As the spring rolls around, rain and sun have already hit. However, sports do not falter. Meet the three Coppell coaches for this spring season.
Coppell coach Eric Hill
Summary
Coach Eric Hill begins his sixth year at Coppell as boys track and field coach and running backs coach. A 23-year coaching veteran, he has held coaching positions at Ranchview, R.L. Turner, Bishop Lynch and Grapevine Middle School, with several district championships and coaching awards under his belt.
A former multi-sport athlete, Hill played football, basketball, baseball and track, receiving all-district honors in football and regionals in track before graduating from University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in Education, Leadership and Policy Studies.
What does being a coach at Coppell mean to you?
I’ve said it since I’ve been here, Coppell is really a special place, likewise and community wise. It’s a village. As a group, we all work together, we all pull for each other and it’s been awesome coaching all of these young athletes, watching them grow and seeing their success.
What do you envision for this season for both the students and the season outlook?
We’re not where we were two or three years ago depth wise. However, I think we’re still going to enjoy the success that we’re normally accustomed to. It’s going to be a tougher road. The kids are going to have to work a little bit harder. They have to be a little more dedicated and more committed, obviously the coaches are going to have to do a great job. I feel good about it, but we got some work to do. I think our kids are happy to be in track and field and I think we do a good job of fostering a good culture.
Softball coach Emily Witt
Summary
Coach Emily Witt moved from George Ranch High School to Coppell this year, where she served as head softball coach for the past three years. She has 12 years of teaching and coaching experience, having coached varsity teams in three sports. Named George Ranch’s 2023-24 Teacher of the Year, she has a record for success including three consecutive years of playoff appearances, two Coach of the Year honors and an undefeated district championship.
What does being a coach at Coppell mean to you?
I’m trying to make everybody around me proud by moving up here, making a name for this program and finding something that’s going to be steadfast for the kids to continue throughout the next couple of seasons. We have a small town feel here and the girls are very aware that they’re trying to make everyone around them proud. They’re trying to represent our community as best we can.
What do you envision for this season for both the students and the season outlook?
We know that we’re eyeing a playoff spot. That’s our big goal. But our bigger goals have been developing humans and players into better people overall and developing people who are going to be trustworthy and able to bounce back mentally to think of what’s next if errors occur. They’ve put in so much work throughout the offseason, and we’ve seen a huge turnaround from seasons past, so it’s important they keep that same mindset as they continue forward over the next couple of games.
Baseball coach Armando Garza
Summary
Coach Armando Garza starts his sixth season as Coppell baseball coach, with a decade of coaching experience. His experience includes varsity assistant positions at Western Hills, Benbrook and Coppell. Under his leadership, teams have been playoff fixtures, with highlights including a 2019 regional finals appearance, and back-to-back regional semifinals in 2021 and 2022. As a standout himself, Garza was an All-State center fielder in high school prior playing baseball in college at Wayland Baptist University, where he graduated with a Kinesiology degree.
Garza did not respond to interview requests.
Follow @namir_awan and @SidekickSports on X
