Peter Voorhees coaches track and field
A veteran La Conner High School faculty member has been tabbed for an elite U.S. Army Salute to Coaches Award.
Peter Voorhees, the school’s head track-and-field coach, was honored recently for being an outstanding leader who goes above and beyond to support student-athletes on the field and in the classroom.
U.S. Army Sgt. Eian Adcock presented Voorhees with a handsome framed certificate, championing the Braves coach for his tireless commitment to the community’s youth, during a visit to the La Conner campus earlier this fall.
“It’s not something I expected,” Voorhees, in his 16th year with La Conner Schools, said.
No one else was surprised, though.
“The La Conner School District is lucky to have such a passionate and dedicated staff member,” La Conner Middle and High School Principal and Director of Athletics Christine Tripp said of Voorhees. “His service to students, staff and community embodies the values that are ‘Army Strong.’”
It was Tripp who nominated Voorhees for the award.
Voorhees teaches social studies and culinary arts, formerly served as the Braves’ head football coach and remains active as a local youth sports coach.
A Burlington-Edison High School alum, Voorhees grew up having equal appreciation for history, sports, cooking and baking. His family has a deeply rooted farm and food science background, which led Voorhees to work in restaurants and agriculture during his formative years.
As a Burlington-Edison student, Voorhees played football and basketball and ran track.
“I enjoyed all of them a lot,” he said.
His athletic prowess led him to throw the javelin collegiately, first at Spokane Falls Community College and then at the University of Alabama.
Voorhees was part of a pipeline of Spokane Falls track athletes who made their way to Tuscaloosa to compete for the Crimson Tide. Still, Voorhees knew he would return to the Pacific Northwest, where he first caught the coaching bug as a high school student when invited to coach at local youth sports camps and clinics.
After college, he landed coaching gigs at a couple Spokane high schools, then hired on with La Conner ahead of the 2010-11 school year.
From the start his teaching assignment here has revolved around social studies, always a prime scholastic interest.
“I had exposure to some great teachers,” said Voorhees. “I like history and believe it’s very relevant.
“I like to plan lessons,” he added, “but as a teacher there are times you need to have flexibility. Fortunately, improvisation is an environment I feel that I thrive in.”
For several years, Voorhees had perhaps the state’s most unique high school classroom — a combined social studies and kitchen area. Last summer work began (and continues) to convert that room into a culinary arts center with the social studies classes moving down the hall.
On the athletics side, Voorhees guided the La Conner football program to post-season play before stepping aside several years ago to focus on track-and-field and spend more time with his growing family.
Voorhees and his wife, Amanda, who was a track athlete at Eastern Washington University, have three children. Their daughter, Harper, is a sixth grader at La Conner Middle. The couple has twin sons, Colton and Emmett, who are third graders at La Conner Elementary.
While football was his favorite sport to play, Voorhees prefers track-and-field as a coach because it provides opportunities for a broad cross-section of student-athletes.
“Everybody has something to offer, a chance to realize success,” he said. “If they’re willing to work hard, they can contribute, and it’s exciting to see where they can go.”
The proof is in the repeated trips the Braves have made to the State 2B Track Meet under Voorhees, who promotes La Conner whenever he can.
“The community aspect of La Conner is great,” Voorhees said. “It’s hard to imagine anything better.”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
