By Sue Moore
“Any coach wants to be in a community that values football,” said Nathan Ferency, just named Schoolcraft’s new head football coach.
He comes from the small town of Sanford, in the Midland area. Ferency graduated from Albion College, where he played strong safety and linebacker. He has coached football in Shepherd, a village southeast of Mt. Pleasant, for the last five years.
Ferency said he likes the idea of stepping into a successful program where two Hall of Fame coaches have set the standard of excellence for many years. “It brings some pressures and challenges that I welcome.” His challenge in the Shepherd schools was having just six juniors on his team that went 2-7 last year. Previous to that, he had built a program from the ground up, going 5-4 in 2016 – the first winning season the school had experienced in several years.
He spent a year as head JV football coach and two years as an assistant, also at Shepherd. Coach Ferency also served as the president of the Shepherd Youth Football program, lead the powerlifting team at Shepherd High, and coached high school baseball and softball and middle school basketball. Ferency started his career as an assistant football coach and physical education teacher at Northwest High School in Jackson, where he also served as a varsity assistant softball coach and strength and conditioning coach.
He and his wife Molli and their two boys, Camden, 4, and Ty, 2, will be looking for a home in Schoolcraft as soon as theirs is sold in Shepherd. They are expecting another boy in November. The couple met at Albion College. Ferency said she knew he was headed into the coaching field. She bought into it and is his biggest, most enthusiastic supporter. He will join the high school staff in Schoolcraft as a physical education and health teacher.