Kyle Wedel will head WHS football, baseball teams

Kyle Wedel has been named Wasco High School's head varsity football coach. He has been the team's assistant coach for the last two years and assistant varsity baseball coach for the previous four years. He will also take on the role of head varsity baseball coach this year, taking over from his father..

Wedel, a lifelong resident of Wasco, graduated from WHS in 2013, where he played both baseball and football and was part of the 2012 Valley Championship football team. As head football coach, he said his goal is to bring a Valley Championship home for his team.

His father, Jeff Wedel, served as WHS's head varsity baseball coach from 2013. "He's run a very successful program over the last 12 years. I have some big shoes to fill. Our program has high expectations for our baseball players, and I'm looking forward to it," he said in an interview.

Regarding his new position as head football coach, he stated, "It's an honor and super humbling. I'm excited to give back to the community that has given so much to me."

Wedel attended Taft College, where he played baseball, before transferring to McPherson College in Kansas to continue his baseball career. He holds a master's degree in special education from Grand Canyon University and has been teaching in that field at WHS for the past three years, after previously teaching at McFarland High.

He enjoys teaching special education because it brings something new every day. "It is never boring, and the kids are amazing and fun. You can be yourself with them. It's a job that requires a heart full of patience and admiration for your students. They make me happy every day."

Teaching special education, he believes, spills over into coaching football. "The one relatable thing is that you have students who need tough love and others who need to be loved up, and so the overlap between special ed and coaching is that you have certain players you can coach hard and others, if you push too hard, you can lose them. My job is identifying who those are and bringing out the best in everyone. One role builds off the other."

Wedel has been involved in sports his whole life and comes from a family of collegiate athletes. His mother, Sonia Wedel, is WHS's head varsity softball coach, and his sister, Madison Williams, a math teacher at WHS, is also the assistant varsity softball coach and the head girls golf coach.

He became a coach because of his father. "I was inspired by being coached and taught by him. And it's also the competition. I'm a big competitor, but more importantly, it's having the opportunity to help younger athletes become better people and better athletes on the field."

As he steps into the role of head football coach, Wedel expressed his enthusiasm. "It comes with a lot of responsibility. I'm excited to instill something new into the program and bring a sense of freshness to it. It won't be easy and will bring daily challenges, but I'm up for it."