By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor
#BDifferent
The Batavia High School football Twitter account is less than a month old, but that hashtag has already found a spot on several Tweets. It’s a symbol of the mindset new head coach Nick Schmidt wants to bring to the Batavia program.
“I want these kids to have a different mindset, to be thinking that what we do at Batavia is different than what anyone else does and because we’re different we’re going to put ourselves at an advantage to be successful,” Schmidt said. “We do things differently. We’re going to do things the right way. We’re going to do things on the field and off the field to be the best sons we can be. The best community members we can be. The best students we can be. We’re going to do things in a different manner to be that way.”
Schmidt was named Batavia’s head coach at the district’s board of education meeting on Monday, January 13. In the week since, he’s met with the community and the players and so far, so good.
“It’s been going real well,” Schmidt said. “Matt [Blandin, Batavia’s athletic director] has done nothing but help me during the transition, it’s been tremendous. The openness the kids have and the willingness that they want to do things has been tremendous so far. I’ve only had the opportunity to be in front of them once, I’m really looking forward to get after it.”
Schmidt’s coaching career began at his alma mater, McNicholas High School, under coach Steve Klonne. It wasn’t supposed to be the start of a career, as Klonne had only asked for one year of Schmidt’s help.
“It’s something I just fell in love with,” Schmidt said. “He’s a great mentor, he pushed me. I spent three years as the JV head coach and three years as the offensive coordinator.”
In Schmidt’s final season with the Rockets, the team advanced to the state final four. He then moved to Walnut Hills High School, where he and head coach George Kontsis took the Eagles to the state playoffs for the first time in school history.
“George was tremendous with the things that he did,” Schmidt said. “His entire career, he had been an offensive coordinator and he really allowed me to spread my wings and run. The stuff that he did for me really helped allow me to evolve as a coach.”
After leaving the Eagles, Schmidt found himself working under former Western Brown and Oak Hills head coach Evan Dryer at Anderson High School as the program’s defensive coordinator.
“Working with Evan Dryer has opened my eyes to the fact that football doesn’t have to be a drag,” Schmidt said. “It doesn’t have to be a business mentality all the time. We’re going to get our work done, we’re going to allow these kids to have fun and enjoy their high school experience.”
Stops at those three schools provide a solid background for any coach, and Schmidt said each coach he has worked with has taught him something important, and he feels it’s now his turn to teach other coaches what he’s learned.
“I’ve worked with three really good head coaches,” Schmidt said. “They’ve taught me a lot of things in football. I think it’s my time to help other guys get through the process and mentor these kids and the other people on my staff. I’m looking forward to it.”
Anderson has finished first or second in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference in passing yards in each of the four seasons prior to Dryer’s arrival in 2016. With Schmidt having worked under Dryer in that time, it’s natural for fans to wonder what type of changes Batavia will undergo with Schmidt at the helm.
“If you look at [Dryer’s] track record offensively, he’s done some tremendous things,” Schmidt said. “I think if I left Anderson and didn’t take anything from him offensively, I would be putting these kids at an injustice. Philosophically, I think some of the stuff he does will be themed in our offense, but I think there will be different identities and themes that we do.”
Schmidt said while the team probably won’t throw the ball as often as Anderson does, they will if it’s required to win games. Another aspect of winning comes with the mental development of the players on and off the field.
”We’re going to work hard and put our time in, but it’s going to be a different type of work and a different type of mentality to get these kids to develop, not just as football players but as members of the community,” Schmidt said.
The community is one of the things that drew Schmidt to Batavia.
“I think the community is tremendous,” Schmidt said. “You get a small community and people to buy into what’s going on, the sky is the limit. The facilities and everything proves that it’s a community that wants to do well and wants the kids to be successful, not just athletically but academically and in everything that they do.”
Schmidt hopes to build a culture at Batavia that involves heavy community engagement.
”I’ve always told my wife that I would love to coach in a small community where on a Friday night you drive through town and the lights are turned off because everybody is in the stadium,” Schmidt said. “Those are steps in the process. Everybody is hanging out at Holman Stadium and the energy and excitement in the air is what everybody wants to be around. I think the community in Batavia is yearning for that, and I’m excited to help bring that to people.”