Justin Schmitz isn’t a history teacher, but his Blanchester High School football teams will certainly understand the program’s past under his guidance.
“Blanchester is known for a certain brand of football,” said Schmitz, who was officially hired by the Blanchester Board of Education at Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting. “While I’m here, I plan to honor that. Offensively we’ll take pride in running the football and grinding it out. I’m a firm believer that your offense should compliment your defense. We’ll be a defense … that takes pride in stuffing runs and flat-out getting after teams.”
Schmitz takes over at BHS from Jon Mulvihill who resigned recently to move his family to Northern Kentucky.
“I think the world of Jon. I grew up watching him play multiple sports as he’s the same age as my older brother,” said Schmitz, who has numerous family members with BHS athletic backgrounds. “We’ve kept in touch over the years wishing each other good luck on Fridays and just talking ball. When he decided to step down he shot me a message letting me know, and told me if I was interested, it was time to come back home.”
Schmitz and his wife Jill have three children Reese (10), Rylan (8) and Claire (5). Jill was a soccer and basketball player at North Adams High School. She currently is a surgical nurse at Adams County Regional Medical Center.
Schmitz, a 2005 graduate of Blanchester High School, earned eight varsity letters as an athlete. He lettered three years in football and baseball and two more in basketball. He earned first- and second-team all-league honors as an outside linebacker and fullback. He also was a member of the powerlifting team.
Schmitz played his senior football season for Nick Inabnitt and his first three years under George Rise.
”My family all attended Blanchester schools and still live in Blanchester,” Schmitz said. “My dad Brian Schmitz lettered in football and track. My uncle Ron Schmitz lettered in football. I believe my uncle Wayne Schmitz wrestled and was in FFA. My uncle Dave Christian was a four-year starter for coach Jack O’Rourke as a fullback and was a senior during their undefeated season in 1975.”
Schmitz, who works in the mortgage industry, has been a head coach at two programs that had not had football for a number of years or only recently started a program. Schmitz said North Adams disbanded its program in 1970 before he took over in 2012.
”It seemed like we were reading negative statistics about the youth in Adams County more and more every day,” Schmitz said. “In 2012 we decided to give Adams County kids another outlet in the fall to help curb some of those statistics. We decided to take out a $55,000 loan to fund the entire football program there for grades 3-12. We purchased uniforms, helmets, shoulder pads, protective pads, concession trailer, a bus to transport our teams, and eventually built a stadium.”
While at North Adams, Schmitz said he had built great relationships with people in Manchester and when the football job opened up “it was a great fit,” he said.
”Their program had been down for several years and they had been fielding rosters of 14-18 kids,” said Schmitz. “We rolled up our sleeves and got straight to work there. We implemented a weight program, repaired relationships with the community, and got folks there excited about football again. Last year we ended the season with 41 kids on our roster, had the best season the town had seen since 2015, and even produced two honorable mention all-Southeast district players.”
Schmitz, who lives in Seaman and will commute to BHS, designed, organized and found CFR Fitness, a 24/7 gym in Seaman. As a man of faith and part of a Christian family, Schmitz is extremely active in the community.
”I think it’s important for kids to see coaches and leaders out and about serving others,” he said. “Our communities are better when leaders collaborate with each other, drive engagement, and focus on the growth and development of people around us. That’s something I take a lot of pride in.
“I know I’m not your typical cookie cutter ‘teacher/coach’ so more questions were warranted. I’m thankful that the selection committee saw the value of bringing in talent that may have a different perspective than the typical football coach. I’m also very thankful for the trust that has been shown by the committee, administration, and school board in hiring me. That’s something that I don’t take lightly.
For this former Wildcat, being the head coach at Blanchester High School is a dream come true.
”I consider this the best program in the county and pinnacle of coaching for me,” said Schmitz. “The greatest draw for coaching at Blanchester is the community. The values of this town line up completely with my own. I value hard work, truth, integrity, relationships, and winning. There’s a heritage here and support for the program that I’d put up against any other town in the state. That’s something that we take pride in and we want to continue to shed light on that.
”We have big goals for this program, but what we do here is about so much more than football. We want to continue to make people’s weeks after winning on Friday nights. We want to give people hope if they don’t have any. Give people energy if they don’t have any. And give people happiness if they don’t have any.”
Reach Mark Huber at 937-556-5765, via email [email protected] or on Twitter @wnjsports
