Matt Kates Resigns After Unprecedented Tenure As Leps Football Coach
The longest serving head football coach in the 106-year history of La Grange High School has resigned.
Matt Kates, who led the Leps as head coach and athletic director for the past 13 years submitted his letter of resignation to the school board Monday and informed his athletes of the decision Tuesday.
“In talks with the district the last couple of weeks, it was in the best interest of my family to move on,” Kates said in a wideranging interview in his office at Leopard Stadium, where he was in the midst of boxing up his things Wednesday. “It’s time – 13 years has been a unbelievable ride. There’s never a great time for change, but the time is now for us.”
Kates ends his tenure with a 83-61 overall record at the school with nine playoff appearances and three district titles.
“In this day and age 13 years is a long time to be a head coach and athletic director. Coach Kates served this community and this district for a long time and did a lot,” La Grange superintendent Andy McHazlett said. “La Grange ISD wants to thank Coach Kates for his hard work and we want to wish him and his family the best going forward.”
The 2013 and 2014 seasons were Kates’ best when the Leps went 13-1 both seasons.
The Leps have not won a district title since then, however. In the last eight years the Leps have gone 41-44 but did make the playoffs in six of those eight seasons.
Last season the Leps went 5-6 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Kates’ 83 wins are second most in school history behind only Tony Valastro, who won 90 games in La Grange from 1994 to 2004.
“Now that there’s time to reflect, I’m proud of what we’ve done. Football-wise is secondary to hopefully what we’ve done for kids. I’m proud of this staff and these kids. I’m re-doing my resume and in my tenure as AD, we’ve won 137 championships over 16 different sports, 20 state appearances over 10 sports and three state championships (two softball and one baseball). That’s not me doing it, but it’s a good run.
“There’s 12 football championships, three district championships, nine playoff appearances. We always could have won more, but people that get caught up in wins and losses don’t know what high school sports are all about.” See
MATT KATES’ TENURE AT LA GRANGE
2010 4-6-0 2011 4-6-0 2012 8-3-0* 2013 13-1-0* 2014 13-1-0* 2015 7-4-0 2016 4-6-0 2017 0-9-0 2018 6-4-0 2019 8-4-0 2020 4-6-0 2021 7-5-0 2022 5-6-0 Overall 83-61 * Represents district titles Kates said he doesn’t have plans on what will come next. His contract with the district officially extends until June 30, but his last day overseeing the athletic department and workouts was Wednesday. He would be released from his contract with the district if/when he is hired by another school this spring.
After all that time at LGISD, his fingerprints are all over the Leps athletic program.
Kates helped spearhead a massive stadium expansion that debuted in 2016 and the addition of artificial turf and track expansion that debuted two years ago.
“There are 28 coaches here and I’ve hired 26 of them,” Kates said. “There’s not a single administrator that’s still in place from when I got here. Not a single school board member that’s still in place from when I got her – full new board. I’ve been here a long time. Four more years would have been perfect, but it’s time to move on.”
That four more years time frame refers to his kids. His son Bo is an eighth grader about to start high school, daughter Macie is a sophomore and daughter Maddy is a junior. They will all remain at LGISD at least through this semester.
“I don’t know what’s next. I’m still a ball coach. I still can’t wait to look at film,” Kates said. “I want to coach Bo for four more years, for sure. Priority One for Stephanie (his wife who is a La Grange elementary teacher) and I is to find the right fit for our kids. If that’s me not being a head coach, that’s what we’ll do. They sacrificed a lot for me to come here 13 years ago. It’s tough being a head coach’s kid.”
Kates said the memories of his time at La Grange are numerous. A Fort Worth native, he arrived in La Grange before the 2010 season after successful stints as an assistant coach at some of the top programs in the state including La Marque, Euless Trinity and Arlington Heights. But La Grange was his first head coaching job.
“Yesterday I took out the game ball from my first win (at La Grange) versus Lockhart,” Kates said. “There were some big name coaches we beat: Todd Dodge (Marble Falls), Jerry Vance twice (Liberty Hill), Coach Gillis at El Campo, Travis Reeve (Cuero). There was a stretch when we went 30-2, back-to-back 10-0 regular seasons. A home win streak that seemed like it lasted forever.”
Kates said the one game that haunts him more than any other was the 2016 season opener when star senior running back J.K. Dobbins broke his ankle in a game that was cancelled minutes later because of lightning. Dobbins never played another game as a Lep but went on to star at Ohio State and now with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL.
Kates said he was texting with Dobbins this week.
“My cell phone isn’t changing. I’ll be here for those guys forever,” Kates said. “I’ve been getting a lot of texts from older guys (who played for him).”
Kates said he and his family will also miss their church home at Plum, where they were very active at Sts. Peter and Paul parish.
“I grew up in the Metroplex and you don’t have these tight knit Catholic communities in the big city,” Kates said. “Coming here and finding that was pretty awesome.”
For 13 years Kates bucked the trend of coaches having to move from job to job often – especially head coaches.
“It was the honor of my life – other that being a husband and a father – to be here,” Kates said. “But when you are sitting in this (head coach’s) chair, when it’s time, it’s time. But that doesn’t make it any easier.”