By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Ottawa High School football job appealed to former Topeka High coach Walt Alexander for several reasons.
For one thing, Ottawa is a convenient commute for Alexander from his home in Lawrence.
Ottawa, which approved Alexander as its new head coach Monday night, also gives the former highly-successful Trojan coach the opportunity to return to the role he's grown accustomed to over more than three decades -- running his own program.
"I like to set my own schedule, I like doing everything I like to do and when the Ottawa job came open, it was awesome,'' Alexander, 59, told TopSports.news Tuesday. "It's like 20 miles from Lawrence and Shawn Phillips is the (activities director) and Kelly Whittaker's the principal and they were great.
"They've got nice facilities, it's a one-school town and everybody's pulling for one team, which is kind of nice. There's just so many things I liked about it.''
Former highly-successful Topeka High football coach Walt Alexander has accepted the head coaching position at Ottawa High School. [Submitted]
And while the fact that Ottawa has struggled in recent years, including a 1-7 record last fall, might have scared off some coaches, it actually was a lure for Alexander, who has earned the reputation as a program-builder throughout his career, including his 14-year stint at Topeka High.
"That appealed to me, too, because I love that kind of thing,'' Alexander said. "I always have and I like that challenge and I just think you can do it anywhere.
"I'm pretty excited for the challenge and especially the vision that those people have. They've got a brand new turf field. They've got a brand new turf soccer field. They've got a brand new weight room and a brand new performing arts center, so they're really trying to do things the right way.''
After taking over a Topeka High program that had suffered through 23 of 24 losing seasons and 11 straight when he arrived in 2006, Alexander built a consistent winner that posted eight straight winning seasons and 10 in his last 11 years with the Trojans.
The Trojans went 10-2 in 2019 and advanced to the Class 6A semifinals, capping a 27-6 three-year run that included six playoffs wins.
Alexander posted an 89-50 record at Topeka High, surpassing the combined victory totals of the seven Topeka High coaches who served before his arrival. His .640 winning percentage is tops at the school in the 61 years (1959-2020) that records are available.
After stepping down at Topeka High following the 2019 season, Alexander served as an assistant coach at William Chrisman High, located in Independence, Mo. last fall, coaching the Bears' offensive line.
Now Alexander is committed to turning things around at Ottawa, which has won three games in four years.
"I had tremendous talks with them and it's exciting and I decided, 'Why not?' ''
