(South Padre Island, Texas)-High School Sports Magazine will be hosting its first-ever 2024 HSSM High School Football Coaching Conference on March 29-30th at the South Padre Island Convention Center featuring all-time NFL Rushing leader and NFL Hall of Fame, Dallas Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith, along with 11x Pro Bowler Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten, and current Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator, Dan Quinn. “This is our first HSSM HS Football Coaching Conference featuring top NFL athletes and coaches,” says HSSM Publisher, David “Tddave” Amador. “This conference is open to all high school and middle school coaches and we will also limit Dallas Cowboys fan tickets too, for this two-day event.” The event is being sponsored by Hellas Construction, DHR Hospitals, McDonald’s of the Rio Grande Valley, Hyundai of Pharr, ACE Sports/Digital Scoreboards, T9 Sports of Port Isabel, GameBreaker, Jason’s Deli, and more!
Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time rushing leader, three-time Super Bowl Champion, and NFL Hall of Famer, will be the guest speaker at the first annual High School Sports Magazine’s Football Coaching Conference on March 29th with a dinner set to kickoff off at 7:45 p.m. High School Coaches attending will get to meet and listen to his speech about his career. Smith played high school football for Escambia HS in Pensacola, Florida and went to attend the University of Florida (1987-1989). He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1990 and went on to win three Super Bowl titles. He was named Super Bowl MVP in 1993. His name joined many other elite Cowboy players in the Ring of Honor at AT&T Stadium. He ended his rushing career with 18,355 yards, 4,409 rushing attempts, 164 touchdowns. All NFL records. He also finished with 515 receptions for 3,224 yards and 11 scores. “To have Mr. Smith in our line-up will be a fanfare event for coaches and fans,” says Amador.
Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys would love to win a Super Bowl title in 2024. And who knows, he could be bringing that title to South Padre Island, should the Dallas Cowboys win it all in the next few weeks. Quinn will be attending High School Sports Magazine’s Football Coaching Conference to talk to high school coaches about “defense” on the Hellas Field. Coaches attending will see live action featuring high school football players running routes as Quinn presents his show.
Witten, now a head football coach at with the Liberty Christian Warriors were crowned the 2023 TAPPS Division II State Champions in Texas after defeating the Regents Knights 52-10 at WACO ISD Stadium. The Warriors ended its season with a perfect 14-0 record. He will talk about his winning title and will present his game-day offenses and defenses on the Hellas Field at South Padre Island Convention Center. Witten played for the Dallas Cowboys for 16 seasons and took over head coaching duties in 2021 with the Warriors. His two sons, CJ and Cooper play for his Warriors football team. After winning his first state high school football title with his two sons playing this past season, Witten was became emotional, about giving back and being part of this past season’s success. “I will be looking forward to coming to South Padre Island,” said Witten. “It would be a pleasure, Tddave.”
With the Michigan Wolverines (14-0) facing Washington (14-0) on January 8th for the NCAA National Football Championships in Houston, Texas, HSSM will be bringing three former Wolverines and teammates to this year’s football conference at South Padre Island. Attending will be current Houston Texans WR Nico Collins, Dallas Cowboys TE Sean McKeon, and CFL QB Saskatchewan/Michigan Wolverines Shea Patterson. “Anytime we can host an event with a lineup like this one, I can only thank GOD for this gift. To have Emmitt Smith as our featured speaker with Jason Witten and defensive coordinator, Quinn is a blessing,” says Amador. “Collins, McKeon, and Patterson are great young men and players. Once you meet them, you will smile.”
Patterson played for Ole Miss before transferring to Michigan and completed his college career with 8,800 yards passing with 68 touchdown passes and rushed for another 476 yards with eight scores. He started his high school playing career at Hidalgo High School and then transferred to Calvary Baptist Academy, where he led his team to back-to-back state titles in Louisiana. He attended IMG Academy in Florida his senior year where they finished undefeated that season. Patterson was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free-agent in 2020. “I grew up here in South Texas,” says Patterson. “I’m looking forward to coming to the High School Sports Magazine Football Coaching Convention.”
Nico Collins, also a Michigan alumni from 2017-2020, was a third pick of the Houston Texans and currently leads the Texans with 71 receptions and 1,102 yards in 2023. At 6’4″, Collins played college football with McKeon and Patterson from 2017-2020 at Michigan. “I just love South Padre Island,” says Collins. “I’m looking forward to coming back with HSSM.”
McKeon (6’5″ 245lbs) played four seasons from 2016-2019 with the Michigan Wolverines as a tight-end and caught 60 passes for 668 yards with six touchdowns. He appeared in 40 games with the Wolverines with 23 starts. The Dallas Cowboys signed McKeon in 2020 as a undrafted free-agent. McKeon is considered a blocking tight end. “Last time I came to South Padre Island, I had a great time with Tddave and High School Sports Magazine,’ said McKeon. “I’m looking forward to seeing all the coaches attending.”
High School Football coaches will see “live field presentations” on the HELLAS Football Field with bleachers. ACE Sports will be broadcasting this event. “We will have HELLAS Construction showcasing an actual 40-yard football field with presenters talking about offense and defense with RGV high school athletes on the field,” says Amador.
For over 10 years HELLAS has constructed sports facilities and installed athletic surfaces across the US. Hellas’ North American headquarters is based in Austin, Texas.
DHR Hospitals will be the title sponsor of this event featuring staff doctors talking about sports medicine.
Ace Sports from Little Rock, Arkansas will showcase their latest technology with digital boards at the HSSM Convention and they offer the best in video boards, scoreboards, audio and production equipment for every sport across North America. In the Rio Grande Valley, ACE Sports Video boards can be seen inside the University of Texas-RGV Field House. “This event is very innovative and we are looking forward to being here at South Padre Island,” says Mark Bridges of Ace Sports.
T9 Sports is a Sports Promotion Company and Screen Printing Embroidery Company whose headquarters in now in La Feria. T9 Sports will outfit your team and help with your fundraising campaigns. “This event will be the premier event for head football coaches in South Texas,” says Tuffy Martinez, owner of T9 Sports.
HSSM will also invite 2023 UIL State Championship head football coaches, TASO, UIL, Athletic trainers, Middle School Coaches, and Powerlifting demonstrations.
TWO-DAY FAN tickets will be available and fans can purchase tickets at www.hssmlive.com. “We will allow a limited amount of Fan Tickets through February 20, 2024. Once they are gone, they are gone,” added Amador.
High School Sports Magazine started in 1994 with founder David “Tddave” Amador, who attended the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. He is an English major with Kinesiology minor. Amador is also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. For more information and tickets call 956-929-1852. “These Fan Tickets will be sold fast,” says Amador. “Our master of ceremonies will be Rock and Roll James, longtime friend and popular DJ. This should be interesting.”
Go Big Blue! Former Michigan football players (Top photo) CFL Saskatchewan QB Shea Patterson (former Michigan QB) with TE Sean McKeon of the Dallas Cowboys (middle photo) and Nico Collins of the Houston Texans will attend the HSSM Football Coaching Conference on March 29-30th at SPI. Collins leads the Texans in receptions and is ranked in the NFL Top Ten amongst wide receivers. (HSSMImages/Texans)