Junction City High School, like the town itself, is such a diverse community. Not only is the high school home to a variety of students, but teachers and staff as well. One of the most notable teachers in our school, an icon to some and a mentor to others, Mr. Zimmerman.

Mr. Randall Zimmerman, more commonly known as Coach Z is the Strength & Conditioning teacher, Head Football Coach, and the Track & Field Coach for Junction City High School. But how well do people actually know about the well-known Coach?

Coach Z went to school at Grinnel and graduated at Fort Hays, getting his Bachelors degree. Just as he preaches to many young athletes, Coach Z was a multi-sport athlete, participating in Football, Basketball, and Track. After playing football on a scholarship in college, he then moved to teaching and coaching at high schools.

Mr. Zimmerman began his teaching career, teaching Industrial Education at Salina Sacred Heart and Phillipsburgh soon after. Industrial Education is now currently known as Build & Trade, teaching students from an industrial perspective. He was also the Strength & Conditioning instructor after school to assist the student-athletes. He began coaching early, as the Head Coach for Football, Assistant Coach for Boys Basketball, the Head Coach for girls’ basketball and in Track & Field.

When the opportunity presented itself, Coach Z took it when he had the chance to teach and coach at a bigger school, this is what brought him to Junction City High. He quickly became the main instructor in the Physical Education: Strength & Conditioning classes as he always believed the importance of his players being well trained. Coach Z always emphasizes the importance of sport, physical health and training mainly for what it can do for individuals outside the field, court, etc. Coach Zimmerman stated, “It teaches the kids to create and keep good lifetime habits to stay in shape and remain healthy both physically and mentally.” Following the 2016 season, Coach Z has been the Football Head Coach for 23 years. When asked about his favorite part of coaching, he responded with, “I like the interaction with the kids, helping them grow and also develop skills they can show not only on the field, but in their future off the field. The biggest thing is when the alumni players come to the games and I get to learn what they’re up to and see how they’ve grown and developed in life.” Track & Field is another sport Coach Z takes part in coaching, tallying his 19th year here in 2017.

For the readers aspiring to play sports in their future, Coach Z continuously preaches what he believes the true meaning of sports is; “It’s all about hard work and creating good habits that will help you not only on the field, but off the field in life as well because it’s more than just sport.”