Last year, Chad Foster led the Weston football Wildcats to their best record in years. Before that, he coached running backs and the freshman team in Watertown. Now, he has been hired to coach a Belmont team that has had little success the past two seasons.
The 35-year-old can’t wait to get going.
“You want to revive a program and community and to build that back,” Foster said. “Obviously, I was very familiar with Belmont and the Middlesex League. … I saw a place that has 1,500 kids in the building and tons of resources and support with a schedule that’s not so daunting to build and succeed.”
/
Previous Coverage
Foster takes over for Francois Joseph, who resigned after two seasons and a cumulative 2-17 record. Foster applied when the job opened up in late January and, after three rounds of interviews, got the job.
Foster, unlike Joseph, is new to the Belmont program, most recently serving as the assistant head coach at Weston High School, where he works during the day as a learning specialist in the special education department. Foster helped lead the Wildcats to their best season in more than a decade and their first league title in approximately 30 years.
Bruce MacKinnon, president of the Friends of Belmont Football, said he appreciates Foster’s early efforts in connecting with the community.
“We are all very excited about the potential, the energy that he’s going to be bringing, and the new ideas that will be coming with his leadership,” MacKinnon said. “He has made time to talk to other coaches and players on other teams, so he is working on recruiting, which we’re also very excited about. So overall, we’re quite optimistic.”
Belmont High School Athletic Director Adam Pritchard did not return requests for comment regarding Foster and his emergence from the applicant pool.
A New Jersey native, Foster played defensive end at Division III Muskingum University in Ohio, where he studied physical education and health. He moved to Massachusetts a dozen years ago to be closer to friends.
Foster began coaching in 2012, first in middle and high school basketball. After taking a job with the Watertown Public Schools a year after moving to Massachusetts, Foster joined the football program staff, working his way up from running the freshman team to a varsity assistant role. A finalist for Watertown’s head coaching role in 2023, Foster coached for a year with the Xaverian Brothers High School program before last season at Weston.
Over the next few months, Foster plans to lay the groundwork and find the best system for Belmont’s athletes.
“Immediate success is creating motor and drive in the kids,” Foster said. “It’s tough to explain from an aspect of what I see versus what other people see when watching games, but I don’t see a team that should’ve gone 0-11 or won only two games. Instant success is building their confidence to know that’s not who we are.”
Foster said safety is a top priority and acknowledged it’s a major concern for families. The school recently instituted baseline concussion testing, and building up strength and conditioning helps. In practice, Foster likes instituting game-like drills but focuses more on technique, especially at the start. “Low impact but high energy,” he calls them. He also teaches how to properly absorb hits well before any full-speed work.
“The goal is for no one to hit the ground during these drills [but rather to focus on] just building the energy and the confidence,” Foster said. “My goal is to always make the parents feel as comfortable as they always can and that their children are in good hands with our program.”
Foster envisions a strong offseason program with focused weight room sessions. He wants it to be both enjoyable and challenging, starting with fast-paced, regimented morning lifts two to three times per week. Once summer hits, Foster will set up small groups for workouts that can earn points based on attendance, gains, community service, and more.
“The more that I’ve used this program in the past, it’s naturally developed players to become more accountable,” Foster said. “If I can build you up with the lifting and conditioning portion and you can build yourself up with leadership and accountability, then we’re going to have something really good going in September.”
