Since 2001, one thing has been stable in Northwood Football: Head coach Bill Hall. Hall has taken the Chargers five times to the third round of the state playoffs, but after 14 years as the head coach of Northwood football, he has decided that this year will be his last.
Hall started in 1989 as an assistant coach at NHS and said he never had aspirations to be a head coach. Over time, Hall realized more and more that he wanted to be a head coach. Hall took over the program in 2001 and has coached the Chargers to many playoff appearances.
Before Hall, there were seven different coaches over the span of 30 years. These changes left the program fairly unstable, but when Hall took over in 2001, this changed.
“Hall is one of the most stubborn people I know,” said assistant coach Brian Harrington, who has been coaching under Hall for 14 years. “For some people, being stubborn is bad, but for Hall this is very good. Hall has a very old school coaching style that allows him to succeed. Hall believes in his system and the players buy in, and this leads to success.”
Hall’s old school coaching style has allowed athletes to prosper on the field. Over the course of Hall’s time as a head coach, there have been nine single-game team records, nine season team records, 14 season individual records and 14 career individual records all set under Hall’s guidance. Hall has the most wins for a coach in school history. Yet, after all this, Hall says he only wants to be remembered for the kids.
“When you remember me, remember all the kids who played under me, all those who have gone on to play college football,” Hall said. “Remember my staff and all of the hard work we put in. ”
Hall is passionate about the kids he coaches. Many student athletes fondly recall memories of Hall from his time coaching at Northwood. Kadarus Rone, a senior who has played football under Hall for four years, has many.
“I will always remember Coach Hall for advising me on what to do on and off the field,” Rone said.
Not only has Hall been a good coach, players say he has been a positive role model to them.
“I will always look up to Coach Hall as a father figure; he is a positive figure in our community,” senior John Atwater said. “Coach Hall always is able to motivate us in order to win.”
Hall has led the Chargers to many playoff wins while at Northwood. Hall has done this not only through his on-the-field actions, but also his off-the-field actions.
“Coach Hall is a very good leader and really tries to make the team one big family,” senior Trent Cline said. “This allows us to come together as a team and share common goals, which allow us to win.”
Hall is a well known personality around the school and has been a household name around Pittsboro for years.
“[The thing I will miss most about Coach Hall] without a doubt is his beard— it is a classic,” senior Jared Worley said.
After this year, the program will have to find a new coach to fill the void left by Hall. This won’t be an easy task.
“It will be a very tough transition,” said Athletic Director Jason Amy. “Trying to find someone who knows how to run the program as well as Hall is able to will be very tough. There will be very big shoes to fill.”
Next year will be a new chapter for Northwood football, one without Hall at the helm. Nevertheless, players are hopeful.
“Next year I expect us to be pretty good; we went 9-1 on JV last year so that will hopefully translate to Varsity next year,” junior Conner Leinbach said. “We will have a lot of seniors that we will lose, but we also have a lot of good players on JV that will help to carry on the Northwood Football tradition.”
After 14 years, the face of the Northwood football program will no longer be coaching. However, Hall will continue to teach at the school and intends to support Charger Football on many more Friday nights in the future.
“I’ve enjoyed coaching and the players I’ve had the pleasure of getting to coach,” Hall said. “It’s been a good ride, but it’s time to do something else.”
In his final season, Hall looks to help the Chargers make one final playoff run. The Chargers are currently 7-2. Hall is looking to make his last season his best one.
“I haven’t really prepared myself for the emotions of my final game and how it will feel to walk off the field,” Hall said. “I hope my final game is at Carter Finley Stadium [at N.C. State] for the state championship; that will be great.”
– By Jacob Sipe