'Exhausted' Hammond resigns as Goffstown football coach
Dec. 18—GOFFSTOWN — Nick Hammond's time with the Goffstown High School football program has come to an end.
Hammond, 34, resigned as Goffstown's head coach earlier this month and recently relayed that decision to his players. He spent seven seasons with the program, three as an assistant and the last four as head coach.
"I think at the end of any season a head coach is pretty exhausted and I felt it earlier this year than I ever have," Hammond said. "I was exhausted physically and emotionally pretty early in our season. I didn't think I was giving our kids the best version of myself as their coach and ultimately if I'm not going to be able to do that for whatever reason then I don't deserve to be their coach.
"After I had a few weeks when I was able to step back, I came to the conclusion this is what's best for everyone.
"I love Goffstown. I love the people, the players, the parents and the school, but given where we're at right now it was time for a change."
Hammond's first season as Goffstown's head coach ended with a loss to Nashua North in the 2020 Division I championship game.
Goffstown advanced to the Division I quarterfinals in 2021, but the Grizzlies had a hard time finding a winning formula in each of the last two seasons.
Goffstown went 0-10 in 2022 and 1-9 last season, when it opened with a victory over Nashua South and then lost nine in a row.
Hammond, a Milford High School graduate, served as an assistant coach at Nashua North from 2013 to 2015 before joining the Goffstown staff. He spent one season with the Grizzlies before accepting a position with the Saint Anselm College football program in 2017. He returned to Goffstown the following year.
Goffstown won its only Division I championship in 2015.
Hammond said he's uncertain if he will coach in any capacity during the 2024 season.
"Coaching takes a big time commitment," he said. "I have to take a step back from being a head coach and evaluate what I want to do next.
"If you really boil it down, athletics is about relationships and I was fortunate to have a good relationship with a lot of people in Goffstown."
