Nichols College athletic director Charlie Robert has announced the
hiring of Dale Olmsted as its new head football coach. Olmsted
replaces Kevin Loney, who resigned over the weekend.
Loney coached for three seasons, compiling a record of 2-27.
Olmsted comes to Nichols by way of Millis High School in
Millis, Mass., which competes in the Tri-Valley League. Olmsted
took over a program that had a total of three wins in three seasons
before his arrival, and after going 5-6 and 3-8 following a merger
with Hopedale in 2009, has since qualified for the state playoffs
in three-consecutive seasons (2011-13) under his
guidance.
"We're probably the smallest high school east of I-495,"
said Olmsted. "I took over a program that wasn't doing very well
and had success. We've built it from the ground up, from a school
that almost lost football to three-straight playoff berths. Our
kids expect to win now, and we're going to do the same thing here.
We're going to create leaders at Nichols College. Our
student-athletes will work hard, be accountable for their actions,
and learn that there are no shortcuts to success. When they buy
into these philosophies, the wins will come."
A two-time Metro West and
TVL Small Coach of the Year (2011-12), Olmsted was named
the Boston Globe Division 4 Coach
of the Year in 2011 after coaching Millis to a 10-1 mark, the TVL
Small School Division title, and the state playoffs. The following
year, the Mohawks went 8-3 and captured their second-straight TVL
Small School Division crown. Following the season, Olmsted was an
assistant coach for the South in the 2012 Shriners All-Star
Game.
"I am very pleased to have Dale Olmsted on board as the new
head football coach," said Robert. "You can hear in his voice his
love of teaching and coaching football, but more importantly, you
can see his passion for developing student-athletes into well
rounded young men and good, caring citizens. He is a great teacher,
mentor and role model for the sport and for student-athletes. Dale
has proven his coaching ability with taking challenged programs and
turning them into championship contenders. I look forward to
working with him as we continue to develop our football family and
write a new chapter for Bison football."
Olmsted played for legendary high school coach John Lee at
Walpole High School, then migrated south to Salem College in West
Virginia, where he played safety for former West Virginia and
Michigan and current Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez, who was his
defensive backs coach, in 1987. He transferred to West Liberty
State the following year after the program at Salem was
eliminated.
Following his playing days, Lee contacted Olmsted to gauge
his interest in becoming a coach. Olmsted spent the next eight
years as a coach at Walpole – two as an offensive and
defensive assistant (1992-93), five as the offensive coordinator
(1994-98), and one as defensive coordinator (1999). During that
span, he helped the Rebels capture three Super Bowls.
Olmsted left Walpole in 2000 to become the assistant head
coach/offensive coordinator at Dedham High School (2001-02), where
he inherited a two-win program and turned them into an 8-3 team in
his final season. Following one-year assistant coaching stints as
the offensive and defensive coordinator at Braintree H.S. (2003)
and King Philip H.S. (2004), respectively, Olmsted became the head
coach at Millis in 2005.
Olmsted served as the head coach at Millis – a program
with a great history which had fallen on hard times – from
2005-08. In 2009, Olmsted discovered the school – which
features approximately 150 boys in grades 9-12 – had only 18
committed players for the upcoming season. The athletic directors
at Millis and nearby Hopedale High School, along with the MIAA,
allowed the two schools to merge their programs. Millis/Hopedale
went 5-6 in 2009 and 3-8 in 2010 before breaking through in 2011.
The merger ended prior to the 2013 campaign.
"I attribute our turnaround to the development and
implementation of an off-season conditioning program," said
Olmsted. "We also reached out to our alumni to help generate some
funds for the program, and they helped fund our equipment and
weight room."
Olmsted represents the Tri-Valley League as a member of the
Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association (MSHFCA). He
was the New England Patriots 'Coach of the Week' during week three
of the 2008 campaign. He resides in Walpole with his wife, Lisa,
and children Alex (14), Hayden (12), and Julia (9).
"I passed on an opportunity to coach in the New England
Football Conference years ago, but I wasn't going to let this
opportunity slip away," said Olmsted, whose 2013 squad is 7-2
heading into their Thanksgiving Day game. "I always tell my kids
'Don't be afraid of success. Embrace it. You only have so many
opportunities in life.' I could have played it safe, but this is a
great opportunity. I've worked hard to get to where I am and made a
lot of great choices. Football has set me up with the core values I
try to instill in my players."