Moore faces task of restoring the roar at Minster
By Robb Hemmelgarn
Nate Moore is a self-proclaimed history buff. Whether he delves into topics regarding our country’s history, historical sports lore, or inspirational leaders and coaches from the past, Minster’s newly-appointed head football coach is all for it. Suggest a discussion of the recent shortcomings of the football program he inherited though, and his relaxed smile quickly fades to an obvious level of discomfort.
“We sort of addressed the past at the very first meeting I had with the kids and their parents,” Moore admitted matter-of-factly. “I simply explained to them that we were not going to talk about it or worry about it.”
Consider the matter closed.
The thing which Moore, who out-distanced himself from 49 other applications for his position, hopes his players drain from their memory banks is the programs’ suffering over the past 13 years. With no more than six victories in a year since the mid-1990s, Minster’s once dominant outfit has recently fallen on trying times, including last year when they finished 1-9 overall.
“Since I arrived, I wanted to do nothing but focus on the future,” Moore assured with a firm tone in his answer. “The kids are enthusiastic and have been doing everything we have asked of them. Our goals are to improve our commitment and attitude; never be outworked; and never be outhit on the field. I feel if we can accomplish all of those every time out, that eventually we can push the program to where we want it to be.”
Although conversation of the program’s past is seemingly off-limits – for most Wildcat fans, you can’t appreciate “where we want it to be” unless you are familiar with “where it once was”.
A charter member of the Midwest Athletic Conference in 1973, the Wildcats were crowned league co-champions two years later, but through the next ten seasons they rose above .500 in the conference only once and past fifth place in the standings on less than a handful of occasions. While the program coughed and sputtered, promising optimism landed in the fall of 1987 when newly-hired head coach Ken Newland took over for John Taylor, who in two seasons finished 10-10 overall.
Almost immediately, the Minster Wildcats distinguished themselves as one of the premier small-school teams in Ohio.
In his first year, Newland helped guide the Orange and Black to their first-ever playoff appearance and by the next season they concluded their campaign in the Division V final four, after tying for the MAC title both seasons. The program struck gold in 1989, when they walked off of the field at Ohio Stadium with a 13-1 overall record and the MAC’s first-ever state championship in football.
“That state championship is treasured here in Minster and it should be,” Moore pointed out. “We have three guys on our varsity staff who were members of that team, and along with being great coaches, they can speak from experience about what it was like to play here during a very special time and that is something that can help the kids grow.”
The program’s exhilarating ride sadly stalled after the 1993 season when cancer forced Newland to put the game aside after seven seasons in Minster – he passed away within a year. While in Minster, the fiery but respected disciplinarian won 67 games and guided the Wildcats to six post-season appearances. Although he no longer called the shots, the bar Newland raised and the expectations he instilled in his players and fans remained intact.
Unfortunately for the four head coaches who have led the Wildcats since 1994, the prospects of that measuring stick have never quite been met. The revolving carousal of coaches, philosophies, and game plans have the die-hard fans in Wildcat country fed up with year after year of mediocrity and are pinning their hopes on Moore and his staff to elevate the program back to the proud levels it once knew.
“Wins and losses are important to us and they are certainly important to our fans, but to me what is even more vital are the kids in that locker room and what they can learn from being a part of this program,” commented Moore, gesturing toward the adjacent room which bears a plaque of Newland in the entrance. “What we teach them through football is something they can take with them for the rest of their lives. We hope and expect to be successful here, but the real measure of the success will be ten or fifteen years from now when some of our kids are coming back as successful people in life.”
Moore’s outlook on life and coaching is a by-product of years of molding by some of the best in the game. Following his successful playing career at Mason High School near Cincinnati, he advanced to the college level a few miles up Interstate 75 at the University of Dayton, where he captured four league titles and was a four-year letter winner and two-time All-American under legendary coach Mike Kelly.
“Coach Kelly was a master at controlling the mood of the team and he did an outstanding job at keeping things in check, especially when they were going in our favor. He also taught me how important preparation is, as we were always the best-prepared team in every game at our level during that time period. Not once did we ever go into a situation where we didn’t feel that we were not prepared for what was going on in the game.”
After earning his education degree, he landed his first coaching job at Chaminade Julienne High School, where he understudied another hall of fame-caliber coach, Jim Place. Most recently, he coached under Place at Hamilton High School.
“I feel I have played and coached with some of the best in the business,” Moore complimented the two veteran coaches. “It doesn’t take long to realize how important the fundamentals of the game are to coach Place and how to use that in preparing your team. From him, I also learned how to run a program and not only a team. I feel in the past few years, he really took me under his wing and went out of his way to help prepare me for this next step in my career.”
While Moore never had a chance to evaluate his new conference in great detail before his arrival in Auglaize County, he is well aware of who he will share a field with week in and week out and the fact that three of the coaches currently in the league rank in the top ten in wins all-time in conference history.
“Really, going against all of the great coaches week in and week out, can’t do anything but make me a better coach,” he explained. “When we prepare for our opponents, we have the kids run things as if they are going against the best there is week after week. As a coach I will be doing the same, so I am sure it will be a part of the game that will keep me sharp. As a coach, I need to make good decisions on the field and continue to push our goals, all while making sure the ship stays going in the right direction.”
As long as that ship doesn’t resemble the Titanic, Wildcat fans hope to have plenty to look forward to in the coming years.
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