Bear Ball Blogs Exclusive: Meet Coach Nowell

"The most rewarding part of being a coach is to see the growth in your players and know that you have in their role in the growth."

- Coach Nowell

I had the opportunity to interview one of the newest additions to the coaching family at New Bern High School. I interviewed Coach Nowell, the head football coach, one day before kicking off his fifth game in charge of the Bears. 

Coach Nowell joined Bear Country in December of 2018, when he was announced as the newest New Bern High School Football Head Coach. Nowell was just a few weeks removed from leading Pamlico High School to a State Championship game.

Coach came to New Bern a proven winner as he took a 2-10 Pamlico Hurricanes team in his first season to a state semifinal game by his third season. Coach Nowell then took one more positive step in his final season as a Hurricane with a State Championship game appearance. 

In talking about his coaching journey to this point, Nowell said, "Wow. My coaching journey has been all over the place. I started off as a middle school football coach back home in Gates County, North Carolina. When I left Gates, I went Ohio to coach football at Defiance College. I stayed there for a year then I came back to North Carolina and became the Assistant Head Football Coach and Assistant Athletic Director at Southern Vance High School. While there, I also became the men's varsity basketball coach. After leaving Southern Vance, I moved to Virginia to work for one of my college coaches as his defensive coordinator at Southampton High School in Courtland Va. I stayed there for two years and then got offered the Head Football Coaching position at Pamlico County High School." 

Coach Nowell went onto say, "I am now the Head Football Coach at New Bern High School and we are trying to rebuild the brand."

He has coached a lot of successful teams in his coaching career but he said that his most successful team was "my (Pamlico) team from last year. They went 13-2 and the only loses they had been to state champions." 

So why did he think they were so successful? "Because they were together and enjoyed being together and everyone accepted their individual role on the team."

For most it would be difficult to leave a school that just came off a State Championship appearance and looked to be on the verge of winning it soon. But for Coach Nowell something about New Bern High School enticed him. "The history brought me to New Bern High School. In the East, everyone knows who New Bern is. I also love the fact that the school is so diverse. This is a great thing when it comes to sports because guys get an opportunity to learn and bond with people who come from different backgrounds."

The New Bern Football program saw its greatest successes in the 2000s as they were crowned 4A North Carolina State Champions three times. The program has a lot of history with a lot of great players leaving everything they had on that field. Some went to college and had an opportunity to play at the next level, one even in the NFL who has been putting New Bern on the national football map. 

Coach Nowell credits his coaching staff for the success of  the team so far this season. Coach purposefully recruited former successful New Bern Football Alumni and many are some of the best to ever put on a Bears jersey. "All credit goes to my coaching staff. Those guys work extremely hard and I am blessed to have them on my staff." Coach Nowell and his staff have done a tremendous job in the few short months they've been on campus. 

One of the major things that has taken the community by storm has been the expectation and discipline that Coach Nowell and the coaching staff have established. "I am driven and I am super intense in practice. I believe in the small details and also believe in keeping things simple for my athletes so they can play faster." This intense and intimidating attitude has rubbed off on the football team, as "the guys have changed the culture around here, and they allowed me to coach them." 

The Bears are currently 5-0 to start the season which is the best record for a New Bern Football team since 2014. With continued "hard work, dedication and toughness" Coach Nowell believes that the Bears will  continue this run of success.