WHS Coach Jon Kitna

Coach Kitna contrasted two types of coaches, the transactional type and the transformational type.  He said the first type is focused only on the score board and if the team loses he tends to berate the players.  He himself is a transformational coach believing that if he builds young men of character and integrity the wins will come.  This was his experience in his position at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington.

In that district 85 percent of the kids did not have two parents.  Also, 83 percent were living below the poverty level.  Drugs and gangs were rampant.  The grade point average of the football team members was 1.4.  Thirty of them were not passing.  The story is much more complex than this but within a year their grade point average had risen to 3.0 and they were winning games and moving on to championship games.

There were four coaches for 110 players and no budget.  Each coach got $4,000 to coach and there was no budget for football.  They were in reality baby sitters for students who had no real home.  So Jon began to pray and fast.  He told the Lord that things could not continue as they had but he needed guidance what to do.  After several false starts and eighty days of praying and fasting his pastor told him he should talk to Dr. Glen in Waxahachie.  The rest is history.

Coach Kitna’s wife, assistant coaches and their wives and families all moved to Waxahachie because they believed in his vision of what could be done here.  None of them had even visited here but they accepted the challenge and all are delighted.

Here the community and parents support the program and coaches.  Here the district provides equipment and everything else needed for a successful program.  And here he will spend twenty five years developing young men of character and integrity who will be assets to their community.

Coach Kitna assured the Rotary members that they will beat Midlothian and that Ennis will not be a problem.  After hearing the presentation we believe the vision.

For more information about the Rotary Club of Waxahachie where we believe in Service Above Self and doing things as a club we cannot do alone, visit the club web site at www.waxahachierotary.org .  You can find American flag subscription applications on the web site.  Bike ride forms will be on the web site soon.  Your support through these events enables us to do the works we do.  Thank you.