Tyrone’s track and field team has enjoyed a lot of success over the past few seasons, highlighted by several new school records and an impressive 17 Tyrone athletes making the trip to the PIAA state track and field championships last spring.

While it is the athletes who earn the medals and break the records, a lot of their success can be credited to the guidance of Tyrone Head Track and Field Coach Brad Kanuch.

A former D1 football player for the University of Connecticut, Kanuch brought his coaching passion and expertise to the Tyrone Golden Eagles football and track coaching staff beginning in 2018.

Kanuch became a part of the Tyrone community after his wife Lindsey Kanuch was hired as a physical education teacher at Tyrone Area High School.

The couple decided to put down roots here and have become an integral part of the town’s sports fabric.

Since moving to Tyrone, he has been a valuable asset to both the track and football programs.

“When Coach Kanuch first started coaching for Tyrone, there was an immediate improvement in the track team,” senior Seth Hoover said.

Coach Kanuch hails from Johnstown, PA, and attended Westmont Hilltop Area High School.

Kanuch’s decision to play football at the next level was not only beneficial for his personal growth as an athlete but also to the athletes that he mentors today.

Drawing from his experience as a Division One college athlete, Coach Kanuch emphasizes two key elements in his coaching philosophy: confidence and patience.

“If you are confident in what you are coaching and you are patient with the kids, you have a much easier time gaining the respect of the kids that you coach,” Kanuch said.

Kanuch also recognizes that high school coaching requires a delicate approach, as students are at various stages of development.

“Coaching high school is not a one size fits all, there are a lot of kids at a lot of different levels that need different skills depending on what stage of development they are on,” said Kanuch.

Kanuch elaborates on this issue by explaining how this is one of the main challenges he has faced when adapting D1-level techniques for high school athletes.

“At the Division 1 level, everyone is extremely talented, you can teach higher level technique,” Kanuch said. “At the high school level, some kids never get to that level, so you need to be able to adjust your teachings on a more easy to understand basis. As kids get older and become more coordinated and confident, you can see who can learn higher level techniques.”

Before joining Tyrone’s coaching staff, Coach Kanuch was the Head Track and Field Coach at Bishop Guilfoyle High School, where he also served as the special teams coordinator, wide receiver, and defensive backs coach for the Marauders football team.

In a short time, Kanuch improved the Bishop Guilfoyle track and field team, despite the major limitation that BG doesn’t even have its own track.

Kanuch’s transition to the Tyrone coaching staff came after hearing about an opening for a track coach position from Tyrone alum and track/cross country coach Randy Wilson.

Kanuch jumped at the opportunity to coach at the same school where his wife teaches.

Kanuch’s versatility is evident in his ability to coach both football and track. He points out that the main difference lies in track being a co-ed sport, requiring coaches to relate to both boys and girls.

Despite the organizational challenges of track, Kanuch maintains a consistent coaching philosophy across both sports, which he believes helps students buy into the team culture.

Kanuch has brought a year-round training program to his track and field athletes. They can often be found running the halls or in the weight room in the winter. He has also had the athletes compete in indoor track and field competitions at Penn State.

“Whenever I started working with Coach Kanuch, I saw an improvement in my jumps and times,” said junior Nicole Ramsey, who made it to states last spring as a member of the 4×100 relay and in the triple jump. “He puts a lot of time and effort into his practices, and it helps make us the athletes that we are.”

When asked about some of his most memorable moments at Tyrone thus far, Kanuch cited winning districts two years in a row for the girl’s track team as a highlight, but the most memorable experiences are helping kids to reach their full potential.

“For me, the most memorable moments are watching the kids go from freshmen to seniors and hopefully making some sort of impact on their life,” Kanuch said.

As Tyrone High School continues to benefit from Kanuch’s expertise and dedication, it is clear that his decision to settle in the community and coach the Tyrone Track and Field team has been a win-win for both the coach and Tyrone’s athletic programs.