Ed Redmond, the head football coach at Ithaca High School in Ithaca, New York, for the last four years, is the new head coach at Western Albemarle High School, WAHS athletic director Steve Heon announced March 30.
Heon said Redmond was chosen after “a very extensive search and from a capable pool.” He takes over from Ed Pearce, who coached the team for five years and resigned with a 33-22 record.
Redmond said the job is “a dream come true for him.” His son was formerly an assistant in the University of Virginia’s football weight training program and the family got acquainted with central Virginia on many visits to the area. “We’ve always loved Virginia,” said Redmond.
“We are going to challenge ourselves,” he said. “The program has a tremendous foundation for success. Our goal is to pursue a state championship.
“As far as a good place to coach, everything is in place. You have a great administration, a solid school community, excellent facilities and outstanding kids.
“There a lot of talent here. I’ve watched them on film. We have tremendous athletes.”
Redmond said WAHS principal Dave Francis is working on finding a position for him in the school as well. “The plan is to be in the building and part of the school community and helping kids develop academically. The school has the same ideals as I have.
“I believe that kids should carry themselves on and off the field with class. Our program is going to be classy. I believe in hard work. There is no shortcut to success. Discipline is a big part of the program. We want to do things correctly. We want the kids to be better people.”
Redmond said he would focus first on offensive line play and getting players into the weight room. “Our defense needs to get better. I’m all about the ‘no quit’ mentality.”
Redmond says he comes from a run-oriented conference but he sees Western as more pass-oriented. “You don’t want to be predictable. Football should be a simple game. Block and tackle.
“It looks now like we are going to be throwing the football, but we’re not going to chuck it. We want to spread them out and take advantage of what’s there.”
Redmond met with the team later in the day and said he wanted to set out goals and “speak to my philosophy. I’m a kid coach. I’ll do anything for kids. There’s nothing like being a high school coach. You can really mold kids at that age.”
He is impressed that Western has a turf field. “It’s outstanding. It leads to a spread attack and a faster game. Putting in a turf field shows support for the athletics program.”
Redmond said he has a “strong network with college coaches. I have a leg up on recruiting.”
He said the decision to come to western Albemarle “is a family move. It’s not just about football. This is where we want to be.”
Redmond played for Courtland State University in New York and began his coaching career at Candor High School in New York in 1982. He returned to Courtland to coach the offensive line for two years and then signed on at Lansing High School, where he coached for 18 years. He has been at Ithaca High School since 2008.
