Faculty Spotlight: Coach Roxy Evans

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Photo by: Gracey Lynn Flanagan

In an historic announcement late last month, Columtreal University [CU] named the new head coach of the Looters football team.  Coach Roxy Evans, at the young age of 19, will represent the first female head coach in Looters history and one of the few–if any–in college football history.  She sat down with The Observer to discuss her path to CU and her hopes for the upcoming season. 

REPORTER: So Roxy, you obviously must be excited about being named the head coach of the CU Looters. Congratulations. Am I mistaken or would that make you the first–or one of the few–female head coach in college football history?

COACH EVANS: Thank you so much! I don’t know whether you’re right or not, but I’ve never heard of a female coach for college football before. Kind of exhilarating, actually. I feel like it’ll be a good way to inspire more females to take part in sports that are typically looked at as masculine. Surely a girl can be just as rough as a guy, right?

REPORTER: Welcome! What has your reception like here at CU? What was your impression of the students, staff, and most important of all, the players?

COACH EVANS: It was actually pretty warming. I’d heard some mixed things about [CU], but it’s really not all that bad. Right off the bat, one of the deans, Jack Inkpen, had shown me nothing but good hospitality and made me feel really welcome. He’s become my go-to as far as staff goes and will be supporting the Looters in any way he can.

I haven’t had many impressions of the students since I don’t really see them specifically or teach a class, but they always seem like they’re busy improving themselves, which I guess is what Columtreal is here for. They’ll take anybody and send them on a better path than they’re going.

The players…the players are something else entirely…I mean… Don’t get me wrong: they’re all human, I promise. However, they all have a very unique characteristic that brings them all together. I felt like I was tossed into a band of brothers. It’s a close-knit family, but even they were warm with their welcomes as well. The team isn’t too big, but I’m hoping that anybody who wants to join will see that all they have to do is try out and great things will come to those who make that first step. I’ve only been here for a week, if even, but I feel like I’ve been a Looter since the day I was born.

REPORTER: Tell us the story that brought you to where you are today.

COACH EVANS: Well, I haven’t always had an interest in sports, or athletics for that matter. My mother didn’t really work all that much, and my father owns an auto garage. Believe it or not, I worked in his garage for most of my teenage years as a mechanic. It’s what I’m sure he really wanted me to do, and I likely would have, if it weren’t for that pesky Jude Abbott.

In my sophomore year of high school I had joined the cheer squad, and in doing so I met a few of the captains of other teams. The captain of the track and field team was Jude Abbot, a junior, who held a bunch of records in our school. Of course, I had to get his attention since he was too cute to pass up, so I began working out and practicing cardio every time I got the chance. Worked my ass off that summer more than I have ever worked in my life.

The beginning of the next year, I joined the team as a junior, and during the events that year I broke Jude’s record in hurdles, and the 100, 200, and 400-meter sprints. Needless to say, I got his attention. This and that happened. We dated a little, but at the end of the year he had moved to the states for college, somewhere in New Jersey.

I went on to keep running and training every day, finding myself exercising almost like a coping mechanism or a stress reliever whenever I needed it. It always felt amazing to wake up and be sore to the point you can’t move. When I graduated I, too, moved to the states, obviously, and found myself here in Hathian. I was looking for work and happened to meet Jack, one of the deans, and he helped me get the position as head coach!

REPORTER: So how did you make the transition into football he asks? Or is that a process that’s still unfolding?

COACH EVANS: It [has] unfolded but I’m still brushing out the wrinkles. I’ve watched football where I come from and sometimes rugby. So coming to the states, I’ve had a few people show me what ‘American Football’ is. And it’s kind of a mix of the two.

The sport itself is fantastic, and I’ve done research on it, watched games every time I see them on. The Super Bowl was outstanding. The last twenty seconds have never been more interesting. I’d say American football quickly became my new favorite and I’ve been thinking of ways to make the team perform better with some new plays. I did my homework, believe me. I would have found it unfair to the players if their new coach knew nothing about the sport, and even more unfair to the history books if the first female coach for college football didn’t even know the sport and was only given it by chance.

Photo by GLFlanagan

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