton IL.
  • Over the next three weeks, Foster taught those play­ers a game he invented called Arena Football.
  • At the end of the camp, he divided them into four teams for the inaugural season of the Arena Football League (AFL).
  • One of the players assigned to the Denver Dynamite, which would win the first title, was lineman Jon Norris
  • 26 years later, Norris was hired to supervise the weight training program and be the Defensive Coordi­nator at Brother Martin.
A native of Wales in the United Kingdom, Jon grew up in Stratford CT.
  • In 1985, he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from American International College in Springfield MA, where he played NCAA Division II football.
  • He signed with the New England Patriots and spent the 1986 season on injured reserve as the Patriots made the Super Bowl in New Orleans, where they lost to the Chicago Bears.
  • After playing with the Dynamite the following spring, John sign­ed with the Bears as a replacement player when the NFL Players' Association went on strike after two games.
  • Jon started three games at DE for Chicago before the strike end­ed, recording an interception and two sacks.
  • He recalls why the replacement Bears were successful, going 4-1 record (with the only loss coming to the Saints): There were 14 Arena players on our team. You see, the Bears were smart. They knew we had just finished our season and we were in shape.
  • When asked what it was like to play for Chicago coach Mike Dit­ka (who coached the Saints 1997-8-9), Jon replied: I enjoyed playing for him. He was the type of coach you didn't want to make the same mistake twice around. It was an enjoyable experience and there was an interesting cast of characters on the team.
  • Norris was invited to the 1988 training camp but was released before the season started.
So Jon returned to the AFL.
  • He played for the Dynamite three more seasons.
  • He ended his career with the Sacramento Attack in 1992.
After his retirement as a player, Norris coached in college as well as the AFL and its minor league, af2.
  • 1993-6: Adams State (CO) (NAIA) - defensive coordinator
  • 1997-9: Oklahoma Panhandle State (NCAA Division II) - head coach
  • 2000: Tulsa Talons (af2) - head coach; made playoffs in the team's first year of existence
  • 2001: Oklahoma Wranglers (AFL) - assistant head coach and line coach
  • 2002-4: Dallas Desperados (AFL) - line and special teams coach
  • 2005-6: Austin Wranglers (AFL) - defensive coordinator and line coach
  • 2007-9: Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings (af2) - head coach; won the Southwestern Division 2008-9

Coach Norris with Voodoo
Jon came to the Crescent City in 2010 to become Vice President and General Manager of the New Orleans Voodoo.
  • The franchise was resurrected after dropping out of the league following the 2008 season.
  • Jon made this statement about his new position: I am ex­tremely honored and excited about this career move for me. I love this game, and I have always known that there would come a time when I would move from the field to the front office.
  • AFL Commissioner Jerry Kurz added: Anyone who knows Jon Norris knows what kind of a guy he is and how much of an im­pact he makes on a city. Jon is a phenomenal person and a magnetic personality.
  • In June 2011, Jon resigned as GM in order to become interim head coach of the team. After the final four games, he re­sumed to his previous position.
  • In August 2012, the VooDoo released Jon from his GM role.
That put him in position to join the staff at Brother Martin in January 2013.
  • Head Coach Mark Bonis: His experience is important. I feel we are two similar people, centered and straightfoward. You don't want someone who agrees with you all the time. If he thinks I am doing something wrong, he is going to tell me. I can do the same thing with him. Nobody's feelings will get hurt. It is not about that. It is about the greater good and winning.
  • Jon: It's going to be a lot of fun. Mark is really on top of the guys with their off­season conditioning program. I am learning on the run. It will be nice trying to make a difference in the lives of young men. It is great to be staying in this great city. They have the right kind of kids here at Brother Martin, young men with character who are good students. It will be a matater of helping them fulfill their potential. Coach Bonis and I hit it off right off the bat. We are on the same philo­sophically.
  • He added: I am teaching four physical education classes dealing with general fitness ... High school is about developing the whole person, not just coaching student-athletes, building young men into adults.
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