Kennedy’s White living the dream

CEDAR RAPIDS - Brian White always wanted to be a head coach.

'I have been the defensive coordinator at Kennedy for eight years and at Wash for 11 years,” he said. 'I love the sport and I am really excited for the opportunity.”

White took over the head coaching position this year from Tim Lewis, who coached the Cougars for 13 years.

White was the head track coach for three years at Kennedy and assistant track coach for six years at Washington High School before that. The football season takes up nine months out of the year for White, so this time commitment led him to make the decision to step down as head track coach.

White remains an assistant track coach under new varsity coach Curt Pakkebier.

'It is going to be difficult to coach both sports, being head coach is very time consuming,” White said. 'That is why I have decided to reduce my role in track.”

On top of White's coaching jobs, he also is a part of the social studies department at Kennedy and has been a teacher for 20 years.

'I truly believe that teaching is the best job on the planet,” he said. 'To have the opportunity to make a positive impact on so many lives is awesome. I love going to work everyday.”

Members of the Cougar football team are excited White has stepped into the head coaching position.

'Coach White has brought a new type of ‘scheme,' which is our speed. We're not the biggest team in the state but we're the fastest,” senior Noah Nosley said. 'I like what he has done with our program. We as a team need to start executing at the times we most need it.”

The Cougars are off to a 0-4 start - losing to Iowa City West, North Scott, Cedar Rapids Washington and Pleasant Valley - heading into Thursday's game against Jefferson.

Kennedy hasn't had a winning record after the first three weeks since 2008.

'We've started the year rough losing the first three games, but we hope to improve on coming together as a team and being able to finish out drives and getting the ball in the end zone,” senior Jake Grovert said.

The team has been working on eliminating small mistakes such as dropped balls and fumbles.

'We just need to work on playing smarter,” Nosley said.

White is optimistic the team will be successful this season.

'I expect us to be in the playoffs in November,” White said.

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