January 26th, 2017 was just another quiet Friday for Hays high school until Coach Neal LaHue announced to his football team that he was retiring from football and take he is going to take on a new opportunity in a field that does not require coaching. After being the Head Football Coach at Hays for the past 5  years, the players were “saddened” as junior quarterback, Xavier Martinez says, to see their coach leave the program,

“He did a lot for our football team and the community. He was the head football coach as well as the athletic director so he helped a lot with middle school events as well as high school. His pride and support for the community goes unmatched and he definitely set the bar high for our next head coach and athletic director,” said Martinez.

A graduate of Lanier High School in Austin, LaHue was a quarterback and kicker at Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) in 1981-84. As a kicker, he was named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. At 55, LaHue has spent 33 years of his life coaching at Ingleside, Westlake, Kerrville Tivy, Texas A&M-Kingsville, San Antonio Roosevelt, and Hays.

“He has been my coach since I got to Hays as a freshman so it’s going to feel different not seeing him every day and listening to his speeches,” said junior linebacker Nash Danford.