GREENFIELD — To get Greenfield-Central football pointed in the right direction, the school found a man with a good sense of it.
Travis Nolting knows where he’s going and knows how to get there.
After eight successful seasons at North Central (Farmersburg), Nolting was hired last December to take over the reins of a program that has had just three winning seasons in the 2000s.
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His first Cougars team will open the 2019 season Aug. 23 with a home game against Plainfield.
“We knew we wanted to get a guy who desired to be here for the long term, was established and knew how to build a program and sustain it,” Greenfield-Central athletic director Jared Manning said. “We look forward to having him here for several years.”
In eight seasons at North Central, Nolting’s teams combined to go 60-28. His club won 10 games in 2017 and, in 2018, won the first sectional in Sullivan County high school football history. Five of his eight teams won at least eight games and seven clubs had winning records.
“First and foremost, my objective always has been as a head coach to establish a direction for the program,” Nolting said.
“I’m not for sure that had been done prior with different turnover (in coaching),” Nolting added. “I’ve always believed in being a system guy, offensively and defensively. When we started taking over here, in January, when I took over the weight room, we just pushed ahead. We established direction in the weight room. We established direction with the football program, offensively and defensively. We committed to those directions with a really good staff of guys.”
The direction isn’t just with the high school program and the kids in grades 9-12. Nolting is establishing a program that goes beyond the walls at Greenfield-Central High School. His offensive and defensive schemes will be installed at the junior high and the Greenfield Youth Football League, too.
Nolting said developing that continuity and system was a key in the successes at North Central, where he took over a program that had won just five games in the previous three years combined.
He gives the credit to his staff and kids that bought into his way of doing things.
“It speaks volumes to the direction we established their because those kids I had as seniors this past year at North Central, they’ve been running the same offense and defense since they were fourth graders when I arrived,” Nolting said. “I think that made a huge difference in things. I’m taking a similar approach here. I don’t think it’s any secret that we’re very young and we’re behind where we need to be, but our kids have worked very hard since I took over. We’re making some great progress in the weight room and on the field.”
Nolting’s teams will be unique. Their offensive formation is the run-oriented wishbone, a style that is seldom used today.
His clubs will not only have direction, but they will have an identity.
“We’re going to be committed to what we do on both sides of the ball and who we are is who we are,” Nolting said. “The biggest thing that allowed us to be successful at North Central was the identity of the program. You knew we were going to be a run first team. What we do offensively, while it may be considered old school to a lot of people, and it is, but it is very effective. For one, hardly anybody does it anymore. Preparing for what we do is going to be difficult for teams because it’s very hard to emulate an option style of offense with scout teams in a week, as opposed to us practicing all the time.”
The change has been accepted with open arms, Nolting said. The kids have bought in and he has seen a lot of progress, both in the weight room and on the field, since he took over the program at the beginning of the year.
And the players, who have been a part of some tough times, feel they are welcomed, also.
“I was nervous that he heard what the program was like in year’s past and that he wouldn’t want us to be in there,” senior Tyler Antic said. “I thought he might want to wipe the slate clean. He has really embraced us and sees us as leaders.”
It’s part of the culture change at Greenfield-Central and the direction they’ve all been looking for.
It’s exciting,” Antic added. “Everything has been more structured and organized. Everyone has bought in.”
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Travis Nolting’s head coaching record at North Central (Farmersburg)
Season;Record
2011;8-2
2012;8-3
2013;8-3
2014;4-6
2015;7-5
2016;6-5
2017;10-2
*2018;9-2
Eight seasons;60-28
*became first Sullivan County high school to win a football sectional
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