WH Football Coach Renews Contract

Woodland Hills Athletic Director has decided his coaching days aren’t over.

The school board approved his contract renewal unanimously Wednesday evening, with several praising his leadership. Novak has been at the school since it opened in 1987 and has lead the football team to five WPIAL titles during his tenure.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in the district who carries the name of Woodland Hills any better than coach Novak,” said board member Fred Kuhn.

Novak had considered retiring, Kuhn said, and the decision is a win for the district.

“I think it’s a tremendous boost to what this board stands for,” he said.

At the same meeting, a resident expressed interest in using the school’s field for a youth football program that encourages academic achievement for players as young as five years old.

Nathaniel Darwin, who heads the Woodland Hills Youth Football & Cheer Association, told the board that he has registered 135 children between the ages of five and 13 for his program. Similar to academic standards for high school athletes, Darwin’s program would require players to have teachers and parents fill out evaluation forms each week.

The forms would rank students’ academic and behavioral achievements on a scale of one to five. Students with low rankings would run extra laps, while the team with the highest ranking would have a pizza party after practice.

Darwin said the idea is to make academic performance more transparent to youth football coaches and to encourage good behavior in the classroom.

Members seemed receptive to the idea and said they look forward to working with the group when it is farther along in the application process.

 “I think you are doing a wonderful job,” said board member Regis Driscoll.