When I heard the news that Neshaminy High School’s football team hired a new head coach, I was looking forward all summer to see the team play. I had always loved football, watching every game glued to my seat, no matter if the team won or lost. When the first game of the season rolled around, I was watching with rapt attention on the couch with my family, watching every play and discussing it with my dad. We both came to the same conclusion: Neshaminy’s new head coach came to play, and he came to win.
Head Coach Nick Felus graduated from Lock Haven University and got his master’s degree at West Virginia University. He previously coached at Coatesville High School for seven years as their quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, Altoona Area High School for three years as their head coach, and Penn Cambria High School for six years as their head coach, leading them to a 14-1 record in 2024.
During their regular season, the team was undefeated with a 10-0 record. During this season, Felus was named Coach of the Year by the Altoona Mirror, Tribune-Democrat, and the District six Coach of the Year by the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Felus about NHS’s football program, a conversation that felt easy and enjoyable. It’s clear that Felus takes great pride in his team and his program, and speaking with him was something I had been looking forward to for a while. Being able to talk about football, himself, and his tactics was a treat.
Q: Did you change anything about your coaching style when you came to Neshaminy?
A: “No. Honestly, with my coaching style, it’s my 25th year coaching, so I really worked hard at developing the type of coach that I am. And also, over the years I have learned from great coaches, [and] had the opportunity to work with a lot of great coaches. So, my coaching style, I feel, was a good fit for the school and the players in the community. Necessarily, you don’t change your coaching style, but you also want to work as a coach to keep learning new things and being able to adapt and being able to change a few things if you need to.”
Q: Did you feel like you had a lot of work to do when coming to Neshaminy, or did you feel like you only had to fine tune/tweak some things?
A: “Coach Wilmot did a great job with the program, so I felt like the culture here was very strong. There’s a lot of good returning football players, a lot of players have played a lot of football [the] last [few] years. I have a ton of respect for Coach Wilmot. I actually had a chance to meet with him a few times in the Spring, so I felt like the program was in good shape. And it’s just a matter of getting my offense, defense, special teams, those types of things instilled. But also, just getting to know the players, building those relationships and going from there. I think it’s been good.”
Q: What is your vision for Neshaminy’s football program going forward?
A: “Obviously, we set our goals high. We have a lot of [high] expectations here at Neshaminy, as they should be high. You know, Winning the Suburban One [League], that’s absolutely number one. Winning a district championship is something we feel is [very important], and then the state championship. Every year it should be win the league, win District One, getting in the state playoffs, and win a state championship.”
Q: Did you find anything difficult or different coming to Neshaminy from schools in western/central Pennsylvania?
A: “That’s a great question. To be honest, I have a lot of familiarity with this part of the state. I coached at Coatesville for seven years, so I was in District One. I have a lot of experience coaching against the Suburban One teams, [and] I knew of Neshaminy and I knew how good of a program it was. But really, it was a matter of just being able to, like I said before, instill the systems and stuff like that. Having the opportunity to coach out here in District One at Coatesville enabled me to have a lot of familiarity with the Suburban One League. I have a lot of coaching friends out this way, so that helps make the transition smooth, but anytime you take over a new program, new league, new district, there’s always some challenge that you have to face, and you have to be able to make adjustments. It’s been pretty smooth to say for the [most] part.”
Q: Did you always envision becoming a football coach since you played football at Lock Haven University?
A: “Absolutely. From the time I started playing football, I always wanted to be a football coach, [and] I always wanted to be a teacher. And then when I went to Lock Haven and I played football at Lock Haven, I wanted to get an education, I wanted to help kids, and I wanted to coach. When people say ‘living the dream’, people kind of joke around about it, but I am living the dream. I always wanted to be a football coach.; I always wanted to be an educator. I think it’s very important for people in those positions to have a willingness to help kids, to take them from one point to another, and to see them grow and develop. It’s just special.”
Q: What is your goal for Neshaminy during the 2025-2026 season?
A: “Obviously, we want to get [a win] each week. We set our goals at the beginning of the year. We want to win the league, we want to win District One, and we want to make some noise in the state playoffs. But obviously, the league we play [in] is very difficult. A lot of good teams; a lot of well-coached teams. So, the big thing is we need to prepare each week. We’ve got to make sure that we’re doing everything we can each week to put ourselves in position to be successful.”
Q: Do you have a motto or mantra that leads you and the football team? For example, Virginia Tech’s is “Reach for greatness.”
A: “We use the number 212. I’m not going to tell you what it means; I want you to do some research to see if you can figure out what it means. It’s one of the things that, as a program, we really believe in; it’s kind of the foundation of everything that we do, from the weight room to the community, to the practice field, to the game field, and the players have done a great job of buying into it. It’s simple, but it’s effective, and it’s something that we believe in.”
Q: How do you motivate your players?
A: “Another great question. Motivation is [a] very important part of being a football coach, especially being a head football coach. You’re going to [need] to be able to each week, each day, [to] motivate your players and also coaches and everyone around your program. You’re the tempo set, so it goes with you as far as confidence [and] preparation. I always really look for different ways to try to motivate our players. Every player’s different. That’s what’s unique about high school football. But, motivating, trying to find something for me, I want to try to find something each week to grab their attention, that I feel like is going to really motivate them. But, honestly, the big thing is just believing in your players. Having confidence in your players really helps to motivate them.”
Q: Do you and the team have any pregame rituals?
A: “I have a few motivational videos that I listen to every morning the Friday before the game, as I’m going through my script, so I listen to the same few motivational speakers in the morning. And then pregame: I put my headphones on, I have a few songs that I like to listen to every Friday. I can’t tell you the songs. Sometimes I like people [to ]try to figure me out and try to guess it, you know, ‘what’s coach listening to?’. You might guess it right, you might not. Also, gummy bears and Sour Patch Kids are my pregame snack. Every game, I’ve been doing it for probably the last 20 years. It’s crazy, but it’s been one of the things where it’s Friday, you’ll see gummy bears [and] you’ll see Sour Patch Kids.”
Q: Do you plan to get any of your kids into football?
A: “My daughter, Kloé, she’s 14, she’s been doing a great job helping with the football team. She’s a freshman [and] she takes pictures, she helps with practice, [and she helps] with some of the day-to-day operations. She’s doing a great job. Olivia, my daughter, she’s six. She absolutely loves football. She loves talking to the players after the game, specifically Mike Eckart. She really looks for Mike after the game, and Mike’s been so great with her. They take pictures after the game. And then Lucco, my son, he’s four. Obviously, I would love to see him play football. He’s so young, but he’s starting to get that itch a little bit like ‘Dad, let’s go play some football’. It’s something I’d like to see, but it’s something they won’t have to do at some point in time. Something that would be really special, but also they’re going to blaze their own trail and do what they want to do to be successful.”
With every game, I am still glued to my seat, whether in the stands or in my home, and Neshaminy’s performance and Felus’s coaching is proof that when you have high expectations, you get high rewards.
