By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
From an early age Katie Glatczak knew she would probably be a coach someday.
In fact, given her family history, it was most likely inevitable.
Katie Glatczak
The 26-year-old Gtatczak grew up in a family of coaches, with father Larry coaching Centralia to four state football and a boys basketball title, mother Janelle coaching multiple sports and brothers Michael and Tyler also both coaching, with Michael leading Nemaha Central to state football titles in three of the past four seasons.
"Growing up, I've never really known any different,'' Katie Glatczak said. "From a very young age I grew up in the gym with mom and dad and my two brothers and ever since then I haven't gotten out of it and I love it.
"From being a manager at a young age for dad to being a player through high school and college to now coaching it really has been a blessing, just having the chance to impact lives in a special way that coaching just has and I couldn't ask for anything else.''
After a redshirt year, new Shawnee Heights volleyball and girls basketball coach Katie Glatczak played three seasons for Washburn University. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Now the former Washburn University basketball guard is set to take her next step up the coaching ladder, with Glatczak being approved Monday night by the Shawnee Heights school board as the T-Birds' new head volleyball and girls basketball coach.
Glatczak is taking over the Shawnee Heights volleyball reins from Sami Kearney, who resigned to spend more time with her family, and replaces longtime coach Bob Wells in basketball, with Wells retiring after leading the T-Birds to a fourth-place finish in Class 5A this past season.
"I started at Shawnee Heights actually for my very first year of teaching after I graduated from Washburn (in 2022),'' Glatczak said. "I was an elementary teacher at Berryton and then I helped out as an assistant in volleyball (under Kearney) and assistant softball (under Tara Griffith).''
"I loved it at Shawnee Heights. It just feels like a small town, which Centralia is just a little smaller than that area, but it just felt like a small town out there and just felt like home.''
Glatczak has spent the past three years as a physical education teacher at Royal Valley, where she served as head volleyball coach the past two seasons, including a state tournament berth, and as an assistant in basketball three seasons.
"I left Shawnee Heights because I wanted a high school teaching position just to be able to be around the athletes that I was coaching after school,'' Glatczak said. "Royal Valley has been a great experience for me and I'm so thankful for the opportunities they've given me over the last three years.''
But when Glatczak had the opportunity to return to Shawnee Heights, she jumped at the change.
"When this Shawnee Heights job came open and posted and I heard about it, I definitely knew it would be a great opportunity to get back there and impact lives,'' she said.
"Sami and Bob Wells both have done an amazing job at Shawnee Heights. They have done such a great job and they have built great programs and I'm very excited to step in there.''
Glatczak will coach P.E. at Shawnee Heights.
