Dominick Goodman Has Faced Difficult Walnut Hills Start
The new Walnut Hills head coach has navigated a 0-4 start in his first season at the school.
Updated on Sept. 21, 2026 in Football
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Walnut Hills High School football coach Dominick Goodman has encountered a challenging debut season, with his team recording an 0-4 start. The program is currently struggling to regain its footing after years of losing campaigns.
Why it matters
Goodman aims to instill fundamental skills and discipline into a program that has lacked consistent leadership for over a decade. His long-term goal is to rebuild the team's culture over the next two to three years.
The team has struggled in its first four games, losing by margins of 37, 40, 24, and 35 points. This season follows a period where the program averaged just 2.5 wins per season since 2012.
The players
Dominick Goodman
He is the current head football coach at Walnut Hills High School and a former University of Cincinnati wide receiver.
Walnut Hills High School
This is a Cincinnati-based educational institution whose football program has not recorded a winning season since 2011.
The details
The coaching staff is focused on teaching foundational football skills, including the proper three-point stance, to a squad with only four combined seniors and juniors in the starting lineup. This effort addresses a documented lack of leadership that plagued the program prior to Goodman's arrival.
Timeline
2004: Dominick Goodman won a state championship at Colerain High School.
2005-2008: Goodman played wide receiver at the University of Cincinnati.
2011: Walnut Hills High School finished its last winning season.
2026: Goodman began his tenure as the head coach at Walnut Hills.
Season Trajectory
Goodman's current 0-4 start at Walnut Hills serves as a stark departure from his undefeated 15-0 record during the 2004 Colerain championship season. This transition highlights the immense difficulty of rebuilding a program that has struggled for consistency since 2012.
The team currently relies on a starting lineup that features only four seniors and juniors combined. This youth-heavy roster suggests that development will be the primary focus for the remainder of the 2026 season.
The takeaway
Rebuilding a high school football program requires patience, as evidenced by Goodman's two-to-three-year plan for improvement. Supporters and observers should focus on the team's incremental progress in fundamentals rather than immediate win-loss results.
Further reading
For more updates on local athletics, visit the Football section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Cincinnati.
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