Shackleford wants Fever to become IFL power

KENNEWICK — Spend any time around Tri-Cities Fever coach Adam Shackleford and the first thing you notice is the phone.

The ever-present phone.

It constantly pings and rings, until he finally realizes maybe he should put it on silent. He'll check the texts and voice mail messages later.

And he'll get a lot of them.

That's what happens when you have a proven track record in indoor football. Shackleford led the Fever last season -- on short notice, just three months advance time -- to the Indoor Football League playoffs.

"The indoor game is addictive," he said. "I like the fast pace. I love being in season. I love breaking down film. But I knew to continue, I had to build a database."

And over the years, one of his biggest drawing cards is that he communicates with players.

"I try to communicate once a week by text, phone or email," he said. "After the season is over, I have a list of 350 guys looking toward the next season. By the time some of them sign with other teams, that list is down to 250. You know, 60 guys signed with the Canadian Football League, another 20 guys with the AFL.

"We offered 161 contracts last year and got 45 commitments."

Shackleford played football in high school and at Anderson University, a Christian school in Indiana. After his senior season, he was hired as a graduate assistant at Anderson.

"I was the tight ends coach, and I made $500 that first year," he said. "The next year, I was made a full-time assistant."

That was 1999, and it began an eight-year stretch as the school's offensive line coach.

But in 2003, he doubled his pleasure when he took an additional job as offensive line coach and director of football operations for the Cincinnati Swarm in the af2. Neither job conflicted with the other.

From 2004-06, he was offensive coordinator for the Louisville Fire of the af2.

"It was full-time football year-round, and I was loving it," Shackleford said. "I was single at the time, and there was no offseason for four years."

Shackleford finally got his big break in 2007, when the Spokane Shock hired him as head coach. From 2007-09, he compiled a 50-7 mark and led the team to an af2 Arena Cup title in 2009.

But Spokane ownership sought a change in 2010 with the team moving up to the AFL, and Shackleford was let go.

He still won't talk about it, but he's at peace with it.

"It's in the past. I'm over it," he said.

And that's fine with Fever owner Teri Carr, who hired him as an assistant in 2010 for head coach Pat O'Hara. But when O'Hara took a head-coaching job with Orlando in the AFL, Shackleford was hired.

He has done this job while maintaining a family home in Spokane Valley, where his wife, Migdalia, works full time and sons Elijah and Caleb live. He'll spend off days at home, but he lives in a Tri-City hotel the rest of the time.

"We're so lucky to have Adam," Carr said.

Shackleford has a no-nonsense approach to improving his team.

"It's kind of my way or the highway," he said. "I like to go the young route and have a few players who have played for me before. I'm always looking to improve. For the players, it's don't look over your shoulder."

At the same time, Shackleford wants two things for his players: wins and a chance to move up the football ladder.

To do that, players must get game film for scouts to see.

"The money is the silver, but the film is the gold," Shackleford said.

And he wants one more thing: to build the Fever into a powerhouse as he did with the Shock.

He admits it's not always easy.

"I think in a smaller market, it's tougher to recruit," he said. "I tell them I'm from the Tri-Cities, and they have no idea where that's at. I had kids get on a plane and thought they were heading for Washington, D.C."

But with the team off to a 3-1 start and playing host to the Kent Predators on Sunday, Shackleford is on the right track.

"There are things I want to accomplish in the Tri-Cities," he said. "There are feelings out there in indoor football that you can't win here. I want to prove that I can win here.

"For 3 1/2 years here, there were hard times. To fix that would be rewarding."

This story was originally published April 8, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Shackleford wants Fever to become IFL power."