Along with the new school year, many Sterling High School fall sports have new coaches. These new coaches include Ryan Blackburn, Nick Olds, Madison Morrison, Kennedy Anderson, Bari Kuebel, Lauren Sommers, Tyler Gaumer, and Chloe Halverson.

  Blackburn has taken the role of wide receiver coach for all levels, and special teams coach for the freshman and sophomore football team! In college, Blackburn was a student manager for the University of Illinois football team. Joining a team of coaches who have worked together for a long time can be daunting, but it has gone well. Blackburn said, “There are a lot of coaches in the program who have been working together for 10+ years, which has made the first year for me go smoothly.” 

  The cheer team has a new assistant coach in Madison Morrison. Morrison cheered throughout her high school career at S.H.S.

  Olds became co-head coach of the freshman volleyball team. Olds shared, “My experience has been better than I could’ve imagined. Our team is filled with driven athletes who make it easy to stay motivated as a coach.”

  The S.H.S. dance team also got a new head coach in Kennedy Anderson. Coach Anderson has spent the majority of her life dancing and teaching dance. Anderson said, “The girls are fun to work with and bring an extra spark to each routine.”

  The girls tennis team has two new coaches this year. Bari Kuebel has taken the role of head coach after being an assistant coach last year. Kuebel said, “I graduated from SHS and played on the tennis team, so it has been really special to come back and be on the other side.”

   Lauren Sommers is now the assistant coach of tennis and is in charge of the student athletes on the JV and Fresh/Soph rosters. Coach Sommers has previously worked with boys tennis and has enjoyed playing tennis for the majority of her life.

This year, Tyler Gaumer switched from coaching football to being a volunteer assistant for golf. When we asked how the transition from coaching two different sports was, he explained, “The challenges are still the same but it’s fun getting to coach through a different sport.” Coach Gaumer has always been a big fan of golf.

  Lastly, Chloe Halverson has become a coach for the boys soccer team. She also worked with girls soccer last year. Coach Halverson has specific goals for the team, sharing, “​​I really want them to grow not only as student athletes, but as people participating in our community and society as well.”

  Hopefully all of the new S.H.S coaches bring something new to each team and enjoy working with the Sterling athletes!