With the start of the 20182019 school year, there are many new faces around Omaha North. Many of those faces include new coaches. One of those new coaches stands out from the rest though and that coach is Jonas Luedtke. Luedtke is a varsity assistant and the freshman head coach of the Omaha North Football program.

Luedtke was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended Hartman Elementary, Nathan Hale Middle School, and graduated from Creighton Preparatory School.

After graduating from Creighton Prep, Luedtke attended multiple colleges such as UNL, UNO, and UNK. He earned various degrees throughout his post high school education, but just in 2018 Luedtke earned his master’s degree in Athletic Administrations from Ohio University.

Besides Luedtke’s impressive education resume, there is one thing that makes him different from all the other new coaches. That one thing is his love for the North Omaha community. Luedtke is known by his players and students for telling stories about his childhood and how he grew up. These stories include losing friends to gun violence, altercations with the police, and just how living in North Omaha has made him the man he is today.

Luedtke played football throughout his life and wanted to play in college but injuries prevented that from happening. Since Luedtke hasn’t competed in so long he keeps his love for football alive through his players.

Luedtke wanted to attend Omaha North but his family decided Creighton Prep would be a better choice for him. Even though he never attended Omaha North, Luedtke can still relate to his players and what they go through.

“I can see myself in so many of the young men here and pull them aside when they’re having troubles and simply relate to them but as an authority figure,” Luedtke said.

Luedtke’s background has affected him as a person but also affects the way he coaches.

“Sometimes the way I coach gets me in trouble because I’m clowning too much with the kids,” Luedtke said.

His personality helps him build relationships with his players and gives him the comfortability to be able to laugh and joke with them but also get down to business. Luedtke’s unorthodox coaching style is something he truly believes in.

“Being real is important, kids know what they’re going to get with me and that’s going to get me in trouble sometimes, but the positives far outweigh the negatives,” Luedtke said.

Besides his love for North Omaha, Luedtke just simply has an itch to be around the sport of football and this helps his drive to coach. “Passion and love” are just a few words that describes Luedtke’s feelings about football.

Luedtke also believes everything is much bigger than football.

“Obviously winning is important when talking about football but that is a very small part of why I coach. One reason is, selfishly, I love it and love interacting with student athletes but the second is because I want our players to go to college and completely shatter the misconceptions that people have about the North Omaha community,” Luedtke said.

Players have the ultimate respect for Luedtke’s coaching style and think it truly gets the best out of them as players. Luedtke’s players truly believe in his character and the way he carries himself as a coach but more importantly as person.

“He’s a good coach and truly wants the best out of his players and tries to prepare us for life after football, with him there’s a caring aspect and when people care about you that motivates you to do better in everything,” said senior cornerback Tyree Stovall.

Luedtke is just one coach but he has had a lot of impact on the Omaha North Football program in just his first season.