New coach Cordell ready for Lincoln-Way Central to start season after months of preparations

NEW LENOX – Jeremy Cordell has been around Lincoln-Way Central’s football players so much since he was hired as head coach in December that he almost feels as if he already has had a full season with the squad.

After being named as Hud Venerable’s replacement to lead the Knights’ program, the former Glenbard South coach made plenty of trips from the Glen Ellyn school to his new setting, so the usual transition to different coach doesn’t really apply in this case.

Cordell’s program wrapped up its offseason work recently with a camp at the University of Dubuque, which the new coach feels put the finishing touches on a successful summer.

“We started all of our offseason stuff back in December, so we’ve been at this for seven months,” Cordell said. “Our structures and expectations are in place. Obviously, summer is a super grind, and we worked very hard, and we take pride in that because we believe that’s the way that we’re going to be successful and win championships.

“My first player meeting was Dec. 11, and from that day we laid out the expectations of what it’s going to be like to be a Lincoln-Way Central football player, and the kids were excited from Day 1. From there, we put together a staff and talked about how we were going to coach and treat our kids and what we wanted to do systematically.

“We look at everything in a 1-0 approach. All that you can do is worry about the next rep or practice in front of you or the next week leading up to a game. We’re not worried about anything right now except for Aug. 28 and getting back on the 10th to prepare for that. I couldn’t ask for any more as far as the will and the want-to of going 1-0 every day.”

Cordell is pleased to join a program that made 15 straight playoff appearances from 1995 to 2009 before missing out on the postseason four years in a row. That streak was halted a year ago in then-athletic director Venerable’s second year leading the program. Cordell also is the assistant athletics director to Central’s new AD, Jason Helbling.

“This is an exciting opportunity to be at Lincoln-Way Central,” Cordell said. “It’s a great district with great facilities, and we’re in a great conference for football. Class 7A football is very competitive, and this is a football-hungry community. I’ve been a head coach going on six years now and was an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator before that.

“Glenbard is a great school district, and I enjoyed my experiences both at Glenbard West and South and had success at both stops. I believe things happen for a reason, and this is where my family felt we needed to be. We have four kids, so this is a good place to put down our roots. So if there was any time for us to make this transition, it was now.”

During his five years as Glenbard South’s head coach, Cordell’s teams posted a 35-17 record with four straight trips to the state playoffs, including a 10-1 campaign in 2013. Before that, he was an assistant at Glenbard West for eight years.

“I grew up in my professional career in the Glenbard district,” said Cordell, an Illinois State University graduate. “My first teaching job was at Glenbard West, and then I went from teaching to administration, and then from there I moved up the coaching ranks. Then South came calling, and I took the head job there, and I was a department chair at South.

“Over the years, I’ve coached in state championship and semifinal games, the whole gamut. I feel that I’ve prepared myself to be a head coach, but every day is new, so you’re always learning and have new challenges. But that’s the exciting part about it, because if you’re just staying stagnant, then you’re not going to get any better.”

Even though the Knights are in the down time waiting for practices to begin, Cordell said his players want to do what’s necessary to enjoy a successful season.

“The kids still want to work out and do things on their own, and I think that says a lot about the direction that we’re going and the integrity of our kids, what they want to accomplish and how they want to attack this season and do things in years to come,” Cordell said.

“Going through being a new head coach for the first time is a whole different ball game. Now It’s about coming to a new setting, and it’s very exciting to be working with these players, staff, school, faculty and community. The way that I see it, it’s a community thing, and it’s great to see the excitement. We’ve had a father-son camp and a very successful youth camp with huge numbers. I’ll be ecstatic to see the stands packed on a Friday night.”