RIVERSIDE  

In what is now their third coach in as many seasons, the Highland boys track and field team is hoping to strike gold with their new head man, Logan Moeller. In fact, this season will be Moeller’s first full season coaching any high school sport. 

“I got my coaching certification this past year and was fortunate enough to be selected for the Highland position,” Moeller said.

Moeller, married to his high school sweetheart and a father of three young boys, picked Riverside as the spot to raise his family less than three years ago. 

“Our kids are involved in the school system. Our oldest is going to be in Kindergarten at Highland,” Moeller noted. 

Moeller admits that his life path wasn’t necessarily intended to take him to coach a Highland team that hasn’t seen a state qualifier since the 2022 season. Less than a decade ago, Moeller was studying in healthcare and business to pursue a career in one of those fields. After awhile, it became apparent to Moeller that coaching didn’t seem like too far-fetched of an idea. 

“I’ve taken a nonchalant path to get to where I am now. [Coaching] was something I always had an inkling for, but never thought was going to be a possibility,” Moeller remarked.

A lot of college students end up changing their minds about what career they would like to pursue for various reasons. For Moeller, the joy and passion he had towards his work in the business field started to fade into a focus on a career in education and coaching. Moeller vividly recalls this part of his life in what he called “an aha moment.” 

“That was where the cards came together. I’ve always loved the sport of track. I was heavily involved in it. It was my favorite sport to do in high school,” Moeller began. 

“I did some digging, and was able to go about getting a substitute license. It was about a month after I got integrated that I was fortunate enough to get selected for the position [of coaching the Highland boys team],”

Moeller told me that he has since rekindled his lost joy and passion through coaching. 

“It’s been awesome. These kids have a lot of drive. They are looking to get better and they want to see progress,” Moeller said.

Once the small indoor portion of the track and field season is over in early March, all of the attention is turned towards the bulk of the season at outdoor meets. 

The weather this year seems to be always hit-or-miss, with some meets having to unfortunately be canceled due to bitter cold wind chills, rain, sleet, snow, or whatever mother nature’s ugly spring transition decides to throw at coaches across the state of Iowa. The beginning of this season was no exception as multiple outdoor meets were wiped out due to weather.

Moeller’s roster has a whopping eight athletes in his inaugural season at the helm. Jackson Schneider is the only senior, and the team returns only four members from last season. 

“You’ve got to be able to roll with the punches. There’s late nights and long days. When you have competitions, that can be mentally and physically exhausting as well,” Moeller answered about the challenges of being a coach.

One of the more recent punches landed on Moeller was an injury to one of his eight athletes, making relay teams more difficult to arrange. 

“It’s hard, taxing, and sometimes it can seem monotonous too. Some people that aren’t accustomed to certain events or certain aspects of the sport are all of a sudden thrown into an event that they are maybe new to. Again, that mental toughness comes back into play,” Moeller explained.

Mental toughness. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome for every runner. 

Moeller mentioned mental toughness previously when talking about the challenges he has dealt with to this point in the season. 

“You could be the fastest kid in your school or most athletic, but if you’re not mentally prepared for competition and to do your best day in and day out, then you’re not going to see the results that you want,” said Moeller.

Moeller puts an emphasis on building a culture too. 

“I want to instill in the athletes that yes, track is a social sport that can be fun, but at the same time we are here to get better, do a job, and we’re here to compete. I want the culture to be inviting, welcoming, and fun,” Moeller emphasized. “I think the kids do a really good job of doing that [following the culture]. They’re able to have fun, but at the same time they know that we have a plan we’re going to follow and we’re going to meet that plan from start to finish,” 

Someone that has aided Moeller through his first season is Highland girls track and field coach Angela Strobel. Strobel’s tips and tricks have helped Moeller navigate his first season. 

“Right from the get-go she was very helpful in walking me through the general structure of practices and the general routine of meets. Anytime I have a question she’s always been a great resource for me and took me right under her wing. I wouldn’t feel as comfortable as a first year coach without her beside me,” Moeller said.

In terms of what he would like to see this season, Moeller discussed a few goals he had for his team. 

“We just want to see improvements every single week. We’re not expecting to have meet wins or conference and district titles by any means because we are such a small group. Our expectations are to simply have a PR every single week and improve. If we are fortunate enough to have somebody that’s on the cusp of potentially being a state qualifier, then that would be awesome. I’d love to see that in my first year, as any coach would,” Moeller stated.

Oftentimes, the coaches that see the most success in their career are the ones that stay in one place to build up a program. I decided to close my conversation with Moeller by asking him if he was planning on sticking around in his job as the Highland boys track and field coach, something that hasn’t been a recent theme for the Highland boys team.

Moeller’s response should be a good sign for the Highland community. 

“That’s my hope [to stick around]. I would love to be here long-term and see this program grow. There hasn’t been a consistent, at least for the boys team, coaching figure in the last couple of years, so that’s hard for the kids to have to deal with that turnover and inconsistency of expectations in the culture and environment. I want to be in it for the long haul. That’s the goal and that’s the plan. I hope that [Highland] will have me long-term.”