Eric Addy appreciates Cedar Rapids Washington football tradition, hopes to add to it

CEDAR RAPIDS — He’s asking a lot of questions, obviously has a lot to learn about Eastern Iowa, the Metro and what will be his new school.

But Eric Addy knows about the past at Cedar Rapids Washington High School. Knows about the successful history of its football program.

Knows about former Principal Ralph Plagman and his longtime school slogan as it turns out. Addy used Plagman’s phrase “It’s always a great day to be a Warrior!” as part of his statement in a Wednesday press release that announced him as Washington’s new head varsity football coach.

“From my standpoint, what I saw was Wash has a rich football tradition. And it wasn’t that long ago,” Addy said Thursday afternoon. “Honestly, I was just looking for a change, continuing to grow as a coach. I saw this as an opportunity. I think this is a special place that for whatever reason hasn’t had the success it’s had in other parts of the 2000s.”

Addy, 34, replaces Maurice Blue as head coach. Blue stepped down in December after seven years, a guy who spent 30 years in the program as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

Considering Blue replaced Tony Lombardi, who replaced Paul James, who spent multiple decades at the school and in the program, James replaced Wally Sheets as head coach after Sheets spent multiple decades at the school and in the program ... Addy will bring an “outside” perspective.

He has been Des Moines North’s head coach for five years after spending four years at West Central Valley in Stuart. The job at North is considered one of the toughest in the state because of the school’s socioeconomic makeup, a student body in which 80-plus percent qualifies for free and reduced lunch and is largely minority.

North won four games in the 2022 season for the first time since 1999. It also has produced multiple Division I college players in Deavin Hilson (Iowa), David Caulker and Augustine Sleh (Iowa State).

“We’re really big into the offseason commitment, we’re really big into the weight room, like any successful program is and was,” Addy said. “I put a high premium on that because unless you are a major, major suburban school in Central Iowa, you’re probably not going to be the biggest, fastest strongest team on the field night in and night out on Friday nights.”

Addy is a North grad who played college football at NIACC (until the program was shuttered), Upper Iowa and Simpson. He served as defensive coordinator for the South squad in last summer’s Shrine Bowl.

He said he’ll work on assembling a staff as soon as possible.

“When I got to North, I pretty much evaluated the strengths and the weaknesses of the program. From Year 1 to Year 2, we were really intentional about trying to build leaders, but, more importantly, laying a cultural foundation,” he said. “Something that we can continue to lean into. Everybody’s got a hashtag, everybody’s got a saying and stuff like that, but for a lot of people, that’s just words on the wall ...

“It’s all about relationships. Kids aren’t really going to care how much you know until they know how much you care. Just being yourself and being genuine usually wins out. Not trying to be someone that you’re not. Kind of backing up everything that you say every day with your actions. Getting kids to believe in themselves more than they being in me.”

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