West Carrollton to name Hatcher new football coach

It has been a little bit of a whirlwind for Doug Hatcher.

In a couple of days, Hatcher went from being the softball coach and a member of the football staff at West Carrollton High School to being recommended as the school’s head football coach.

“I am reasonably shocked to say the least,” Hatcher said. “It has been chaotic, crazy and fun since then.”

Hatcher will be recommended to the board of education to replace Chris Newman, who left to become a part of Rodney Roberts’ staff at Centerville.

“It was a little bit of a shock to us,” West Carrollton athletic director Brad Pompos said of Newman’s departure after two years. “We found out a day before spring break. It was not something we saw coming. We had to post it right away because the timing was not good. This is not a good time of year to be trying to find someone.”

Hatcher was not going to apply for the position but was approached about it. After clearing it with his wife, Karen, Hatcher told Pompos he was in.

“We have had an outpouring of people who are happy about our choice,” Pompos said. “He is a West Carrollton guy. He played here and he has coached here for the good part of two decades and is the softball coach. We were looking for someone in house willing to do it.”

Hatcher’s hiring comes as the Dayton Dutch Lions are putting the finishing touches on a new turf field in All Sports Stadium, and plans are in the works to renovate the weight room.

“There are a lot of exciting things happening around West Carrollton,” Hatcher said. “Hopefully, we can get the kids back to being excited about playing football.”

The Pirates were 3-17 in Newman’s two yearsas coach, including 1-9 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference South Division.

Pompos believes Hatcher will find a way to get the Pirates on track.

“I think he is going to bring some discipline that we have not had the past few years, nothing against Chris,” Pompos said. “We are very, very happy and pleased with the momentum he seems to be bringing with him.”

Hatcher coached the West Carrollton junior high teams for 24 years before Rob Berger added him to the high school staff, where he has remained.

“We are going to go back to old-school ways,” Hatcher said. “We may not be real fancy, but we are going to be good at what we do. I am drawing on everything I learned from all the coaches I played for and worked for on how to do things and what to focus on. We are going to focus on developing good people because that translates to good athletes.”

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