He learned under some of the best. Now he gets his own shot as SM North’s new coach

Standing on the sidelines at Florida Citrus Bowl stadium 17 years ago in Orlando, Andy Walter watched Mark Mangino’s Kansas Jayhawks compete in their first bowl game in eight years.

As N.C. State’s Philip Rivers and Mario Williams traded blows with the Jayhawks in the 2003 Tangerine Bowl, Walter did everything expected of a football team’s student-manager. He made sure water and equipment were readily available to KU’s players and helped Mangino’s coaching staff with various in-game tasks.

His role went unnoticed by most, but it provided extremely valuable experience to a young student with aspirations of coaching one day.

The Jayhawks were swept aside 56-26 in that game, but Walter had witnessed firsthand what it takes to turn a three-win team into a bowl-eligible squad in the span of just one year.

Now he’s set to take on his first head-coaching job at Shawnee Mission North this fall.

“It was just amazing to be a part of that kind of growth in just one year,” Walter told The Star. “Going from so little success on the field to being on the field with Philip Rivers and competing against Philip Rivers was amazing.

“It gave me an even greater appreciation for football and for coaching and for the potential to help people — true coaching.”

Replacing former coach Ben Bartlett at SM North, Walter is leaving his role as offensive line coach and running game coordinator at Class 4A state champion Bishop Miege.

He inherits a Shawnee Mission North team that went winless in 2019.

“I know they’ve had a tough time last year, but I’m excited to get in and get to work,” he said. “I think there’s great potential in that school and I think there’s great potential in that football program and I’m just excited to be a part of it.”

Although North is Walter’s first head-coaching job, he’s no stranger to the area’s high school sidelines. Besides coaching at Bishop Miege, he’s served at Blue Valley Northwest and Shawnee Mission East, where he is also currently a math teacher.

The SM South grad is excited to build and implement his own coaching philosophies, and he’ll draw inspiration from some great ones: Mangino at KU, Miege’s Jon Holmes — who has led the Stags to six straight state titles — and former Blue Valley Northwest mentor Tenny Dewey.

“(Dewey) was the most formative influence for me early in my career because he was an amazing teacher, he was an amazing coach and he was always focused on his family first,” Walter said. “And I think that is what I try to emulate the most so far in my career, and as a head coach that’s what I’ll try to strive for the most — that balance that he was so good at achieving is what I’ll be striving to achieve, as well.”

Walter’s wife, Elizabeth, is another good sounding board: She’s a former soccer coach for Blue Valley Northwest and Blue Valley North.

“She’s an unbelievable teacher and coach and being able to bounce ideas off her has already been so helpful,” Walter said. “She understands the pressures of the job in ways that not every partner is able to understand. So I’m really fortunate in that area, too.”

Having been introduced to the Shawnee Mission North student body and his team in mid-January, the hard work for Walter begins now as he starts to assemble his coaching staff. He’s finishing the spring semester teaching at SM East before teaching math at North in the fall.

His days are already long. He wakes up early before classes to prep for his coaching debut, then spends his days teaching before shifting his focus back to his new football team each evening.

“For me right now it’s getting things organized and trying to figure out how I can be in two places at once in the spring,” Walter said. “It’s also building a staff that can make the transition easier for everyone, and for the short term take on a little bit more of the load while I’m still fulfilling my responsibilities at East.”

Walter believes all of the hard work will be worth it. He’s looking forward to putting his stamp on the Indians’ program and getting his new team back to winning football.

“We’re going to play extremely hard, physical, aggressive football,” Walter said. “We’re going to build from the defense and we’re going to play exciting uptempo offense.

“The most important thing for me is to start getting to work and start to lay a foundation. Because if you do those things — those fundamental foundational things — correctly, then the wins are not a surprise, they’re the natural conclusion to doing things right.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 4:00 AM.