Lotz looks to continue success with hometown Cloverdale

As he enters his fifth season at the helm, Tyler Lotz does so with one eye on the past and another on the future of the Cloverdale football program.

The former player took over a program that was short on wins and has slowly built it up over the last two seasons. A year ago, the Clovers finished 7-5, with two losses coming by just seven points. The seven wins were the most since 1996 for Cloverdale, who ultimately lost to Sheridan in the sectional final.

"It's been a process. I knew that when I came back and took the job. There weren't a whole lot of people knocking down for the Cloverdale head coaching job, and there's reasons why. Me being a Cloverdale guy, I understood those reasons and I felt like I could bring in a different perspective where I played at Cloverdale, live there and then went to college and experienced a championship level program and came back, believing I could bring some of that stuff back. It's been good to see a lot of the work we put in start to turn out," Lotz told The Putnam County Post.

Part of that progress was on display this summer as former players returned to help coach this year's crop of Clovers before heading off to college camps.

"They were some of the beginning guys, and they came back to help me. They are now at camp, but having those guys come back and be a part of something, makes you feel like you are doing something good. The support has been great," Lotz said.

The fifth-year coach also emphasized how important it is for him to see success for a program he loves.

"One hundred percent. There are a lot of tough days at Cloverdale, for sure, but when you know the reason you are doing it and knowing you are making a difference in the community you grew up in, means the most," Lotz said. 

And, through it all, he has had the support of his community. 

"The community backing we have is great, and the administrators I have, I am so lucky to be able to coach and teach under them because they appreciate what we are trying to do," Lotz added.