It takes a lot of dedication to build a football program into a powerhouse. Veritas Christian believes it has found a coach who can make it happen, as the school announced Jon Brown as its new football coach earlier this week.

The Eagles went 4-6 last season, including a 30-point loss in the first round of the playoffs to Colby Heartland.

Though it’s been a long time since Brown’s coached eight-man football, he has a long history of coaching. Brown coached for four years at Lyndon High (2000-03), compiling a 18-21 record, and spent several years coaching at Mulvane in the ’70s and ’80s, winning at least one league title with them.

“You’ve got to have a little more speed — speed is helpful anytime, but I think eight-man football is a little more wide open,” said Brown, who also spent time as a principal at Jefferson County North. “It’s a speed game. It’s going to be a challenge to find speed. But, football is still football. You still have to block, tackle and get with the program.”

Former Veritas football coach Blake Mudd is leaving to take a coaching position with Ottawa University’s football team. Veritas athletic director Gary Hammer said the school will wait until the fall to announce who will fill Mudd’s vacancy as the head basketball coach.

Brown has already met with players and parents at least once, and is excited about the upcoming season. However, he also has a goal of getting more athletes to join the team.

“The thing we want to get to is get the numbers up, and we’ll see what we can do,” Brown said. “We want to have a successful year but yet wins and losses isn’t always the true barometer of success. But we want to get the numbers and it’ll be important to get the numbers up and get kids excited about playing football at Veritas, which I think they are.”

Brown is a driver’s education instructor at Free State High and hopes to use his extra time in the city to start a summer conditioning program for the football team.

“I’ve always thought about coaching at a Christian high school,” Brown said. “I’m wrapping up my public school career and I’m really looking forward to it and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to do it.”