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L-L FOOTBALL
Nichols resigns at CV To assist Ortega at Coatesville BY PETE KAUFFMAN, Sports Writer
Saying that at the end of the day, "more important than winning games is being there,'' Tom Nichols decided to step down as football coach at Conestoga Valley.
Nichols, who lives in the Eastern Lancaster County school district and still teaches at Coatesville, will return to Coatesville and serve as an assistant in charge of the offensive line under Raiders head coach Matt Ortega.
Nichols previously was the head coach at Coatesville, compiling a 42-23 record from 2003-08 according to newspaper records before taking over the Buckskins program in 2009.
He went 19-24 while leading CV from 2009-12, including a 3-7 record in 2012. Nichols was forced to serve a one-game, school-imposed suspension midway through the 2012 season. He said he turned in his resignation on Monday.
A father of two children -- a 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son who are both active in sports -- Nichols said that missing out on their activities also played into his decision to leave CV.
Mainly, though, he said it was because he couldn't secure a full-time teaching position in the CV district that led to his decision to leave.
"It's not the best way to be the head football coach (not being in the building),'' Nichols said. "The way to do it is be in the building; be in (players') day-to-day lives.
"That was the plan going in. I had all intentions to do that,'' he added. "It just didn't work out (getting a job at the high school) and it didn't look like it was going to.''
Nichols, 47, said he talked to several people at CV, but didn't feel his job situation would change in the near future.
"It was a difficult decision. I had spoken to administrators, teachers and colleagues,'' Nichols said. "I just felt that (a teaching job in the high school) was something I couldn't get changed at this point.
"I don't think it's anybody's fault. The economy did what it did. Everybody's cutting budget. It just wasn't something that could get worked out.''
Nichols said that he thinks the CV football program is in relatively good shape, despite the team's struggles this past season. Nichols said he had 30 sophomores on the roster, and "a nice group of kids coming through, so that was hard leaving them.''
"I really believe in the long run, you have to have somebody in the building, in the community,'' he added. "At end of the day, what's more important than winning games is being there.''
pkauffman@lnpnews.com
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