White gets his chance, Goodchild a second one

CEDAR RAPIDS – One new coach, one new coach who actually is an old coach.

Monday is the official start of practice for prep football teams around the state, and it's a special day for Brian White and Kal Goodchild. That's for separate reasons.

White, 43, is a newbie, of sorts, at Cedar Rapids Kennedy, a first-time head coach after a number of years as an assistant at places like Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Washington. Goodchild is back in the game at Benton Community after taking six years off from the gridiron to concentrate on being the school's athletics director.

'I am very excited,” White said. 'I have been since February (when he was named to replace Tim Lewis). Honestly I have been excited since last summer when Tim said he was probably hanging it up at the end of the season and I wondered if I would get this opportunity. We had a kids camp in March that was great, we had our camp (last week). I am ready to get going.”

White was the defensive coordinator at Kennedy for Lewis, who officially announced he was stepping down this past winter. There's no question his coaching style is a 180-degree change for Cougars players.

'You are right,” White said. 'Tim was pretty laid back, took a lot to get him excited. I am going to bring a lot of emotion. I believe the kids feed off that. Kind of like Pete Carroll. I'm going to be the first guy there to tap a kid on the helmet and tell them they did a great job, but also the first guy to get into their face when they don't do something right. I want our guys to be excited about playing, excited about playing with each other. We set that expectation on the first day of camp.”

Goodchild compiled a 106-38 record in 16 years at Benton from 1992 to 2007. That included winning six district titles in Class 3A.

The Bobcats program appears to need a spark, having gone 3-15 the past two seasons.

'Good question. I'm starting to question this decision myself,” Goodchild said with a laugh, when asked why he wanted back in. 'I've always had a passion for coaching. I knew if I didn't take it, I wouldn't have another opportunity.”

He said he kept every part of his old playbook, so you can guess what Benton's offense will look like. Pull out the video from seven seasons ago.

In preseason camp, Goodchild said he hasn't noticed a difference in kids from his first go around, either.

'Honestly, it feels like I never left,” he said. 'I'm seeing things on film again like I used to … I just want us to get back to Benton football again. I don't know what my expectations are for this team this season. I don't want us just to be competitive. I want October to mean something.”

The only thing White would say about his club is that it will be predicated on speed. Offensively, that means the Stacked-I formation with three running backs lined up behind the quarterback is likely out.

As he pointed out, Kennedy set a school record for rushing yards last season but also set one for fewest passing yards.

'You know, a few years ago, I applied for the head coaching job at Prairie,” White said. 'I remember driving in the car with my son, and I looked at him and told him I had applied. He said ‘That's great, dad. But I'm a Cougar.' From that moment on, I figured I'd be a lifelong defensive coordinator at Kennedy, and I was OK with that. I really was. I teach at Kennedy, my family lives in the Kennedy district.

'When I first got that feeling last year of ‘Holy cow, I might have a chance to be a head coach here,' it was incredible. I was just the right person at the right time.”

The first high school football games of the season (three off them) are Thursday, August 28, with the vast majority of schools kicking off Friday, August 29.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@sourcemedia.net