Fountain Hills High School track and field team members and coaches are banding together and asking the community for its help in honoring a past coach.
Rob Ralph coached track and field throwing …
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Rob Ralph: Falcons honoring coach
Rob Ralph.jpg
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Fountain Hills High School track and field team members and coaches are banding together and asking the community for its help in honoring a past coach.
Rob Ralph coached track and field throwing events for Fountain Hills High School from 2018 until his untimely passing last September. Now, his students and fellow coaches want to raise money to erect a permanent monument to Ralph’s selfless legacy.
“This kind and giving man generously donated his time to the FHHS track program, especially the throwing events, where many of the athletes went to state and succeeded in taking home medals,” Nicki Lies said on a gofundme page dedicated to fundraising efforts. “In memory of Coach Rob, the other coaches, parents, students and family are raising money to purchase a sitting bench and memorial plaque that will be located in the throwing area at the FHHS track.”
Ralph was a man full of a passion that people who he talked to couldn’t help but feel themselves.
“I first met Rob on Feb. 2, 2018 when I had invited him over to my house to talk with him about helping with the Fountain Hills track and field program,” former track coach Todd Brecto said. “What I thought would be about a 20-minute meeting ended up being a wonderful conversation for three hours. Rob was very passionate about track and Field, and especially the throwing events. It was awesome to chat with someone who had as much passion about the sport as I did.”
Ralph’s charm extended to the athletes he coached as well.
“Coach Rob was incredibly patient with the athletes,” current track coach Nick Goodman said. “He was always the first to show up to practice and the last to leave, making sure that the athletes’ needs were first. He was very methodical in his approach to teaching the skills of throwing the shot put, discus and javelin. He was not a coach that yelled at the athletes, but spoke quietly and kindly. The athletes trusted him and knew that he had their best interest as a priority.”
To help the track and field team memorialize Coach Ralph, go online to gofundme.com and search for “Coach Rob Ralph Memorial.”
