Chad Arnold named new boys basketball coach for North Montgomery

LINDEN — A new era for North Montgomery boys basketball is underway. The Chargers will have their third new coach in four seasons and athletic director Matt Merica introduced Chad Arnold to the returning players and incoming freshmen at a team meeting on Wednesday afternoon. “Coach Arnold stood out with his number of years of experience in very successful programs and experience as a varsity coach was something we were looking for,” he said. Arnold was hired after Andrew Evertts resigned the first week of May after guiding North Montgomery to a 5-18 record in one season. “We didn’t want to rush through everything,” Merica added. “But I thought we were quick, but thorough and had a lot of good candidates. With him living in the area and his kids coming through North Montgomery he’s going to be invested, and we need some stability in this position, and I think he’s going to provide that stability. He’s going to be a great fit for us and we are excited to have him on board.” Arnold, a 2000 graduate of Central Catholic, has five children, and has made several coaching stops over the years. In the last 17 years he has coached in the boys basketball program at Central Catholic and West Lafayette, the girls program at Central Catholic and Lafayette Jeff and spent time as the head coach for both the girls and boys programs at Carroll (Flora) High School. “I am honored,” Arnold said. “It’s a great program, a great school and a great community. I told the kids I remember watching them when DJ Byrd was playing here and how tough-minded those kids were and just classy and that’s what really drew me into here.” “And when I talked to Mr. Merica and Mr. Cox I just knew this was the place to be at,” he added. North Montgomery has not won a sectional since 2009 and not had a winning season since 2015-16, and Arnold is excited about the challenge of helping restore success to the program. “I’m excited,” he said. “I’ve got to watch some of the film and it looks like these guys play hard. We are going to get started this summer and get in the weight room and start working on some of the things we do, and go to some shootouts and get to know these guys, and not just in basketball, but away from basketball and build good relationships and grow as a team.” Arnold understands that building a winning culture takes time. “Winning is a process,” he said. “And it’s going to take time. We are just going to have to play hard, and do stuff right. Be on the same page, and then I think building the feeder program is going to continue success. And then we are successful and competing for sectional championships every year.”