Coach Appreciation: After coaching for 10 years, track and field coach Emily Fossoh received the KCCTFCA Boys 6A Coach of the Year Award

Track and field coach and AP European History teacher Emily Fossoh was sitting at her desk at school when she received an email notifying her that she had won the Kansas Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association 6A Boys Coach of the Year Award. She was thrilled to see that all of the team’s hard work the past few years had paid off.

“Whenever you win something like that it’s exciting because the team is being recognized,” Fossoh said. 

Fossoh has been a part of the track and field community since high school, when she competed as a thrower. After competing at Baker University, Fossoh began coaching at East. Over her 10 years of coaching, she’s seen countless highs and lows — including multiple years when the boys team placed second at state.

Her methods of training and coaching athletes have grown in several ways, one being by researching and testing out the most effective and popular techniques. 

“When you coach for a period of time, it’s trial and error,” Fossoh said. “It’s just continuing your education and your craft and then hopefully [making] some changes and contributing to the [athlete’s growth].”

Within track, Fossoh specifically coaches throwing, but she’s made an effort to make connections with the entire team. During the season she would get the team together every Thursday before Friday meets for visualization of how they wanted their events and races to go.

“She kind of spread herself and really focused on everybody,” distance runner and senior Lida Padgett said.

Padgett enjoys the consistent conversations she has with Fossoh in which they discuss goals to work towards in her races.

According to Fossoh, the award goes to the head coach of the highest achieving team at the state meet. 

“[The distance team] broke so many records,” Fossoh said. “Wyatt Haughton broke three personal records and you also have Blair [Ptacek] and Caden [Peters] that were part of those relays as well.”

East alum Haughton, who was a senior on the team last season, broke three meet records at the state meet. The boys and girls teams brought home numerous individual medals as well.

Fossoh recently announced that she’d be stepping down as head coach, but will still be part of the team as an assistant coach.