By: Ryan Duey
Clay County Community High School (CCCHS) alumnus and current Liberty High School Blue Jays head football coach Chad Frigon was named the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs/Eric Driskell Coach of the Year in December. With this honor, Frigon has been asked to attend the Kansas City Chiefs Divisional Round Playoff game this Saturday, where he will throw the first pass during pregame.
Frigon and his wife, Julie Girton-Frigon, grew up in Clay Center, graduating from CCCHS in 1990. Frigon played football in Clay Center for Coach Larry Wiemers.
Frigon has been at Liberty High School for 30 years, starting as the freshman head coach, then as the assistant varsity coach for 13 years, to his now 14th year as the head varsity coach. Frigon spoke about the award.
“The neat thing the Chiefs do is every week they select the Kansas City Chiefs coach of the week, and I was fortunate enough to win that one time this year. Then at the end of the year, they do an award for the overall coach of the year and that is their nomination for the Don Shula National High School Coach of the Year.”
“Every NFL team nominates one person each year. I was fortunate enough to be picked by the Chiefs, and that led to them asking me to attend the game this upcoming Saturday.”
One unique thing about being picked as Chiefs Coach of the Year is that his oldest daughter, Josi is a Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader. His youngest daughter Jericho, also plays soccer for Kansas State. Frigon emphasized that they are a big sports family.
Frigon said his team had a successful season, which included defeating their local rivals Liberty North in the regular season and playoffs. His playoff victory against Liberty North earned him the Week 10 Kansas City Chiefs Coach of the Week for Missouri. The team finished the season as one of the top teams in the state.
“Our team this year reached the semifinals and ended up #3 in Missouri. We lost to the eventual state champion, which is De Smet Jesuit out of St. Louis. We are in the largest class in the state of Missouri.”
Frigon is now a nominee for the National Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award. Two of the 32 nominees, one from the AFC and one from the NFC, will be chosen as National winners. The winners will have the opportunity to attend Pro Bowl week in Orlando, win cash prizes, be special guests at this year’s Superbowl, and also be recognized at the NFL Honors Awards on February 8th.
Frigon and the other 31 nominees will be judged by the likes of Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, the son of Don Shula, and other known NFL personalities. The Clay Center community congratulates Coach Frigon and wishes him luck as a National nominee.
