Rachel Stalker, ‘Doah Staff Writer
January 23, 2013

New head football coach Scott Yoder speaks to the public during a press conference on Jan 3.

A new year means new beginnings, and for the Shenandoah University football program, this new beginning starts with the recently hired head football coach Scott Yoder.

Yoder was hired on Jan. 3 and has already dived into his responsibilities as head coach. He met with current juniors on Thursday, Jan. 9, to discuss the upcoming 2013-2014 football season and what he expects from them as seniors on the team. Yoder also held a team meeting to discuss his vision for the program here and the steps he wants to take with the program. And, he met with players individually last week to talk with them about their expectations for the upcoming season, and to get to know them individually.

Yoder grew up in Kutztown, Pa., where he played football and lacrosse in high school. He then went on to play football at Hobart College, in Geneva, N.Y., where he graduated with a degree in economics. Shortly after his college graduation, Yoder was hired to coach football at his alma mater. “Coaching was something that I knew I wanted to do,” states Yoder. He remained at Hobert for 12 years, leaving only to take the position of head coach for the Hornets football team here at S.U.

Coming to work at Shenandoah University was an easy choice for Yoder. When he first saw the opportunity to come here, he was excited because he loved the location, there is great high school football to recruit from and he saw a school that had a commitment to academics before athletics. However, Yoder said his real reason for choosing S.U. was because of the people he met here. “The people on the staff and the people in the community are first class people. Everyone goes out of their own way to say ‘Hello’.”

Yoder moved to Winchester with his wife of five years and two sons. He and his wife are also expecting another boy in February. “This is a place I want to raise my kids.” Not only does he feel strongly about S.U., but about the potential of the team. “The biggest change will be to change the culture of the team. We need to find the players that love the university, and embrace their opportunity to play and their academics. Those are the players that are we going to win with.”

After discussing Yoder with a few players, it is easy to see that he will fit in well here at Shenandoah. Current junior Byron Mitchell said “He has a goal that I believe the team will buy into, and if we all buy into it we will have an amazing season next year.” Freshman Michael Ellis added, “His motto is family first, and he seems really excited to be here as head coach.”