2022 with Head Coach Nick Leone Mariemont High School (Ohio)

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, News

David Burnworth | July 19, 2022

Nick Leone

Mariemont High School

Head Coach

Twitter: @CoachNLeone

You finished 8-4 last season, including a playoff victory. What must take place this off-season for you guys to improve overall and go deeper into the playoffs?

Every year after the season, the staff sits down to address the biggest issues from the previous year. This year we saw we badly needed to cut down on our penalties (we led the league in some penalty statistics) and turnovers. On a bigger scale, for us to succeed this year, we really need to have new leaders step up. We graduated some of the best players in Mariemont history this past season in Max Tepe, Jack Mileham, Ethan Malafa, and Connor Souders, along with many others. We are blessed to bring back two QBs with varsity experience and a ton of great linemen and receivers who have played a lot of meaningful snaps for us already. We also have a ton of potential stars in new players coming out for the team. When I was hired, we had 28 kids on the roster. This year we have 62 players who have expressed interest in joining our team. It is exciting to see. Names like Connor Jackson, Jax Peck, and Timmy Ackerman are all potential players who can make an impact who have never played a snap before. Then if you include players who have really grown up this offseason like Kiefer Burton and London Hiltgen, we have the potential to fill all the gaps from graduation and treat this year truly as a reload and not a rebuild. The community is really excited about the potential of this team, and people want to be a part of it.

What are your thoughts on playing teams from other states or from outside your immediate area?

That is a great question. As I’ve settled into my role here (I was also able to join Mariemont as a teacher this year), one of my goals for our team is to gradually transition out of the world of COVID. I would LOVE for us at Mariemont to be able to set something up with a team of similar size in another state. I think this would create such great opportunities and memories for your team. Last year we played against West Liberty Salem in the playoffs and traveled to them, and even in the midst of COVID, our players got to ride in travel buses to a community that really values and appreciates Friday night lights on a huge level. It was a great memory for our players to play in front of passionate fans in an environment where they had to face adversity as they had never experienced before. I think there is potential for schools to do this more often and really help grow the sport of football.

What do you think about the O.H.S.A.A. moving all of the playoff games for the first two weeks to Friday night?

I feel okay about it. I will admit, I really liked the split. It meant that high school football was center stage for two nights around Ohio. It meant that Div 5 schools like Mariemont were able to be the main news story at night and not compete against the St. X’s and Elders of the world for a night. It was such a joy for our families to see their players be recognized. I am sure they will still be. The media around us is fantastic. There just might be more fish in the pond again. The only serious concern I have heard from other coaches that I agree with is that I hope there will not be any issues finding officials with all the games going on at one time. We hear a lot about the official shortage, and now we have eliminated the possibility of the referee pool working Friday and Saturday nights, as I had many times in the past few years.

Where should the state finals be played?

Oh man, I know that people are very passionate about this one! I don’t want to start any fights! All I know is that our goal is to make it to the game. We will play it on the north pole if we have to. It seems to me like Columbus could make a lot of sense!

Who is the one coach that taught you the most before you became a head coach?

I have been so lucky to work with some incredible coaches as I have grown in this profession. I played for Rob Stoll at Turpin and then was able to begin working for him right away at the age of 18. The attention to detail and knowledge he passed on to me has been invaluable. Then I moved to Mariemont and worked under Kurry Commins. Coach Commins is so passionate about caring for others and doing the right thing. He knew I had aspirations of becoming a head coach and he let me take on more and more responsibilities for the years I worked under him so that when he was ready to retire from coaching, I felt like I could truly step in and be successful. I would not be where I am today without these two great head coaches.

What are your thoughts on girls playing football on the boys’ team?

I am completely on board! Anyone who wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves, learn life lessons for a lifetime, form bonds and friendships for a lifetime, help others, and work hard every day to be successful and wins games is welcome to join my team and our family at any time.

Should the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown go back to one of its older formats? Why or Why Not?

I think the format it uses is fine now. It is still a huge honor to be chosen for one of these games. I love the way they publicize both teams and give both teams great recognition. I hope we can be chosen again soon. As long as it stays around and keeps being a huge benefit for the football teams in this area, I am good with any format! Skyline is an awesome supporter of high school football.

What are your thoughts on the games scheduled for Thursday night and/or Saturday afternoon?

We have never had any games scheduled for Saturday afternoon. For the regular season, I love the tradition of “Friday Night Lights” like most people. In the CHL we have a large Jewish population, which means some years we do move games to Thursday nights so that we can respect certain holidays. I am in full support of that. Whatever we can do to welcome all populations into football, we should, and we should respect everyone’s religious beliefs—definitely more important than making sure a game stays on a Friday.

What is your favorite sportsbook?

I am a lifelong 49ers fan, and one year I was gifted Bill Walsh’s “Finding the Winning Edge” it is a huge book that was not printed in large numbers so it has now become a collector’s item as well. To me, Bill Walsh is one of the greatest coaches ever and so I try to re-read this book every offseason and I feel like I learn 10 new things every time.

What type of music do you enjoy listening to the most?

My players always make fun of me for the music I put on at practice/lifting. I am a big classic rock fan. That is always the playlist I choose. Nothing better!

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