By Travis Sloat

Jordon Regehr is a math teacher and cross country coach at Andover High School. He said he’s loved playing sports since he was a kid, and now he’s transitioned that love into passing on his knowledge to the next generation of student-athletes. 

“I love coaching them because every kid has a chance to feel great about themselves after each meet,” Regehr said. “I put my focus on their improvement, as opposed to their place. We put a big emphasis on kids PR’ing (setting a personal record). So, a kid who sets a PR but gets 15th place can still feel as good as the winner. I also enjoy these sports because they teach kids how to develop mental and physical toughness. Running for “fun” is difficult to do and if kids can will themselves into having success, it’s a great feeling of personal achievement for them. I like being able to help kids achieve that feeling.” 

Regehr said he has a few goals set for himself this season, including getting to know the kids as this is his first year at Andover. 

“As far as the team goes, obviously the ultimate goal in high school sports is to be a state champion, but if you only measure success by that, all but one team or individual will be happy at the end. So, our goal as coaches is to provide the necessary things for our athletes to improve each time they compete. A second goal of mine would be to get the absolute most out of each kid. If those two things happen, a coach can’t ask for much more than that.”