'He checked every box': Norwich Free Academy introduces new head football coach

When Dylan Schroth was growing up in Westerly, Norwich Free Academy was like Tuscaloosa for him and his football playing friends.

One of Schroth’s coaching heroes was, indeed, Paul “Bear” Bryant and on Friday afternoon NFA officials introduced Schroth as the school’s new head football coach.

“The respect this place commands and the prestige and the history of it, there is nothing like it,” Schroth said at a press conference inside the Latham Center. “I’ve lost count since I was 15 years old the amount of times I’ve said, ‘Imagine if I ever got to coach at NFA.’ I’ve pinched myself quite a bit the last couple of weeks here.”

In addition to his coaching duties, Schroth has accepted a teaching position in the academy’s special education department.

“When we first met Dylan, he came to us as a special education teacher and right away impressed us with his authenticity and his care of kids and his student-centric focus,” Norwich Free Academy Head of School Nathan Quesnel said. “Good things are done the right way and in Dylan we have a leader who understands the legacy of this place and understands what this place stands for and someone who is going to lead our boys to the values that athletics brings.”

Schroth was the head coach at Ellington High School last season. He led the Class SS Knights, who compete in the Pequot Conference, to a 4-6 record during a rebuilding year.

At Ellington, Schroth also served as the offensive coordinator before being named head coach and continued to call the plays when promoted. His offense averaged 26.5 points and 313.5 yards per game over two years. The Knights also set school marks in all-time passing and receiving yards.

NFA is coming off three consecutive losing seasons. The Wildcats went 4-6 in 2021 before recording 4-6 and 3-7 marks the past two seasons under Erik Larka, who resigned in January.

NFA athletic director Roy Wentworth assembled a committee that included student-athletes for the first time in the hiring process.

“When this position opened up we knew it was going to be a challenge for us,” Wentworth said. “We decided to be patient and made sure we got the candidate that was the right coach for us at the right time. We were fortunate enough to find Dylan. He checked every box we were looking for. We have our coach and we’re excited about that.”

Schroth has taught at Ellington High School since 2016, working as a special education teacher and a history teacher.

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“Joining the coaching staff and having their trust here at NFA is really humbling,” Schroth said. “This is just an awesome opportunity. I talked a lot with school officials and some of the players about the challenge. It’s going to be a lot of work, but it's great work and it’s exciting work. There’s no place like this with the potential and the history and the uniqueness of the institution and the player potential and the value we place on the athletic experience here.”

Schroth is currently pursuing his sixth-year certificate in educational leadership at Southern Connecticut State University. He holds a master’s degree in special education and bachelor’s degree in secondary education and history from the University of Rhode Island.

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“I’m really excited about today,” Quesnel said. “Football at NFA on a Friday night is a very big deal. For me something that comes up really big is the character of a leader. Dylan joins a pretty exciting group of new coaches here at NFA the past couple of years and that character point is certainly a big thing for me. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Dylan to the Wildcats. I’m really looking forward to the program building and developing.”

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: 'He checked every box': Norwich Free Academy introduces new head football coach