Iowa High School Football Program Hires Veteran Head Coach

An Iowa high school football team is turning the program over to a veteran head coach with a state championship on his resume.

Nodaway Valley Community School District announced the hiring of Skip Eckhardt as the new head football coach at Nodaway Valley. Eckhardt has been on the sidelines at both the high school and college levels for the past four-plus decades.

“I’m coming to Nodaway Valley for a great opportunity to have a chance to turn around a program,” Eckhardt said in a press release from the school. “It’s exciting to have a chance to do this with a bunch of awesome young people ready to go.

“It’s also an opportunity for me to be close to family and work with a great coach and friend in Coach (Randy) Schrader.”

Nodaway Valley Turns Football Program Over To Veteran Head Coach

Nodaway Valley also announced that Schrader, Caylor Clark and Jake Eslinger will serve as assistant coaches under Eckhardt.

Eckhardt has coached football programs at Schleswig High School, North Tama High School, South Page High School, Davenport Central High School, North Scott High School, Davenport North High School, AGWSR High School Shenandoah High School and Crestwood High School.

In 1984, he led Schleswig to the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Football Class A championship while also winning numerous conference and district titles along the way.

Skip Eckhardt Most Recently Led Shenandoah To The Playoffs

Most recently, he was the head football coach at Shenandoah, leading the team to back-to-back playoff appearances. Eckhardt was inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2026.

Eckhardt takes over for Jack West, who left Nodaway Valley to become the head football coach at Logan-Magnolia.

The Wolverines have struggled in recent years, going winless for three consecutive seasons before finishing 2025 with a 1-7 record. The last winning season for Nodaway Valley came in 2011 when they went 5-4, a year after going 8-2.

Titan Foster, Caleb Christensen Among Those Set To Return For Nodaway Valley

Sophomore quarterback Titan Foster is set to return, as he threw for 698 yards and four touchdowns last year, adding 137 yards rushing and a TD on the ground. Caleb Christensen and Cassius Burnside were both underclassmen who had over 50 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Christensen was one of the top receivers, catching 15 passes for 203 yards and two scores. The defense will return Foster, Bram Dahl, Christensen, Erik Jensen, Mason Payne, Lawson Jackson and Derke Raasch.

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