Only those closest to him grasp the wear and tear that long journey can do to someone.
“There were plenty of times over the years in which I would have some pretty tough conversations with (wife) Kim or with my dad and we mulled through that stuff,” Niekamp reflected. “Is this going anywhere? Am I making an impact on these players? It’s tough to tell if you’re making progress when you go 3-7 or worse.”
There were many of those at Fort Recovery, which finished 13-2 but until last season was an after-thought in the powerful Midwest Athletic Conference. State titles might come often for MAC football heavyweights Coldwater and Marion Local. Fort Recovery hadn’t even fielded a winning team until going 6-4 and making its first playoff appearance just last year.
It might seem as if the stars – and talented athletes – aligned just right for the Indians this season. In reality, it was a long process that started when Niekamp landed the head position in 2004.
Niekamp, 35, is a Fort Recovery grad. His father Pat is a former Recovery boys basketball coach. His uncle Ron won an NCAA Division II men’s basketball championship at the University of Findlay in 2009. Another uncle, Jim, took Coldwater’s boys to the 1993 basketball final four.
“I’ve been surrounded by people like that who’ve given me a pretty good perspective and who are really helpful to talk to when those difficult times come,” Brent said.
Niekamp said the turning point was a season finale at St. Henry in 2010. It was the first time he’d seen his team push St. Henry to the end, despite losing by a couple of touchdowns. Recovery won four games that season, “and I felt pretty good about that,” Niekamp said. “That carried over into the following season. We started to get some really gritty play from our players.”
But that improvement didn’t show on Friday nights. It would take four more seasons for that to happen.
Niekamp was never told school administration was leaning in another coaching direction. Coaches don’t have to be told; they can feel it. “I’m sure that was probably discussed at some level by somebody,” he said.
That unwavering support and a balance of family that includes wife Kim and four children between ages 2-8 provided a winning foundation.
“Last year rolls around and everybody goes, wow, what happened?” Niekamp said. “There’s a lot of areas to make improvement and it doesn’t show up right away. When it does show up it looks like everything has happened at once.”
Most townsfolk joined in Sunday’s welcome home celebration at the high school gym. Administration, coaches and players took turns saluting their season and fans.
Some coaches aren’t so lucky. Time had run out on Roy Thobe at Fairborn and Fairmont’s Andy Aracri, both of whom lost their head coaching positions for essentially not winning enough. Kris Ketron at Valley View resigned to spend more time with family and children.
There’s no guarantee Fort Recovery will ever duplicate this championship season. It’s the journey — no matter how taxing — in pursuing excellence that Recovery players and coaches promise to continue.
“The reality is the good things will happen for a few years,” Niekamp said. “I was glad for these players that they had a chance to show what they are and be very successful.”
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