South's New Football Coach Wants Players Doing Little Things Well Now, and 10 years from Now

Glenbard South's new head football coach, Jeremy Cordell, found himself on an all-too-familiar field when he made his debut with the Raiders Aug. 28—Glenbard West's Bill Duchon Field.

That's where Cordell spent many of his fall Saturday afternoons the past three years as the Hilltoppers' defensive coordinator. But on this particular day, Cordell stood on the opposite sideline, coaching against his onetime boss, Chad Hetlet.

The Hilltoppers got the best of the Raiders in the season-opener, 41-7. However, Cordell is happy he made the move south of Roosevelt Road and sees better days ahead for Glenbard South, which is in a rebuilding mode following three straight playoff-qualifying seasons. 

Recently, Cordell sat down with Patch and talked about taking over the program at Glenbard South, his long-term goals and his squad playing as an independent this season before moving into the Metro Suburban Conference in 2011.

Q. What attracted you to this position?

Cordell:  It was an opportunity to become a head coach and do it in a district that I love. Glenbard South has a great tradition; it's a great school. Knowing and being familiar with the Glenbard district here, it was an easy transition. It was a golden opportunity; it's kind of where preparation meets opportunity so I had to take that road and see where it led me.

Q. What are the specific challenges of being a head coach?

Cordell: There's a lot of things on your shoulders for sure. You're responsible for a lot of kids and a lot of coaches. The biggest challenge and the most important thing to me is I want to make sure we're doing the little things right, and I think that winning becomes a byproduct of doing the little things right. I want to make sure that my players, 10 years down the road, are good husbands, good fathers, good men and good citizens. And while they're here, they need to be good students and great friends.

Q. Glenbard South went to the state quarterfinals last year and lost several key seniors from that team, so there is a rebuilding process. What has that been like?

Cordell: I don't mind the rebuilding one bit. I've been through a rebuilding stage at Glenbard West (a few years ago) and we're definitely rebuilding. We play about nine guys on both sides (of the football). It is a learning experience, and we're going to get better every week. We're learning a new system offensively and defensively, and the kids are really working hard and they believe in the systems, so it's just going to be a matter of time. 

Q. With winning being the obvious goal, what are some of the long-term goals you want to establish at Glenbard South?

Cordell: We'll win games because we're doing the little things right, and I want to make sure that our kids are good students first and foremost and good citizens. And that we embrace a work ethic that we'll work harder than any high school football team out there. Good things will happen when you put those things together. I really want to see our numbers go up. We are a small school and that's a challenge, but I think we can always get more kids out to play football, and success breeds success. We just have to keep things rolling, and down the road we'll be successful.

Q. What was going through your mind as you faced your old team in your first game as a head coach?

Cordell: It was very emotional. Those are guys I've coached in the past and I know a lot about them. Those coaches over there (at Glenbard West), some are still my best friends. Chad and I talk every other day and he's one of my best friends in the world. So to give that up and to come here was definitely a risk, but it was good risk and it was a challenge. I'm all about challenges, and there was a lot stacked against us in Week 1—a great opponent and us kind of starting from the ground up over here. But I'm proud of the way our kids fought, and I just think we'll get better and better.

Q. You'll be getting into the Metro Suburban Conference next year, but this year you're playing as an independent. What's that been like?

Cordell: It's a tough schedule. John Treiber (assistant principal, athletics) did a really good job going out and getting us really quality opponents. And we want to play quality opponents because it's only going to make us better. It'll really help us. We're going to be the David vs.Goliath all year; we're going to have bigger schools, but in the long run it's going to help us be a top-notch program.

Q. Can you mention some of your personnel who'll make a difference for you the rest of the season?

Cordell: On offense, we have Wes Sanders, a junior running back. We're looking for big things out of him; he's got good speed, runs and catches the ball real well. We also have Matt Loos, a sophomore for us who will play a little fullback and tailback. He's got really good speed; he's a strong kid and has a real bright future. Up front, Dan Marshall is one of our leaders and does a real nice job for us on the offensive line and will play some defensive line as well. Tyler Padera is our quarterback; he's a junior and I think he's going to have a real nice season for us. Defensively, we've got Nick Boesso, a returning starter. He was a linebacker for us last year, but he's playing more d-line for us this year. Tyler Benware has been playing safety, but he's going to play some linebacker for us just because he's a go-getter. We're starting fresh on both sides of the ball, but I'm looking for all 11 guys on both sides really coming together and playing good team football because that's what it's about.