2026 Coaches

Back row (pictured left to right): Ryan Copp, Phillip White, Travis Thurston, Josh Koerkenmeier, Hector Olivas, Tyler Henry
Front row: Ben Ehret, Carter Black, Travis Holehan, Danny Catanzaro, Luke Farnsworth, Steven Fee (not pictured Zach Rampy)

Meet your Blue Valley West coaching staff

Josh Koerkenmeier

Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator / Tight Ends

Coach Koerkenmeier has been a teacher and coach at Blue Valley West since 2008. He had the honor of becoming the head football coach in 2016. He played offensive line at Blue Valley High School and Emporia State before starting his teaching and coaching career at BVW. Coach Koerkenmeier teaches PE/Social Studies and has also coached track at BVW.  He has two daughters (Kynleigh and Kacyn).

Ryan Copp

Associate Head Coach / Wide Receivers

Coach Copp is a 2005 graduate of Blue Valley West and a member of the BVW Athletics Hall of Fame. He has 19 years of football coaching experience and spent 15 years in education. He’s incredibly excited to be back in the classroom at West starting in Fall 2025. He and his wife Amy have two daughters, Charlotte (10) and Madison (7).

Danny Catanzaro

Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs

This is Coach Cat’s 20th year coaching high school football and his 12th year at BVW. He played in high school at Vernon Hills High School in suburban Chicago. After graduating from VHHS he attended Bradley University where he played rugby. Coach Cat teaches mathematics and also coaches freshman wrestling at BVW. He is married to Nellie and they have a daughter, Bella, who will turn 6 this season.

Luke Farnsworth

Strength Coordinator / Running Backs

Coach Farnsworth has been coaching football and Track at Blue Valley West since 2018. He started teaching at BVW in 2021 and is the BVW Athletic Performance Coordinator.  He graduated from Emporia State University and also has his Masters from Pittsburg State University. He and his wife Taylor have one daughter, Lucy (1).

Ben Ehret

Run Game Coordinator - Offensive Line

Coach Ehret is in his 4th season at Blue Valley West. This will be Ben’s 17th season of offensive line and tight ends coaching experience. He graduated from Blue Valley High School and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from Northwest Missouri State University. He is married to Sara and has 2 daughters that are 4 and 1.

Phillip White

Special Teams Coordinator / Nickels

This will be Coach White’s 4th year at Blue Valley West. He is originally from Topeka Kansas, attended Highland Park High School. Coach White played and graduated from MidAmerica Nazarene University with a degree in English Education. This is his 5th year coaching high school football and 1st year teaching English Language Arts at Blue Valley West High School.

Travis Holehan

Defensive Backs

This will be Coach Holehan’s 4th season as Defensive Backs Coach. Coach Holehan played football and baseball in high school in Oklahoma and went on to play baseball in college at Oklahoma Baptist and Central Christian. He also coaches baseball at BVW. He is currently going on his 13th year in teaching and coaching. He has been married to his wife, Kirstyn, for 13 years and has a 6 year old son.

Travis Thurston

Defensive Run Game Coordinator / Inside LBs

Coach Thurston started coaching at BVW in 2022. He has been coaching since 2006 and teaching since 2010. In previous years he has coached offensive line, running backs, and quarterbacks.  Coach Thurston also teaches statistics and college algebra at BVW. He is a 2010 graduate from Kansas State University. He married his wife Katherine in July 2022 and they have a daughter and a son.

Zach Rampy

Quarterbacks

This will be Coach Rampy’s 10th season coaching football. He has stops at Pittsburg State, Butler County CC, Shawnee Mission North and Shawnee Mission Northwest. He played football at Blue Valley and Emporia State before getting into teaching and coaching. Coach Rampy is currently out of teaching and has been in real estate where he runs his own real estate team. He is married to his wife, Hope and has two kids, Emma and Tate.

Carter Black

Defensive Line

This will be Coach Black’s 3rd season as a football coach.  He played high school football at Wichita High School East. He graduated from Kansas State University in 2022, and began teaching Biology at Blue Valley West in 2023.

Steven Fee

Wide Receivers

Coach Steven Fee brings a decade of coaching experience and a lifelong passion for football to the Blue Valley West staff. A proud product of the EKL, Coach Fee earned All-EKL honors as a player at Blue Valley Northwest before continuing his playing career at Drake University and the University of Kansas.Coach Fee served on the staff at Blue Valley Northwest for 10 years, working with defensive backs, wide receivers, and quarterbacks. Off the field, Coach Fee is a dedicated family man. He and his wife, Elise—who serves as the librarian at Lakewood Elementary—are proud parents to four daughters.

Tyler Henry

Offensive Line

This is Coach Henry’s first year with the team. He played offensive line at Olathe North, Butler C.C and Pittsburg State before starting his teaching and coaching career. Coach Henry currently teaches Elementary PE at Cedar Hills Elementary. He and his wife Jay have two children, Arlo and Eleanor.

Hector Olivas

Defensive Line

Coach Olivas grew up and played football in Great Bend and has three years of coaching experience. Outside of coaching, he owns and operates a construction and trucking company.