Nance Named WW Head Coach

By: 
Josh Lewis

It’s not a position Keith Nance wanted to be in, but it’s a position he finds himself in none the less. Normally when somebody takes over a football program they are excited about getting to put their stamp on the program. But at West Washington, Nance being named head coach was just another reminder of what they lost. 

Nance has been a coach on the staff at West Washington for 20 years, and 14 years as the offensive coordinator. After the passing of head coach Phillip Bowsman last fall the team was left facing changes. He said the move for him to be named head coach mostly just means continuity for a team that had to endure unimaginable trials and change just a few months ago. “This means continuity for next year. This is all less than ideal. We can’t change the circumstances although we wish we could. The board wanted to keep consistency going for the kids. We talked about Coach Mark Gibson who has been a coach here longer than anybody, but we just needed someone more accessible. So it turned to who else might be ready. We wanted to make sure the staff stays in place for the kids. And we wanted it to be smooth for them with all the change going on around them. So I’m only going to be the head coach for this year.”

West Washington explored the idea of not naming a head coach at all, but decided that there did indeed need to be one voice in charge. “We discussed doing it by committee and not naming a head coach. But after looking at it that could be problematic for the IHSAA, and if you have issues with kids or parents, there needs to be one person for all those issues and we had to have somebody step up.”

When football season finally arrives things will be different of course, but Nance said they will try to keep as close to what it was under Bowsman as they can. “It will be the same mission it was with Phillip. The palyers will be the focus of everything. I’m sure there will be a lot of talk about all of this and I understand that. I’m the superintendent so I know there will be some that question it. But we want the kids to be the focus.” 

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