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Elkhart’s John Adair has been named the Elkhart Independent School District interim athletic director and head football coach. Adair, who has coached Elkhart baseball for 10 years, is expected to have the position permanently starting this summer. Scott Tyler
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Adair at home in Elkhart
ELKHART — John Adair jokes about how there are many people who believe he is from Elkhart.
However, those people cannot be blamed for thinking that. Adair has spent 10 of his 20 coaching years at Elkhart and he bleeds the blue and red of the Elks.
“I know a lot of people think I am from Elkhart, but I graduated from Cayuga,” Adair chuckled while sitting behind a desk in his new office in the Elkhart field house. “But this is my second home.”
Now, Adair will be taking over the athletic program for his second home. Last week, Adair was named the Elkhart Independent School District’s interim athletic director and head football coach. However, the interim title will stick only until the summer, when according to both Adair and Elkhart ISD Superintendent Mike Moon, the school board will give Adair the position permanently.
“This has always been a goal of mine,” Adair said of becoming a head football coach and athletic director. “I feel like the timing is right and the community and kids are excited about it as well.”
Adair, who also will remain the Elkhart head baseball coach, wants to bring back a sense of pride to the Elkhart athletic program which he feels has been missing.
“I remember the pride that this community had and I want to bring that back to the program,” Adair said. “The kids we have are hard working, disciplined and committed and we can do those things.
“We can be successful in all our programs.”
Adair has come full circle since the start of his coaching career. He started at Elkhart, were he coached from 1989-1993 before going to Hudson. He spent six years at Hudson, including the final five as the athletic director. Then there was a two-year stint at Athens and a three-year stint at Malakoff before coming back to Elkhart, where he has been for six years.
“Elkhart always felt like home,” Adair said. “God’s plans were to bring me back here and we built a home here.”
Once in the athletic director office, Adair hit the ground running, making several decisions including reorganizing the field house and getting an offseason workout plan into place.
“We moved lockerrooms so now there is one for varsity and one for JV,” Adair said. “We also implemented a three-phase program for the last three months.
“Right now I am just trying to get some things ironed out because we are rolling.”
Adair, who has been an assistant football coach for many years, is excited about the chance to take the football reigns.
“I have been on the sideline long enough,” Adair joked. “I want to be in the game.”
Adair feels his relationship with the Elkhart players will help the Elks turn a program around that has only four wins the last two years.
“We know the kids and their abilities,” Adair said. “We feel we are heading in the right direction.”
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Scott Tyler may be contacted via e-mail at styler@palestineherald.com
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