Coach Spotlight: Steven Rhoades

Coach Steven Rhoades has been the coach of the Hamburg throwers for the past eight years. Not only is he a coach, but also at one point he was a thrower for the school himself. Coach Rhoades holds the school record in the shotput at 50’4.75’’ and even went on to throw in college at Kutztown University. After he graduated from college, he got a job as a teacher in Wilson School District and started a family and he, “did not have the chance to continue throwing.” Luckily, he was reunited with his sport when his son, Zachary Rhoades, who also attended Hamburg, decided he wanted to be a thrower like his dad. 

Upon returning to Hamburg Track and Field program, Coach Rhoades did not know what to expect. Fortunately for him, at that time the throwing program had a large number of student-athletes, and the number did not look like it was going to shrink anytime soon. However, after his fourth year, he noticed that his “number of throwers had dropped dramatically and it was obvious.” He also noticed that there was much less girl participation than boy participation. Despite the drop in numbers, Coach Rhoades did not decide to end his coaching career because his daughter had just entered high school and was going to throw. He believes that this year will be his last year of coaching due to his daughter, Victoria Rhoades, graduating this year. Coach Rhoades still wishes to have a good year as a team and would love to see the thrower participation numbers grow in the years to come. He also wants throwers and all student-athletes to push themselves to their full potential in not only sports but also in life.