Fans of Monticello football might have picked up on a weekly tradition by one of the coaches of the varsity team. Monticello High School teacher and football coach Andy Zigan wears the same green shirt on the sidelines of every game.
Traveling through the halls of MHS, you might notice a select few students wearing the same green shirt gifted to them by Zigan. The kids wearing those shirts share one common factor, they are elite.
“It’s a tradition now since we’ve been doing it for so long. Kids are excited when I give it to them,” said Zigan. “It’s cool to be part of the green shirt club. Everybody knows they were the Elite Player of the Week around our football community.”
Former Monticello Head Coach Jason Telecky took over the team in 2009. That’s when Zigan took over coaching duties for special teams, or as it’s known around Monticello, elite teams.
After the promotion, Zigan borrowed ideas from Florida State University and Ohio State University on how those schools implement helmet stickers. Since then, Zigan has awarded his own players similarly.
“I like rewarding the kids,” mentioned Zigan.
Players earn helmet stickers by doing things like making blocks on kick returns, returning a kick past the 50-yard line, landing punts or kicks inside the 10 or 20-yard line, etc. Zigan grinds the film every week, watching the same play 11 times over, once for each player.
Zigan has a list of team awards he gives out, but none are more coveted than the ‘Elite Player of the Week’ award, earned by a player on elite teams who stands out by making elite plays.
One player each week is named the Elite Player of the Week and that player is given the green shirt as a trophy. Remixing the Marines’ slogan, the front of the shirt says ‘The Few. The Proud.’ and on the back, it says ‘The elite.’
Even after Andy Pierskalla replaced Telecky as the head coach in 2020, the green shirts stayed.
A lot of kids want to play on elite teams so they have a chance to win a shirt because most of the time, the shirt is awarded to a player who isn’t a starter on offense or defense.
Senior linebacker Ethan Willmert, who is a star on defense, was begging Zigan to put him back on elite teams last week against Park Center after an injury occurred so Willmert had a chance to be rewarded with the green shirt.
Green was the chosen color for a few reasons: it’s Zigan’s favorite color, green means go on stoplights, cash is green, Yoda from Star Wars is green and so is Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber in Return of the Jedi, etc.
There is another big reason for the green color. Zigan wears the shirt for every game for a tactical reason.
“It’s a contrasting color on the sideline. When everybody else is wearing black or red or white when I’m making signals, my players can find me quicker,” explained Zigan.
When the football team played at the middle school, the sidelines were a lot tighter. During a game a few years ago, Zigan told Telecky he was going to wear something different than typical coaches’ attire.
Telecky was on board and it’s been green on game day ever since for Zigan.
He makes his choices for player awards on Mondays and players are awarded them on Thursdays.
Last week during Monticello’s big 36-0 win over Park Center, MHS junior Cole Mueller returned the opening kickoff 46 yards, past the 50. Mueller was named the Elite Player of the Week this week for that kick return.
Naturally, Mueller was excited to earn that title and the shirt that comes with it.
“It means a lot. I just go out there and do my job and everybody around me does their job and it makes it easy. I have a fun time,” Mueller told the Monticello Times.
Senior Brooks Willmert, sophomore Cole Schwickerath, senior Holden Meyers, junior Brock Sipe and sophomore Dom Marschel were the previous winners this season.
The love for the shirts doesn’t end when a player graduates. Once an elite player, always an elite player.
“It’s funny, the other day was National Son’s Day and somebody posted a photo with one of my former students who graduated like eight years ago and he was wearing the green shirt,” said Zigan. “
Zigan has high expectations for his elite teamers but everybody on the team wants to be on his unit. He makes playing the third phase of football fun with how he designs his plays.
With everybody all in on trying to earn a green shirt, Monticello boasts one of the best elite team units in the state. The shirt is a strong motivator.
“I think having a little reward not only for their stickers for their helmets but trying to be the best they can be and maybe get a shirt has made a positive impact on us,” added Zigan.
Monticello blocked two punts at Irondale earlier this year. Zigan has opposing teams fearful of his masterful fake punts. Against Park Center last Friday, senior Brock Holthaus drew a roughing penalty on a rugby-style punt that extended a drive that the Magic ended with a touchdown.
“I’ve always said Coach Zigan is one of the best in the state if not the best, minds on special teams. We’ve won several games over my four years just on his strategies and the way he gets the kids to buy into his fun system,” said Pierskalla.
“Special teams is a third of the game… he makes that third of the game fun to where kids want to be out there,” continued Pierskalla. “Then he rewards them with green shirts. You can only get those on his units. So it’s elite in that aspect.”
Zigan is an aggressive coach. He tells his players he doesn’t want to punt all year and he has a plethora of fakes he can call upon to help with that goal.
He has different calls that he dubs ‘If, then’ plays where his players have different options on what they can do based on different looks opposing teams give them.
“If we execute what we’re supposed to do then it’s pretty fun and we’ve been pretty successful,” said Zigan.
There is one more chance in the regular season to catch Zigan and his elite team go to work. Monticello hosts Cambridge-Isanti on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
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