Sam Katon, MU’s new assistant track and field coach, plans to increase team spirit.
Photo provided by MU
Track Team Welcomes New Assistant Coach Sam Katon
Evan Hobik
The track and field team at Manchester University now has a new addition: Sam Katon is a new assistant coach for the 2020-2021 track season.
Katon attended Chelsea High School in Michigan; he participated in football, wrestling as well as track and field. He received three varsity letters during his school years for track and field and even qualified and participated in the state track meet his junior year. However, due to an ACL injury he wasn’t able to participate in the state qualifiers his senior year.
He then continued his education at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There he received a BBA in sports management. During his college years he specialized in weight throw and hammer throw for his school’s track team. In his college athletic career he qualified and competed in the 2017 NAIA indoor and outdoor National Championship.
He then got his MBA while being a graduate assistant for his school’s track team; in two years he coached five NCAA D2 Provisional National Qualifiers/All American.
Coach Katon has plans to further increase the team spirit at MU. He explained that he never had a full time throw coach and that he and his teammates helped coach one another. While doing so he found that he loved the “team atmosphere” as well as helping students become better athletes and people simultaneously. He plans to “tap into the talent we have here,” as he put it. He wants to develop high school throwers that he can bring into help the team in the future.
Katon also plans to dominate in the conference so that his team can be the #1 throwing school in the conference this year and for years to come. Along with that he is going to work to produce national caliber throwers. “They will then become determined motivated members of society,” he added.
When Katon isn’t putting in work to better his team, he spends time with his family. He and his wife (who works as a nurse) love to spend free time together cooking, going on walks, playing disc golf and board games and just spending time together.