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HHF/ GID Interview with New Northridge Head Coach Chad Eppley


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HHF Interview with New Northridge Head Coach Chad Eppley
 
Eppley has his Raiders looking beyond an NLC championship with sites set on "The Big One"
 
 
Question 1
For starters, congratulations on being selected as the next Head Coach at Northridge High
School. Please tell our readers about your personal background. Where are you from originally? What
is your educational and playing background? When and why did you decide to get into coaching and
who were some of your most important members along the way? Finally, what circumstances came
into play that lead to your elevation to the Head Coach position at Northridge?
Response
- Thank you very much! It is a huge honor for me. I graduated from Wawasee high school where I
played football and I also did wrestling and track. After graduating from Wawasee I went and
played football at The University of Indianapolis. I’ve always loved the game of football and I
always knew I wanted to always be involved with it my whole life so coaching made the most
sense. I decided in high school that I wanted to be a football coach. Coach Wogomon played a
huge part in me wanting to become a coach. He was a great role model for me and all of my
teammates and I wanted to impact kids lives in the same way that he did. Jake Gilbert was the
person who actually gave me the opportunity to start coaching at Westfield High School. He kind
of threw me into the fire my first day and I am a much better coach because of it and because of
him. The people that had the most influence for me were my parents. They always pushed me to
do my best in everything I do and I carry that into coaching. I knew that I always wanted to be a
head coach. I had some long conversations with my parents and we decided that it would be a
great opportunity for me and even if I did not get the position it would be a great experience
just going through the process.
 
 
Question 2
Coach Wogomon spent 8 years building up the program, and had a few very successful years as well as
some challenges along the way. What did you find upon taking over the program relative to overall
numbers, team strength and speed, offensive skill capability, and general team cohesiveness and unity?
Response
- The nice thing with this job was that I have already been at Northridge for two years before
Coach Wogomon retired so I kind of knew what I was walking into. Coach Wogomon has done a
great job here and it really shows with our kids. Our numbers are solid, our strength and speed
is increasing, we have some guys that will be huge playmakers for us on offense this year, and
has far as team cohesiveness are team is very close. We have done a lot of things in the off
season to bring our team closer together as a family.
 
 
Question 3
What are your primary offensive and defensive philosophies and schemes that you and your staff will
deploy, and will you be making significant changes to the core identity of the program?
Response
- Offensively we want to pound the ball. Once we start establishing our run game it will start
opening up our pass game and we will be rolling. Defensively it is no different. We take a lot of
pride in our defense especially our run game defense. Not a lot will be changing.
 
 
Question 4
What was your primary focus for the team through summer drills and team competitions with other
schools? What were some of the team strengths that clearly stood out over the past few
months? What are some of the immediate challenges that you and staff identified that need attention
before live game action begins ?
Response
- The biggest thing for us over the summer was building a sense of family on our team. We
wanted to focus on bringing our kids together as one. Our skilled positions are looking really
good. We put a focus on some auxiliary muscles during the off season and it is really paying off.
The biggest question mark for us was on the O Line. We had some things happen and now we
have a couple young guys battling for a couple of positions.
 
 
Question 5.
Who are your most experienced kids and top returning starters on both offense and defense that you
will be looking to for production and leadership this fall?
Response
- Micah Hochstetler, Clint Walker, Trent Jensen, Julian Caudill, Peyton Shook, Ridge Howard
 
 
Question 6
The NLC has seen some changes over the past few years at the coaching level, as well as the addition of
Mishawaka and the loss of Elkhart Memorial. Several programs in the conference have reportedly been
seeing lower numbers than expected. What is your assessment of the conference overall, and how do
you see your program positioned to possibly compete for an NLC title this season?
Response
- Northridge is always competing for a shot at the conference title. Our conference is really
competitive even with low numbers. Concord, Mishawaka, Warsaw, and Northwood are always
competitive and always right at the top of the conference. Wawasee has been improving each
year and I could see them as being a challenge this year. With our conference you basically have
to respect every team that you play.
 
 
Question 7
We've spoken at length this summer with coaches throughout the state about the critical importance of
year round strength and speed training relative to program success. Northridge has recently completed
some impressive facilities upgrades that bring your school up to speed with the larger schools in the
conference. How would you assess the overall facilities situation at Northridge, and do you feel your
strength and conditioning program is a key to maintaining your competitive edge in the conference?
Response
- Our facilities are top notch, there is no doubt about that. Its always up to us to do things that some
schools might not be able to do. Strength and conditioning is always the key in our conference.
If we aren’t getting better in the off season with lifting and conditioning then we will be behind
the curve because everyone else is.
 
 
Question 8
2014 was the last sectional title for the Northridge program. 4A is a tough road in the north, both inside
the conference and also outside of the NLC with plenty of competition from The Region and from Fort
Wayne. What was your vision for Raider football when you took over this program, what do you feel it
is potentially capable of doing, and what are your realistic goals and expectations for the 2021 season?
Response
- We are trying to build a championship mindset here at Northridge. We don’t want to be
content just competing for a conference title. We have our eyes set on the big one. Our
potential is very high. We are a good team that has some dudes on it. As long as we stay healthy
I believe we have a good shot at making a run. Our goals for this season are to improve on our
stuff each and every week and continually get better throughout the season. If we can do that
and stay tight as a team we have a shot at reaching our goals
 
 
Great stuff!. Thanks Coach, and best of luck to you and your team this season

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Edited by DT
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