2023 Post-season interview with Josh Ischy Head Coach Monroe Central

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

Name: Josh Ischy

School: Monroe Central

Position: Head Coach

Heading into the 2022 season, what were your biggest concerns?
Heading into the season, my biggest concern was how we would be able to compete in the trenches and tackle.

After two A days, which player stuck out the most to you? Why?
Tucker Howell looked really good coming out of two A days—he seemed to really pick up on what to do in our pre-and post-SNAP system.

What were the high and low points of the season?
The highs were that some young guys stepped into roles and improved each week. The low point was that at some points we just weren’t competitive.

What will you remember most about the class of 2022?
The class of 2022 is better defined by their careers than by their senior year.

What did you learn in 2022 that will help you be a better coach, not only this season but in the future?
I think there’s not one thing I learned from the season. There are a lot of things I’ll take from this season and use in future years. Lessons learned in a loss seem to stick with me longer than anything I learned in a win.

What was the most challenging part of the 2022 season?
The most challenging part of any season when you’re not winning is convincing guys to come in and work as hard as you can and maintaining the belief that hard work works and will lead to winning eventually.

Which of the two wins Monroe Central had last year was the biggest? Why?
Any win is special, but the Frontier win was big. Frontier was well-coached, and it was a battle. We learned how to play from behind and fight back to put ourselves in a position to be able to win.

What are your thoughts on 16 teams from each region qualifying for the playoffs?
I don’t love the idea of 16 teams in a region making the playoffs. I think it devalues the playoffs, is not aligned with player safety, leads to too many non-competitive games, and can be a poor way to end a season for many teams.

Which team in 2022 was the toughest to prepare for? Why?
We play a pretty rough schedule, and it’s difficult to pick one team that was the most difficult to prepare for. I’d say any team that was physical and could run downhill at us posed a real challenge for us in ‘22.

Can you tell us which seniors from last season will be moving on to play college ball and list the colleges too?
Terry Price is moving on to play football at Bethany College, and Xavier Kinney will continue as a student-athlete playing baseball at Wheeling University.

[VetteMan]

Is Monroe Central High School located in Johnstown ? In most of your interviews, when asking the Coaches how they feel about the 16 team playoffs, what percentage would you say either favor or are completely against having that many schools qualify ?

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

Monroe Central is in (Woodsfield).
Most coaches do not seem to like it.
I think most people know it was a money grab for the OHSAA.

[VetteMan]

Monroe Central is in (Woodsfield).
Most coaches do not seem to like it.
I think most people know it was a money grab for the OHSAA.

Thank you. I've kind of still have mixed feelings about the number of teams. Probably a lot more basketball Coaches dislike it than anyone else, being that if a lot of kids play both football and basketball, it in some cases causes a little delay in getting their season started.