Lewis resigns as Kennedy coach (update)

CEDAR RAPIDS - He enjoyed being a football coach, though he didn't enjoy some of the things that go with being a football coach.So Tim Lewis is following his heart and stepping down as head man at Cedar Rapids Kennedy. He'll still play a large role in preparing kids to play football for the Cougars, though in a different way."I think I caught some people off guard with this," Lewis said. "But my biggest reason for making this decision, by far, is my passion for the strength and conditioning part.'Lewis, 44, will continue as a physical education instructor and leader of Kennedy's strength and conditioning program. He has been part of Kennedy's football program since 1996, taking over as head coach for Don Knock in 2000.The school's all-time winningest coach, he compiled a 78-65 career record in 14 seasons, leading the Cougars to the playoffs nine times. Kennedy was the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division champion in 1997."(His) teams developed the reputation over the years as a team you did not want to meet in the postseason, the proverbial “tough out," Kennedy Athletics Director Aaron Stecker said in a press release. "They have been known to continually develop and play their best football during the playoffs, a testament to the ability of Coach Lewis and his staff to continually teach the game of football and motivate players to maximize their potential."Lewis said he confided in family and assistant coach Brian White during this past season that his heart didn't necessarily lie in remaining Kennedy's coach. He said he gets up every morning at 2:30, heads to school for his own personal workout, then prepares for a "Performance PE Class" of athletes that meets before regular classes."I just discovered that being football coach was not necessarily where my heart was anymore," he said. "I think if you do (the strength and conditioning part) right, you are actually head coach of four sports. I don't want to be the person who lets this program slide. That's really where we're at."Lewis also bemoaned the fact that the summer has become such an important part of football, saying it was a time for kids to play baseball instead of participating in 7-on-7 football camps. He did not want to embrace having to deal with kids as young as fifth and sixth grade, in order to ensure the success of his varsity program in the future.This was not an easy decision, he said, particularly because his son, Matt, will be a junior next football season. But it was a decision he is in peace with."Football has always been a big part of who I am," said Lewis, an Oskaloosa native who played collegiately at Central College and was head coach at Ackley-Geneva before coming to Kennedy. "But strength and conditioning also is. I knew after our final game against (Cedar Rapids) Xavier that this was it, but I didn't want to share that with everyone. Aaron and I go back a long way, and I told him Monday. He said to take until Christmas to make sure this was what I wanted to do."It didn't take that long."Stecker said the school will begin an immediate search for Lewis' replacement.

Kennedy Football coach Tim Lewis