Head Football Coach Resigns

“He invested in our lives on and off the field more than any coach ever has,” senior captains Cooper Moore, Josh Pottebaum, Dyllan Conway, and Steve Webb collectively said. Coach Pederson has been in the program for seventeen years. Sixteen years as an assistant, one year as head coach.

Pederson was dealt a difficult set of cards as he entered his head coach position. Losing seventeen senior starters, there were a lot of spots to fill. He had a young team with little experience. Although his first season as a head coach did not go as planned, he has gained the respect of the entire football community like no other coach has.

A lot of people don’t realize coach Pederson accomplished something more important and difficult than winning football games. He not only kept the community together, but he strengthened it through adversity. He pulled the team together when it could’ve been so easy to give up on each other. He transformed a group of seventy boys into men. He taught the players how to truly lead and have a strong work ethic, all the while being a Godly example.

This is one of the reasons Coach Pederson is so widely respected. When he puts his mind to something, he will get it done well. When he is faced with a problem, he does not bat an eye when dealing with the heart of the issue. He not only made this team better as football players, but he invested into the individual players lives, making them better all around men.

Chris Pederson plans to stay on at Westminster as the head principal of the 11th and 12th grade.

The football community will be left with some enormous shoes to fill. His coaching prowess helped transform the program into one of the state’s best.