The revitalization of Muncie Central’s football program began in the 2022 season with the hiring of now-head coach Kyle Padgett. Over the past three seasons, Padgett has been tasked with the responsibility of bringing Bearcat football back to what it once was in the early 2000s. A school that won four sectional titles in five years.
He saw the Muncie Central job as a golden opportunity to put his dreams into action.
“I always want to go battle for the downtrodden or the little guy,” Padgett said. “In the football community, Muncie Central is kind of considered a graveyard or, a dead-end job, and I like a good challenge.”
It certainly was a challenge as Muncie Central was coming off the heels of three straight seasons of two wins or fewer.
A long-term plan was needed to turn a program that hadn’t had a winning season in six years around. The details of that plan contained ideas that had nothing to do with the football field but culture change.
“[Padgett’s] vision of what Muncie Central football would look like under his guidance was very appealing,” Muncie Central athletic director Jeff Holloway said via email. “He spoke a lot about culture and standards, and you can see the growth as he implements that vision on a daily basis.”
A part of the vision that was cast on Holloway during the initial hiring process was to change the culture of the football program and the school.
“In our community, there's already a commitment issue,” Padgett said. “If you look at our school attendance and nature, that's something we’ve got to overcome. To come in and think that you can automatically get commitment and consistency in athletics is naive.”
The priority of being more than just athletes has rang true during Padgett's tenure. Holloway said success in the classroom has drastically improved under Padgett’s supervision.
“I’ve seen the most growth in the classroom,” Holloway said. “... The number of absences and tardies to class [has] become almost nonexistent under the direction of Coach Padgett. He preaches the importance of how you do anything, is how you do everything and our kids are starting to mimic that.”
After year one under Padgett, he said the vibe around the Muncie Central football team was much different from the athletic director down to the players. But that was just step one in the rebuilding process.
Next on Padgett's docket were the lower-level programs at Northside and Southside Middle School. The last time both middle schools had a fully functioning football program was in 2018.
Rejuvenating a program that had been dormant for five years was no small task. Padgett’s priority was to gather a coaching staff where everyone was on the same page. An essential part of his plan was to make sure everything was academically and athletically consistent from the top level to the bottom.
“We did some revamping with our coaching staff there, and spent a lot of time together with our middle school staff and got them completely on board,” Padgett said. “As far as running our offense and our defense, they did a lot of clinic-ing with us and spent a lot of time in our practices. We're seeing that success at the middle school level.”
A part of that revamped coaching staff for the Muncie middle school team is offensive and defensive line coach Joseph Boggs. He said the opportunity to be a part of the development of the Muncie football program means a lot to him.
“[I told myself] if you’re wanting to be a good coach this is where you’re going to learn it,” Boggs said. “I felt that it would be beneficial for me and the community.”
Boggs was brought on staff in large part because of his playing days at Ball State as an offensive tackle. Padgett wanted to address technique issues across the board and hired Boggs to negate those technical problems on the offensive and defensive line.
“My goal is to give [Padgett] kids who know how to get in a three-point stance, fire off, use their hands and understand the scheme of Muncie football,” Boggs said.
Building those programs started in the weight room. Padgett said there has been a concerted effort to get at least 90 percent of Muncie Central athletes enrolled in a weightlifting class. That effort has paid off thus far, with 100 more athletes in those classes growing from 197 to now 300 enrolled.
This heavy emphasis on the weight room is something Padgett wants to ensure is consistent at the middle school level to allow for cohesion throughout the entire Muncie football program.
“They’ve now created a strength and conditioning program at both middle schools, and that sets a foundation for our kids, and they’ll be ahead of the game once they get to high school,” Padgett said. “That’s where we decided to put all our poker chips down and we’ve seen the benefits of that.”
Boggs, who’s a part of that middle school weightlifting program, has seen the dividends paid through the effort put into that aspect of player development.
A weightlifting program called “The Breakfast Club” is an early morning session implemented for all middle and high school athletes to come to the weight room and lift.
“Everybody wants to go to the first one because that's when the most people are going to be there and when it’s the most fun,” Boggs said. “But when you get two months into the summer they’re not wanting to wake up at 7 a.m. to go to Breakfast Club anymore.”
This program has been a critical part of the development of the middle school athletes getting to train alongside the high schoolers and receive the same coaching as their older counterparts.
“Our coaches are consistent and we tell them ‘we're going to be there, so you should be there, and if you're not there, we're going to ask you why, and you're going to get calls why. If you were busy, well, I need you not to be busy next time,’” Boggs said. “So it’s about consistently digging them and trying to give them an idea that this is serious. If you want to play for us, if you want to be good, you need to be here.”
A devotion to the weight room has led to the growth and size of the program but many of these steps would not be possible without the full support of those above Padgett. He said the most important part of this process is Holloway’s unwavering support.
“The thing that gives me confidence in growing the program is the way Coach Padgett pays attention to the details,” Holloway said. “His commitment to building the program from the bottom up with the youth is a testament to his passion for building a complete program.”
Padgett’s commitment to the youth has been what he has strived for throughout this process. Bringing in more and more disciplined players when they get to the high school level has been the goal from the beginning.
This year, and in the coming offseason, the youth league is where Padgett is focused most.
“We’ve been going around with our hair on fire shifting our focus to the youth league level,” he said.
The focus on the youth level is a part of the development that is the key ingredient in Padgett’s plan to rebuild Muncie football. But in his mind, it’s not all about football. It is developing young men to become successful when they leave his care which determines whether the plan is a success.
“You won't know how good of a job you've done until about 5, 10, 15 years after the kids are gone,” Padgett said. “That's when you're gonna know if they're a good husband, a good father, a good worker, if they're contributing to society. That's when you know that you've done it the right way.”
Contact David Moore via email at david.moore@bsu.edu or on X @gingninj63.
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