Hoover’s Headed Out: Coach Justin Hoover resigned from his head coaching position on the football team

Instead of spending his afternoon yelling at lineman as they deadlift 250 lbs, ex-head football coach Justin Hoover went to pick up his two daughters from elementary school — family always came first.

After spending eight years balancing a full-time job running Spin It — a quarterback training academy — with coaching high school football and dedicated family time, Hoover decided to resign from his head coaching position on Dec. 2, hoping that it will be filled by someone who has more time to dedicate to the team’s success.

“A lot of the things I had away from Shawnee Mission East were taking time away from being the best head coach that I could be,” Hoover said. “I felt like I was being pulled in too many directions.”

According to Athletic Director Ryan Johnson, being a head coach requires a lot of time on and off the field. Hoover spent 20 hours a week behind a desk working on plays and checking on players grades, attendance and mental health. He worked over 40 hours a week — with seven-hour game days every Friday and an additional 15 hours of practice in the days leading up to games.

“For [the East] program to move forward and have the most success possible, it needs to be someone who can give it 365 days a year,” Hoover said.

Hoover and Johnson both agree that the best-fit for the job is someone who is constantly in the building, seeing and interacting with players all day long. As a Rule 10 coach, Hoover wasn’t consistently in the building and available to work with players. 

Hoover prides himself in the relationships he develops with players — going out of his way to get to know each player. He wanted to inspire players to be the best people they can be on and off the field as his coaches once did.

He uses the locker room as a safe-space for players with inspirational messages and hype-up speeches before games. 

“He could really get the team fired up,” senior and quarterback George Kopp said. “He knew how to yell at us. Not in a mad way but just to get us going and ready for the game.”

Kopp was out training in the blaring summer heat every Sunday morning for three years. He worked closely with Hoover, learning to throw the perfect spiral and how to read a defense. The thing that kept him coming back was Hoover’s likable personality, coaching style and love for the sport.

“High fives, celebrations, smiles, hugs, tears: all of that makes me realize exactly how special high school football is and how special that bond is with your teammates and players,” Hoover said. “Seeing these guys take care of each other on and off the field and push each other, not only will they have more success on the field, but when they leave East, I think they’ll be better men.”