As the winter air fades and blossoms to spring, a KHS track student tightens their laces and prepares for another season. Despite the typical schedule during practice, a familiar face approaches the team. He introduces himself as their new coach.

KHS biology and chemistry teacher Nicholas Gebhardt has recently stepped up to the plate as a new spring track coach this season. As I face him in his classroom filled with lab tables and microscopes, his open-mindedness immediately stands out. 

While this may be Gebhardt’s first year coaching at KHS, he carries much knowledge and experience from coaching at other schools. “I’ve coached for ten years as an assistant coach at Wallkill Valley, mainly in the throwing events, especially in the javelin. That’s where I’ve seen most of my success. I’ve also coached horizontal jumps before and high jump as well,” he said. 

In response to Gebhardt’s new addition to the team, current track coach Laura Chegwidden expressed her beliefs. “Bringing Coach Gebhardt on board will be an amazing addition to our coaching staff. The team will benefit from his previous coaching knowledge and his experience as a past track and field athlete himself. He will be a great role model for our track and field athletes,” she said.

However, track has not been his only sport. His athletic journey varies highly, with him playing baseball when he was younger. When he grew older, so did his love for sports, and he took part in football and basketball.

Gebhardt has set high expectations for the track athletes this upcoming season. “We definitely have some really good athletes on the team, so I want to see sectional champions, maybe state champions in there, and as a team, I would like to see the team win a sectional championship. Definitely a conference championship that should be hopefully no question, but a sectional championship is really the goal we’re aiming for,” he said.

To achieve these goals, Gebhardt has already come up with plans to help the team. “You want to have expertise in whatever events you are coaching. You want to know the events inside and out, especially if you have competed in them before. This gives you an understanding of what to think about going into a meet, technically, physically, and mentally, all those different things, and just leading by example, too.”

Later, Gebhardt also mentions the relationship between his knowledge of science and track. “I have found [my science background] to be useful. My background is more in biology and chemistry, so the events I coach, javelin and pole vault, are very physics-based. If you can understand the levers and mechanisms to help you throw further, like kinetic energy and potential energy, all those things, it’s going to help in the events as well.”

Freshman Belinna Xu is also looking forward to the new season with Gebhardt. “I think that he’ll be a pretty good coach. He gives good advice in general and is pretty easygoing.” When asked to predict how Gebhardt’s teaching style will compare to his coaching, Xu says, “I don’t think his coaching style will differ extremely from him being a teacher. Biology and track are two extremely different subjects and fields, but both involve some sort of teaching or advising due to being authority-type areas.”

Chegwidden also shared some words of advice for the new addition. “Enjoy it, listen to your athletes, communicate with your co-coaches, and lean on your co-coaches for support. We are one big family, and we always supported each other through the ups and downs,” she said.

As Gebhardt steps forward, the KHS track student realizes that he is not just their teacher but also their coach. Together, the team prepares for a new journey under the spring sun, marking the start of a fresh season.