Serving as an assistant football coach at Indian Lake for the last 17 years under Dave Coburn, Jonn Rapp juggled the desire to one day be a head coach himself while also remaining loyal to the man that was his coach for the Lakers.
“I have always said that I never wanted Coach Coburn to not be the coach, but I’ve always wanted to be the coach,” said Rapp, a 1999 IL graduate, after being named as Coburn’s replacement during Tuesday’s board of education meeting. “If he went for 50 years, I would have been his assistant for 50 years, and if he wanted to be done, I would have been more than happy to take over. He has been my coach, mentor, father-like figure and hero-like figure in my life. I love what he has built at the Lake and I look forward to continuing it and using the lessons we’ve learned together over the years to take our program to even higher levels of success. It’s an honor and a privilege to take over this program and to have his blessing.”
Rapp’s path to achieving his goal of being a head coach opened when Coburn made the decision that the 2020 season would be his last. In 23 years as head coach, Coburn won 125 games and led the Lakers to four playoff appearances.
It should be a smooth transition for the Rapp as he knows the program inside and out. He was a standout player for the Lakers and has been an extremely valuable assistant for Coburn. For the last 13 seasons, Rapp has served as the Lakers’ offensive coordinator.
Rapp, who teaches social studies at the high school, plans to change as little as possible now that he is the head coach.
“Our staff is going to be the same and my goal is that the general public and people on Friday nights to not even notice a change,” said Rapp. “(Coburn) and I are different people and I definitely have my own quirks, but I want to make sure we are continuing the lessons we’ve learned from him.”
While he has a good understanding of what to expect in his new position, Rapp said the biggest adjustment will be handling the behind the scene duties that Coburn was so adept at taking care of.
“The greatest challenge for me is the fear of the unknown,” said Rapp. “There were so many things (Coburn) took care of that we as assistants never had to worry about. I will have to work hard to learn that side of things.”
Although Coburn is stepping down as football coach, he will remain the high school assistant principal. Knowing that Coburn will be close by if he needs advice is a big relief for Rapp.
“He is so worried about stepping on my toes, but I’ve told him he is going to have to worry a lot more about me seeking him out for help than he needs to worry about stepping on my toes,” said Rapp.
Indian Lake is coming off a 4-5 season. The outlook is very positive for the 2021 campaign as the Lakers return seven all-conference performers.
“We are always looking ahead and preparing for the next season,” said Rapp. “It’s never easy losing seniors, but we have a tremendous group of juniors that will form an outstanding senior class next fall. We also have a lot of kids that were sophomores this season that will be big contributors for us. We’re definitely excited about the potential of the program.”