Lehi Sports
BREAKING NEWS: Hometown hero Andy Hadfield takes the reins of Lehi football
The Lehi High School administration announced the hiring of Andy Hadfield as the next head coach for the Lehi football program on Thursday (Dec. 12). Hadfield has spent the last 10 seasons as an assistant on the staff of Coach Ed Larson.
He has served as the JV head coach during that stretch and also coached the varsity tight ends and inside receivers. All of the other members of Larson’s staff have agreed to continue working with the program, although some assignments will be tweaked a bit.
“We are very excited to announce Andy Hadfield as our new head football coach,” said Quincy Lewis, LHS athletic director. “Andy is a ‘Lehi guy’ through and through. He and his family are long-time members of the Lehi community.
“He has gained great experience over the past 10 years working with Coach Larson in helping develop one of the top programs in the State,” Lewis said. “We look forward to a great future with Coach Hadfield.”
Hadfield’s roots do indeed run deep, not only in Lehi but in the football program. His grandfather Heber played for the Pioneers in the 1930s, and his father Don and his uncles played in the 1960s. His father played quarterback and was also on the basketball and baseball teams.
Hadfield himself was a three-sport star. He earned All-State honors in both football and basketball and was a member of Lehi’s three-peat basketball championship team from 1996-98. He was also the region long jump champion for three consecutive years as well as a sprinter on the track team.
After high school, he redshirted at USU for a year before serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a freshman wide receiver at BYU after his mission and was moved to tight end his sophomore year.
He finished his collegiate career at SUU under Coach Gary Anderson, where he started for two years and helped lift the team from zero wins two years before to seven wins his senior season.
Hadfield returned to his alma mater originally as a basketball coach in 2014, but was invited to join the football staff for Larson’s second season. He did both for six years until he decided to focus on football when the demands of his growing family made it necessary for him to choose.
“I don’t know if it was the plan to be a head coach someday, but I love Lehi and love the community,” Hadfield said. “My family bleeds purple. During these years when I’ve been privileged to work under Coach Larson, I feel like I’ve been successful, and I’ve had a chance to make a difference in kids’ lives.”
He said the opportunity to influence young men in a positive way has been his primary motive as a coach from the beginning, and it still is. He shares this with his fellow program coachesand credits Larson, Bob Barnes and Sean Yeager for their mentorship in getting him to this point.
“Ed has always said that we’ve enjoyed so much success during his tenure because of the staff,” Hadfield said. “The fact that I’m able to retain these guys is a testament to what Ed’s built. We enjoy being there together and we have such a tight brotherhood that it translates to the football field.
“We all respect each other and stay in our own lane,” he continued. “That’s the culture of our program. The kids want to stay around to be coached by great men.
“I’m excited and nervous at the same time,” Hadfield added. “This is not a career path I envisioned but I do feel I was meant to do it. I really love Lehi football, but I couldn’t do this without the support of my wife (Jessica) and our children (Kadence 20,Andelyn 12, Cohen 9, and Hayes 6).”
“I’m honored that they chose me. I have no other motive than to coach kids and help them find success by doing something hard that will help make them better humans and adults. The transformations are really fun to watch,” he concluded.
Lehi graduate Dallin Holker, now a tight end with the New Orleans Saints, shared these thoughts on Hadfield’s influence.
“My sophomore year of high school I quit football because I no longer had a desire to play,” he said. “I then transferred to Lehi to play football again and it was one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made and I can’t thank God enough for it.
“I was able to fall in love with football again and my experience at Lehi helped prepare me for college and the NFL,” he continued. “While I was at Lehi, my tight ends coach was Andy Hadfield. I have played at every level now and I keep wondering when I will find another coach as good as Andy.
“Andy taught me the X’s and O’s about the game and not only that, Andy was able to relate with me,” Holker said. “As a high school kid you go through different struggles and you’re trying to find who you are.
“I got to go to football every day and work hard, and at the same time Andy made it fun and it was a place where I could go and play ball. l’ve never had a better time playing football in my life.
“Looking back on it, a coach can be one of the most influential people in your life, especially at that age. Andy helped changed mine and I know he has changed many others,” Holker said.
“I love Lehi football and it is so awesome to see how well they have been doing,” he went on. “I keep up with them and I’malways looking for the final scores.
“I would hate for someone to come in and ruin the Lehi culture that runs deep. Playing football at Lehi is different; it means something else. There is no doubt in my mind that Andy will keep that culture and even make it better,” Holker concluded.
