Aug. 25—JAMESTOWN — Some things will never change when Bill Nelson is the head coach of the Jamestown High School football program.
“We’re going to work extremely hard, still going to play a good defense and move the ball … that’s never going to change,” Nelson said.
Other things will be changing this year.
“The theme this year is ‘be different,'” Nelson said. “We have a few changes this year. but some of the ways we do things may be a little bit different.
“I am not going to get into the specific ways we are going to be different, but we are probably going to play a little bit differently and people will see that the first Friday night,” he said.
The Jays began practices on Aug. 11 and will face Wahpeton at the Huskies’ home field on Aug. 29 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
“We’ve had a really good summer,” Nelson said. “Seniors, juniors, sophomores, they all have put a lot of work in. We’ve had a lot of kids at camps, a lot of kids doing the side stuff that we do.
“We have a solid senior class that rolls their sleeves up and goes to work,” he said. “Our depth is pretty good. We have a lot of kids who have put in a lot of time. They care by showing up in the summer and how much extra time they are putting in.”
Nelson will have a bit of a different staff surrounding him and the kids this season.
Coach Shawn Frank has retired from his post as the Jays’ main defensive coach. Frank has been coaching football since his fifth year at the University of Mary. Right out of college Frank coached football at the junior high level then moved on to become the head coach at Hettinger (North Dakota) High School. After his time in Hettinger, Frank accepted a coaching position at the University of Jamestown where he oversaw the Jimmies until the mid-2010s.
Two years after leaving the college world, Nelson got in contact with the defensive aficionado and after an interview, Frank was offered a position with the Blue Jays. He has overseen the defense for the past seven years.
While losing Frank is a blow to the Blue Jays, they will be welcoming back a coaching legend in Marty Hochhalter.
Hochhalter was an assistant coach for the Jays from 2016 to 2022. Prior to coming to Jamestown, Marty was the head football coach at Carrington for 25 years. His coaching career began in 1989.
“We’re really excited to have him back,” Nelson said of Hochhalter. “He’s going to be helping out on the defensive side of the ball with the inside linebackers.”
Hochhalter will be working closely with coach Tyler Shrenk, who will be tasked with Frank’s former role of calling the defense and coaching the defensive backs.
“It’s going to be good,” Nelson said. “The energy is going to be high. You have to take things one day at a time. I know the kids are ready to work. We are going to get after it. I can’t wait until it starts.”