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HEAD FOOTBALL
COACH
ED KOESTER
Over the years Coach Koester has
touched the lives of countless young
men and women. Building successful
programs in three states and having
coached in four, Coach Koester has been
consistent with building winning pro-
grams using the four pillars of; FAITH, TRUST, VALOR, and WORK ETHIC. Coach’s life work is building winning pro-
grams by increasing numbers, improving facilities, motivating students to live wholesome lives; while teaching them
how to hold each other accountable. The time honored task of building winning teams carries no specific set of rules.
Each situation requires insight and innovation. Coach Koester’s experiences here at South Paulding High School have
been some of the highlights of a 4-decade career.
Coach Koester has coached various All-Star games with the biggest being the first American football game played
behind the Iron Curtain in 1989 in Moscow and two others in Leningrad and Talin, Estonia. A year later in 1990 Coach
lead 95 players to New Zealand and Australia for a series of football exhibition games and coaching clinics. He is a
regular consultant to various college and high school coaches fromOklahoma to Georgia on his offensive philosophy
– especially the passing game. Having spoken at numerous clinics, including the Glazier Clinics, Coach Koester enjoys
the opportunity to pass along the experiences of a life spent in coaching football.
Three years ago Coach Koester took over the South Paulding High School program that had won only 29 games in its
seven-year history. Over the last three years at South Paulding, Coach Koester has a record of 27-8 and has lead his
team to the playoffs three times. A 10-win season in 2013 in his inaugural season is a tough mark to measure up to
each year. The Spartans have shown the ability to stand toe to toe
with area foes another mark of Koester coached teams. This year
proves to be interesting and challenging as the Spartans replace
18 of 22 starters off last year Region Runner-up spot.
While at South Cobb Koester won 22 of his last 33 games includ-
ing the 1st and only play-off victory in the 60-year history of the
school. As Head Coach and Athletic Coordinator at Fort Worth Ar-
lington Heights High School his leadership developed the Yellow-
Jackets into one of the most successful and productive total programs in Texas. In 1995 every sport qualified for the
state-playoffs. While at Bixby High School in Oklahoma his teams where rated in the top 10 each year and reached the
state-quarter finals twice. With 162 wins as a Head Coach; Coach Koester has never taken over a winning Program,
yet developed them each into winning programs. Raising numbers at Cherokee High School from 16 to 115 in three