As springtime inches towards us, the Red Raider track and field team inches towards its 2021-2022 season, which brings with it a new head coach: Matt Rossman.

Rossman may be of some familiarity to some of you, as he is the head cross country coach as well. Rossman led the 2021-2022 CCCHS XC teams, both boys and girls, to their first ever state meet his first year as head coach.

With his success with Red Raider XC, and experience as a runner himself, Rossman was asked to take on the position as head track coach as well.

“This past Fall, I was asked to coach the Cross Country team,” Rossman says. “For me, it was a great experience that I was able to join my passion for running and working with students.”

“I honestly did not have any intention to coach Track,” he continues, “but the more I thought about it and prayed about it, I just felt it was another opportunity to combine those passions again.”

It’s no secret that distance is Rossman’s primary forte, and it’s also no secret that track has a lot more to offer to athletes than just distance running.

“Some events in track have a little bit of a learning curve for me, but it’s been exciting learning,” Rossman answered after being asked how he is going to go about events other than distance. “I have been doing a ton of research on my own from some great college coaches.”

As well as research of his own, Rossman has a few returning assistant coaches from last year to help him tackle the battle of the unknowns of track: Chris Welch and Jon and Nikki Helms.

“I also will be encouraging experienced athletes to take a leadership role as students among their peers,” Rossman adds. “I may be the head coach, but our success will be a team effort among all coaches and athletes.”

When asked what he’s most excited about for this season, Rossman says, from a competition standpoint, he truly believes, with the athletes this team possesses, many of them have high chances of making it to the State Tournament.

“From a personal standpoint,” Rossman continues, “I am excited to get to know the kids and build relationships with them. Having kids myself, I know how important that relationship can be for student athletes, and I hope I can be a positive influence in their lives.”

It’s safe to say Coffee County Athletics and the Coffee County School system in general are excited to have Rossman as not one, but two, head coaches this 2021-2022 school year.

Rossman’s passion and dedication to the athletic degree are admirable, but his passion and dedication for the athletes themselves is a great contribution to the Coffee County community.

We encourage you to watch and support Rossman and our Red Raider track and field members as they take on this 2021-2022 season.