Football has taken Tyler Pritchett to many different places.
After two years as an offensive lineman at UNC, followed by seasons at NAIA school Faulkner and Division II Benedictine, Pritchett has now landed in Lebanon.
On Monday, the Lebanon School Board approved the hiring of Pritchett as the Cedars' new head football coach, replacing Frank Eisenberg.
Pritchett, who was named first team All-SIAC in 2022, his final year at Benedictine, was applying for coaching positions at several smaller colleges when Lebanon caught his eye.
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“I did a little research on that,” Pritchett said. “I could see myself raising a family here and building a program around success in football.”
The Cedars have lost 33 games in a row. An 0-10 campaign in 2023 saw them lose 484-64. The only game Lebanon had a chance was a 13-7 loss to a 1-9 Muhlenberg team.
Certainly, changes will come to X and Os. But Pritchett wants to bring about a change in culture and attitude first.
“The key word is 'process,'” Pritchett said. “The first thing you have to do is build a culture of discipline and responsibility. … The best teams are player-driven. I can coach hard, I can coach hard, I can love hard. We will, but we need our players to lead each other.”
Pritchett said this was the approach he took during his college days at Auburn High School in Alabama.
“I was always trying to absorb everything around me and help my teammates see what I saw,” Pritchett said.
Pritchett watched footage from the most recent Cedar Bowl, where Cedar Crest, Cedar's biggest rival, won 49-6.
“I watched the Cedar Bowl, [the Cedars] I was in position, but I didn't have the technique. It turns out that it doesn't matter to them. That's why I want to focus on process and culture. You cannot skip steps in the process. Even on the days when you don’t feel your best, you have to push through. ”
Although he may have played his high school ball 1,300 miles away from Lebanon Alumni Stadium, Pritchett has quickly become immersed in Lebanon's soccer culture. During this interview, he never once mentioned Cedar Crest, even when Cedar Bowl was mentioned. He did say, “That school down the street.”
He met the soccer player for the first time on Tuesday.
“From everyone to the upper management, we feel very welcome here,” Pritchett said. “But when we met, [the players]. I said we're going to go through storms, we're going to have ups and downs, but we're a family. ”
And in a family, everyone knows that other people have their own personalities and goals, which must be balanced with the needs and goals of the whole family. Pritchett told his team the same thing.
“I don't want my team to play like a bunch of robots,” Pritchett said. “We want them to have personal goals, because that motivates players. But we have our own ambitions, so don't put them ahead of team goals.”
