Badin selects Yordy as new head football coach

Nick Yordy is returning to his alma mater for his first head coaching job.

Badin High School introduced Yordy as the Rams’ new football coach Monday afternoon, and the 1997 graduate said he’s ready to lead his own program.

“This is one of the few places that I would make this switch for,” said Yordy, who spent the last seven seasons as offensive coordinator at Mount Healthy and also coached at Ross and New Miami.

“I worked for 15 years as an assistant and it’s been a great experience, but when your alma mater comes open, I think you’ve got to re-evaluate things. I did, and I decided to go after it.”

Athletic director Geoff Melzer said Yordy was chosen from a pool of 34 applicants.

He replaces Bill Tenore, who was dismissed in November after going 51-38 in eight seasons at the helm. Badin was 2-8 in 2016.

Yordy, 37, met with his players Monday.

“I thought it went well,” he said. “I just gave them some background information on me and told them what my expectations were going to be. It starts right now.

“My wife has been very supportive and needs to be commended for that. I’m excited, and I know my parents and extended family are excited. Being a player here and being a part of this community, it does kind of put a little bit of extra pressure on you. But that’s why I coach. It’s part of the expectations that come with being the head coach.”

Melzer noted that Yordy is slated to enter Badin’s Athletic Hall of Fame this year.

“I think what sets Nick apart is the plan he laid out for the future of Badin football and how he was going to put his stamp on that,” Melzer said. “We had two different committees, and at the end of the day, the majority of both committees had him No. 1.

“One of the things we wanted out of our new football coach was a guy who was going to be active in the community and be the face of the program from the youth program on up. The youth program is huge. It should be the foundation of everyone’s program.”

He said the fact that Yordy played at Badin wasn’t a deciding factor in his hiring.

“We went in with the mind-set that we wanted the best guy for Badin football, whether they had Badin connections or not,” Melzer said. “We’re excited to have Nick. He’s been successful everywhere he’s been.”

Mount Healthy coach Arvie Crouch knew Yordy could be leaving once he heard about the open Badin position.

“I thought it should happen,” Crouch said. “I hate to lose him, but I’m really, really happy for him right now. Badin knows what they’re getting. He’s a top-notch person with a top-notch family.

“He’s one of those guys that’s going to work his tail off. He’s going to make things right. He prepares so well for games. He’s so good with kids and has them ready to play football on Friday nights.”

Yordy totaled 130 points as a running back during his Badin career and scored five touchdowns in a game against McNicholas as a senior. He played wide receiver at Thomas More College.

Badin’s only had three other head coaches since the school opened its doors in the fall of 1966: Terry Malone, Dave Wirth and Tenore. Malone passed away Jan. 14 at the age of 83.

“It’s a very humbling experience in the grand scheme of things,” Yordy said. “Everything that’s happened here the past couple weeks with Coach Malone really kind of put some things in perspective and just made me realize how important this place is and how important this job is.

“Over the years, I’ve been a couple different places. We’ve won some games, we’ve lost some games. But I’ve learned a lot. I worked with some great people — Jeremy Rogers, Brian Butts, Arvie Crouch — and those guys all really had a big impact on me from a coaching standpoint. I learned a lot from them, and I plan to use all those things I’ve learned over the years.”

At Mount Healthy, Yordy’s offensive units have been running the spread. Badin has used the pistol Wing-T in recent seasons.

What will the Rams run in 2017?

“With the type of kids we had at Mount Healthy, we thought the spread was the best fit for us,” Yordy said. “I don’t necessarily know if that’s going to work here. Once we get into some offseason conditioning and evaluate the talent we have here, we’ll make a decision as to what we want to do offensively.”

The opponent for his first game hasn’t been determined. Melzer said Week 1 is open right now, though he’s been talking to Tom Gamble about playing in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown.


Nick Yordy File

Age: 37

Residence: Hanover Township

Family: Wife Emily; sons Zach (11), Josh (3) and Ethan (1)

Teaching Job: Seventh-grade mathematics at Mount Healthy

High School: Badin, Class of 1997

College: Thomas More, bachelor's degree in education; Marygrove (Mich.), master's degree in education

Coaching History: Seven years as offensive coordinator at Mount Healthy, one year as assistant offensive coordinator at Ross, seven years as offensive coordinator at New Miami

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