Trevor Zeiders: Get to know new head coach
WEST POINT, Ga. (Jan. 14, 2022) – Trevor Zeiders was named head coach of the Point University football program last month.
Zeiders came to Point in 2020 as the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. Before Point, he served as the head coach at Cincinnati Christian University. He was on the inaugural staff at CCU and was promoted to head coach in 2018.
During Zeiders' time at Point, he has had two players named All-American and has had six earn Mid-South Conference All-Conference recognition. His most recent All-American, Gabriel Jacon-Duffy, was named MSC Defensive Freshman and MSC Defensive Player of the Year. Jacon-Duffy finished the season No. 1 in the nation in sacks (13.0). During the 2021 spring season, Chase Turner was named a first-team All-American after leading the nation in interceptions (six).
Below, Zeiders discusses his time before Point and the experiences and coaching philosophies that he brings into the program:
- Where were you before coming to Point University?
Before Point, I was the Head Coach at Cincinnati Christian University. The program started in 2015, played our first season in 2016, and I became the Head Coach in 2018. Before that, I was at Urbana University in Ohio, the University of Dayton, Carson-Newman College (now University), Frostburg State University, Gettysburg College, and West Virginia University.
- What are some of your favorite memories as a coach?
While at Carson-Newman, Dayton, and Urbana, winning championships will always be experiences that I will remember forever.
In 2010, we were playing at the University of San Diego. After the game, I hear someone call my name, and not really knowing anyone from California, and know I had no one at the game, I assumed they meant someone else. They called my name a second time, and this time it was louder. Then I noticed someone walking towards me, calling my name, and finally, I recognized him. A former player of mine – Chris Barber – who played DL for me at Gettysburg College in 2001-2003, was now living in San Diego. He saw that USD was playing Dayton, remembered that I was coaching at UD, and decided to come to watch the rest of the game and talk to me afterward. He then told me how much I meant to him and how I had mentored him during my time at Gettysburg College, and that I really had impacted his life. That, by far, has been one of my favorite memories of coaching. In the end, it's about the relationships and the lessons.
- What are the most rewarding aspects of being a coach?
The relationships that are built, the maturity of watching a young man grow up, and watching them become men. Watching former players become better people and being successful in life. That has been the most rewarding aspect.
- What coaching philosophy have you held onto over the years?
That you win with people. Plays, schemes, and gimmicks do not win games. People win games. People who try to do things the right way. People who want to be successful in all aspects of life. People who are great teammates, who support their brother, and work together to fulfill a common goal. That is why winning with people is an important part of my coaching philosophy.
- What are you looking forward to as you take the reins of the Point football program?
I am excited to see the growth of these young men. To watch them push their limits, overcome them, and achieve more than they thought possible. Watching them grow in all aspects of their lives, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, socially, and athletically. To help them become more than they thought they could and teach them to continue working hard in life to become great in everything they do. To teach them a commitment to excellence.