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02-16-2007, 11:35 AM
Pier was sole applicant for Rudder coaching job
By ARENA WELCH
Eagle Staff Writer
Bryan school officials said Wednesday that C.M. Pier, who was appointed earlier this week to be the first head football coach at yet-to-open Rudder High School, was the only applicant for the job.
Ernie Ritter, assistant superintendent for human resources and administration, blamed the lack of other applicants on the "unusual and evolving" status of the position.
"It's an unusual situation in the way that program is going to grow," Ritter said.
Pier, an assistant football coach at Bryan High School, will begin coaching a freshman team of Rudder students this fall. A year later, with freshman and sophomore students enrolled at Rudder High, the team will begin varsity play, likely in the 3A division, he said.
Bryan school trustees unanimously voted Monday to hire Pier as the Rudder head coach. The terms of his contract have not been set, school officials have said.
Pier was one of three finalists in May in the search for a head football coach at Bryan High. Trustees hired Bob Bellard to fill that post, but the search committee that recommended Bellard was impressed with Pier, officials have said.
It recommended that Superintendent Mike Cargill consider Pier when looking for someone to head the Rudder football program, Cargill said after Monday's meeting.
Ritter said that applicants may not have been attracted to the job because they'd have to start at the bottom and build up to leading a varsity team.
"I'm sure a lot of people think, 'I don't just want to hold on for three years waiting to be the head coach I want to be,'" he said.
But Pier said that he looks forward to starting with a clean slate.
"It's going to be a challenge, but I'm confident in my abilities," he said. "I'm going to have to call upon the resources and friends that I have who are coaches and get some ideas on which ways to go to get started."
Bryan school officials posted the job opening on the district's Web site in December, Ritter said. But Pier's application was the only one they received.
Ritter said that other district employees may not have applied because Pier caught the district's attention early.
"It was pretty well known in the athletic department that he was the leading candidate," Ritter said.
Pier said his top priority is to get the football program at Rudder High started in the right direction.
"Get it off the ground on a solid foundation," he said. "I want to get some pride in the school, get some pride in the community and try to build something the community will look up to and be proud of."
Pier said that while he wants to work on building a solid football program, he wants to make sure that Rudder athletics is tied to academic success.
"The thing we want to instill in these young men is pride and character and good work ethic," Pier said. "There's going to be a real priority for us right off the bat to set it in stone that what's expected of a Rudder student athlete is both academics and athletics."
• Arena Welch's e-mail address is arena.welch@theeagle.com.
By ARENA WELCH
Eagle Staff Writer
Bryan school officials said Wednesday that C.M. Pier, who was appointed earlier this week to be the first head football coach at yet-to-open Rudder High School, was the only applicant for the job.
Ernie Ritter, assistant superintendent for human resources and administration, blamed the lack of other applicants on the "unusual and evolving" status of the position.
"It's an unusual situation in the way that program is going to grow," Ritter said.
Pier, an assistant football coach at Bryan High School, will begin coaching a freshman team of Rudder students this fall. A year later, with freshman and sophomore students enrolled at Rudder High, the team will begin varsity play, likely in the 3A division, he said.
Bryan school trustees unanimously voted Monday to hire Pier as the Rudder head coach. The terms of his contract have not been set, school officials have said.
Pier was one of three finalists in May in the search for a head football coach at Bryan High. Trustees hired Bob Bellard to fill that post, but the search committee that recommended Bellard was impressed with Pier, officials have said.
It recommended that Superintendent Mike Cargill consider Pier when looking for someone to head the Rudder football program, Cargill said after Monday's meeting.
Ritter said that applicants may not have been attracted to the job because they'd have to start at the bottom and build up to leading a varsity team.
"I'm sure a lot of people think, 'I don't just want to hold on for three years waiting to be the head coach I want to be,'" he said.
But Pier said that he looks forward to starting with a clean slate.
"It's going to be a challenge, but I'm confident in my abilities," he said. "I'm going to have to call upon the resources and friends that I have who are coaches and get some ideas on which ways to go to get started."
Bryan school officials posted the job opening on the district's Web site in December, Ritter said. But Pier's application was the only one they received.
Ritter said that other district employees may not have applied because Pier caught the district's attention early.
"It was pretty well known in the athletic department that he was the leading candidate," Ritter said.
Pier said his top priority is to get the football program at Rudder High started in the right direction.
"Get it off the ground on a solid foundation," he said. "I want to get some pride in the school, get some pride in the community and try to build something the community will look up to and be proud of."
Pier said that while he wants to work on building a solid football program, he wants to make sure that Rudder athletics is tied to academic success.
"The thing we want to instill in these young men is pride and character and good work ethic," Pier said. "There's going to be a real priority for us right off the bat to set it in stone that what's expected of a Rudder student athlete is both academics and athletics."
• Arena Welch's e-mail address is arena.welch@theeagle.com.