Charlo High School athletics have become synonymous with athletic excellence in the Mission Valley and one reason could be the community’s commitment to helping field a top-notch product.

The Vikings’ football team and volleyball team hosted Gutz and Glitter and Dudes and Divas, a classroom tutorial on football and volleyball designed to educate the parents on the technical aspects of the competitive sports their kids play.

Charlo football coach Mike Krahn said he felt the tutorial allows parents to get a better understanding of the competitive games their kids are involved in.

“Whenever you are educated about something, the more enjoyable it will be when you go and watch it, “ Krahn said. “You are more engaged and it will be a more enjoyable experience. It is surprising the carry-over that (many of the parents) have from the previous year. They are really learning and trying to get to understand the game better.

Krahn, Reese Cox and Coach Peterson all taught mothers in a classroom setting the technical aspects of football from blocking, tackling, conference alignments and rules and regulation changes from year-to-year in hopes to keep them up to up to speed in the ever-evolving world of sport

“It’s always fun to teach something that you are passionate about,” Krahn said. “There is a lot of football related stuff that my coaching staff and I do in the classroom part and the learning about it and being able to get the ladies engaged and have questions and see that ‘ah-ha,’ moment, it is just enriching for the coaches and players. Some of them are community members and you didn’t think the mom was interested in football. Then you see them out on the field and you go, ‘now I see where that kid gets it from.’”

The idea to educate the parents of several Charlo kids began with Christy Bachman, who was inspired by the idea when coach Bobbie Howe had a tutorial for the parents at the University of Montana. Bachman and several other community members took off with the idea.

“It really brings the human element into it and the competition and the love of the sport,” Krahn said. “You have to be ultra-focused and at the end of the day, we are all human beings that are pretty similar. This gives you an appreciation for the football element and what it feels like. It is hard to see through and parents get a different appreciation for what it takes to compete. Hearing the guys talk at the volleyball camp, the average parent I still don’t think understands that what they watch takes quite a while to develop the product that is put on the field or the court.”