July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Fort hires coach (05/26/05)
By By RAY COONEY-
FORT RECOVERY — To turn around its football program Fort Recovery is calling on one of its own.
The Fort Recovery School Board unanimously voted to hire 1999 graduate Brent Niekamp as the new football coach for the Indians at a special meeting Wednesday night. He will also fill a variety of rolls in the classroom.
“I’m very excited,” said Niekamp, 24, in a phone interview this morning. “This is something that’s been in my mind ever since I decided to go to college to be a teacher. I feel a real strong bond with that community and with the program. I’ve been involved with the program quite a bit throughout its existence. I thought it would be good to be able to build it into something special.”
“That eagerness and enthusiasm and passion are things that we think are very, very important,” said FRHS principal Ed Snyder. “We’re very impressed with his ability to teach both students in the classroom and on the athletic field. We are looking forward to him coming here and doing a great job with our kids.”
Athletics directory Barb Sautbine agreed that Niekamp’s enthusiasm was one of the characteristics which stood out during the interview process.
“He’s very dedicated and he’s a caring person,” Sautbine added. “I think he’s going to have a great relationship with the athletes. I’m excited to have Brent on board. He really wants to get this program turned around.”
Trying to build the Tribe program will be the challenge for Niekamp, who played football at Tri-State University and has coached at Edgerton as an assistant for the last two years.
FRHS has won just one game in each of the last two seasons — both in the season opener against Ansonia — and had just two wins in each of the two previous years for a 6-34 record since 2001.
He takes over for Mark Fenik, who resigned in January. Fenik went 10-40 during his five seasons at Fort Recovery.
The Indians have had just one winning season in their 13-year history with a 6-4 mark in 1994. Niekamp said he biggest goal is to gain respect in the Midwest Athletic Conference.
“I want to improve and play on a competitive level with the other teams in that league,” he said. “I think that’s the best league in the state. It’s tough to compete in it. If we can gain respect fro the good teams in that league that’s what we want to do.”
“I think (we need to focus) on basic skills and getting better fundamentally — building football skills from the bottom up at junior high and just getting better at those things all the way throughout the program.”
Niekamp knows the Tribe program well, having played football at Fort Recovery. The team was 3-7 in his final season and went 11-29 during his high school years.
“We feel obvisouly that his loyaty to the program being an FR native is an assett,” said Snyder. “It’s one of many things that made him an attractive candidate for us.”
Niekamp graduated with honors from Tri-State in 2003 and did his student teaching at Edgerton, which is located in Williams County in northwest Ohio. He has taught world and American history at the freshman and sophomore levels at Edgerton for the last two years, and has also been an assistant basketball coach and junior high track coach.
A four-year letter winner at Tri-State thanks mostly to his play on special teams, Niekamp said it will be his goal to help develop every player for the betterment of the whole.
“I want to look at not how good somebody is coming into the season, but how good they are at the end of the season,” he said. “I want to get the best out of everybody.
“Football is a game where you play a lot of guys and not everybody gets attention. But when a team wins, everybody wins, and when a team loses everybody loses. I think that’s one of the really neat things about football.”
Niekamp currently lives in Edgerton with his wife, Kimberly, but said he plans on moving back to Fort Recovery.
He is the son of Pat and Mary Niekamp. Pat is a former Fort Recovery Schools superintendent.
His brothers, Johan and Tyler, graduated from FRHS in 2001 and 2003 respectively, and his sister, Abby, is a Fort Recovery sophomore.[[In-content Ad]]
The Fort Recovery School Board unanimously voted to hire 1999 graduate Brent Niekamp as the new football coach for the Indians at a special meeting Wednesday night. He will also fill a variety of rolls in the classroom.
“I’m very excited,” said Niekamp, 24, in a phone interview this morning. “This is something that’s been in my mind ever since I decided to go to college to be a teacher. I feel a real strong bond with that community and with the program. I’ve been involved with the program quite a bit throughout its existence. I thought it would be good to be able to build it into something special.”
“That eagerness and enthusiasm and passion are things that we think are very, very important,” said FRHS principal Ed Snyder. “We’re very impressed with his ability to teach both students in the classroom and on the athletic field. We are looking forward to him coming here and doing a great job with our kids.”
Athletics directory Barb Sautbine agreed that Niekamp’s enthusiasm was one of the characteristics which stood out during the interview process.
“He’s very dedicated and he’s a caring person,” Sautbine added. “I think he’s going to have a great relationship with the athletes. I’m excited to have Brent on board. He really wants to get this program turned around.”
Trying to build the Tribe program will be the challenge for Niekamp, who played football at Tri-State University and has coached at Edgerton as an assistant for the last two years.
FRHS has won just one game in each of the last two seasons — both in the season opener against Ansonia — and had just two wins in each of the two previous years for a 6-34 record since 2001.
He takes over for Mark Fenik, who resigned in January. Fenik went 10-40 during his five seasons at Fort Recovery.
The Indians have had just one winning season in their 13-year history with a 6-4 mark in 1994. Niekamp said he biggest goal is to gain respect in the Midwest Athletic Conference.
“I want to improve and play on a competitive level with the other teams in that league,” he said. “I think that’s the best league in the state. It’s tough to compete in it. If we can gain respect fro the good teams in that league that’s what we want to do.”
“I think (we need to focus) on basic skills and getting better fundamentally — building football skills from the bottom up at junior high and just getting better at those things all the way throughout the program.”
Niekamp knows the Tribe program well, having played football at Fort Recovery. The team was 3-7 in his final season and went 11-29 during his high school years.
“We feel obvisouly that his loyaty to the program being an FR native is an assett,” said Snyder. “It’s one of many things that made him an attractive candidate for us.”
Niekamp graduated with honors from Tri-State in 2003 and did his student teaching at Edgerton, which is located in Williams County in northwest Ohio. He has taught world and American history at the freshman and sophomore levels at Edgerton for the last two years, and has also been an assistant basketball coach and junior high track coach.
A four-year letter winner at Tri-State thanks mostly to his play on special teams, Niekamp said it will be his goal to help develop every player for the betterment of the whole.
“I want to look at not how good somebody is coming into the season, but how good they are at the end of the season,” he said. “I want to get the best out of everybody.
“Football is a game where you play a lot of guys and not everybody gets attention. But when a team wins, everybody wins, and when a team loses everybody loses. I think that’s one of the really neat things about football.”
Niekamp currently lives in Edgerton with his wife, Kimberly, but said he plans on moving back to Fort Recovery.
He is the son of Pat and Mary Niekamp. Pat is a former Fort Recovery Schools superintendent.
His brothers, Johan and Tyler, graduated from FRHS in 2001 and 2003 respectively, and his sister, Abby, is a Fort Recovery sophomore.[[In-content Ad]]
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