Full circle with Scott Vandygriff: From Penn High T&F athlete to coach
MISHAWAKA, Ind. — Coach Scott Vandygriff began his track experience in middle school and has continued his love of track through his career as a coach. Coach Vandygriff is the Discovery Middle School Athletic Director and the Penn Boys’ Track Coach for hurdles, high jump, and long jump. He started his hurdler career at Schmucker Middle School. He continued running hurdles all four years at Penn High School. Coach Vandygriff also ran hurdles at Concordia University-Chicago for two years.
He began his coaching career in 1999 at Discovery Middle School before moving up to take a coaching position at Penn High School four years ago. He still serves as the Discovery Middle School Athletic Director and co-chair for the middle school Big 11 Track Meet.
Coach Vandygriff takes pride in working on form and technique for the specialty events he coaches. He mentions a couple of his best memories as a coach were when athlete, Kevin Krutsch, placed second in the state finals with a jump of 6 feet 9 inches during Scott’s first year of coaching. The other top memory was just last year when Vincent Nierzwicki-Trifiletti won the Ben Davis Big Dog Relay MVP. Vincent won the 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter intermediate hurdles, and high jump.
One thing Coach Vandygriff prides himself on is helping his athletes meet their fullest potential and seeing his athletes improve throughout the season and from year to year. He hopes to leave his legacy for athletes with a pattern of excellent communication, working together to achieve their goals, and improve each season. Coach Vandygriff states, “Track is one of those sports that I enjoyed as an athlete and still enjoys coaching. I want to see my athletes improve, compete, and have fun.”
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