Coach Pat McFadden, (Kearney Public Schools, Courtesy)
KEARNEY — Kearney High School (KHS) announces the retirement of Coach Pat McFadden, who has been a guiding force in the school’s athletic department for 36 years.
Coach McFadden, the revered Head Girls Cross Country Coach, and Assistant Girls Track Coach, will conclude his coaching career at the end of this season and will retire from teaching at the end of this school year.
Pat McFadden, reflecting on his tenure, shared, “The journey of coaching and teaching at KHS has been a fulfilling and rewarding venture over the course of many years. The opportunity to mentor and guide students and athletes, watching them grow not only in their academics and in sport but also personal lives, has been profoundly rewarding.”
Coach McFadden has led both the boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams. He was the boys’ head coach from 1989 until 2009. He was the girls’ head coach from 1989 until 2023.
In Track and Field, McFadden served as an assistant coach for the boys’ program from 1989 to 2006, coaching the sprints and hurdles. In 2007, he became the Head Girls’ Track coach for KHS until 2019, then he served as the Assistant Girls’ Track Coach to 2024. Under McFadden’s leadership, the Bearcats have achieved 16 State Team Championships and 15 State Runner-up Team Championships, Numerous District and Conference Teams Championships along with multiple individual medalists and Individual State and All Class State Champions.
Ryan Hogue, KPS Activities Director, and KHS Assistant Principal, commented, “I really do not know where to start with Coach McFadden. He was one of the very first teachers/coaches I met when I arrived at KHS in the summer of 2018. To say I was immediately impressed with Coach is an understatement. His personality was that of a championship-level coach who knew exactly how to run a Cross Country and Track program that would produce championship results year in and year out. His departure will leave a significant void in our athletic department not only for his coaching experience but also as an influential teacher of life to all our student-athletes. His unique combination of expertise and inspirational influence has set a standard of excellence we strive for every day at Kearney High. We will miss Coach McFadden, but we also wish him a happy retirement with his family. Thank you for everything you have done for Kearney High School and Bearcat Athletics over the years. Once a Bearcat, ALWAYS a Bearcat!”
In addition to his coaching role, Coach McFadden has also been an integral part of the KHS academic faculty, teaching science for the past 36 years.
McFadden’s sole professional career of teaching and coaching has been at KHS. McFadden coached at Lincoln Southeast during his student teaching experience in the spring of 1988 (State Team Champions) and coached one track season at Loup City High School before returning to school to get his teaching degree in the spring of 1986.
Expressing his enduring connection to the Kearney community, McFadden said, “My wife, Linda and I have raised our family in Kearney. Our children have gone through elementary, middle and high school at Kearney Public Schools. This is a special community that continues to strive to have the best schools and community that any parent or child would benefit from being a part of. It has been a privilege to coach and teach such dedicated and hardworking student/athletes. I am equally grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with an outstanding team of coaches and volunteers, contributing to the Bearcats’ achievements.”
