Texas Tech University Athletics
Coaching Kittleys
September 30, 2017 | Football, Track and Field
Like father, like son.
For some, figuring out what we want to be when we "grow up" is a hard decision. For others, like head track and field coach Wes Kittley and his son, football graduate assistant Zach Kittley, it was a decision made early in life.
Wes was raised just a few miles outside of Rule, Texas, a city with a population of less than 1,000 citizens an hour north of Abilene. It was in Rule that he first discovered his love for athletics.
"My grandad used to take us to the track when I was six or seven years old," said the elder Kittley. "The first love I got about track and field was being able to run with some of those high school guys."
Although Wes realized his passion for track and field at a young age, it was actually an injury which sidelined him for his eighth-grade year that really led to his desire to become a coach.
"I had a detached retina in the seventh grade, and I had to end doing any contact sports like football or basketball," Wes explained. "I didn't get to compete at all my eighth-grade year, but my dad sent me to a track camp in the summer at Abilene Christian – Camp Wildcat. That's where I had the first love of seeing what I wanted to do."
With a farmer as a father and a sheriff for a grandfather, hard work and discipline have always been part of Wes' makeup. It was these traits that helped him be successful at a young age when he became the head women's track coach at Abilene Christian University.
"I went to get my masters there and volunteer," Wes said. "The A.D. walked down one day and said, 'you want to be the head women's coach?' I was a young 23-year-old so that transition from athlete to coach was very unusual."
As head coach, Wes built ACU's program into a dominant force winning an astonishing 29 national track and field championships. After more than 20 years of being an athlete and coach at ACU, Wes took the head coaching position at Texas Tech in 1999.
It was a choice that would change his career and the face of Texas Tech track forever.
"It was one of the hardest decisions of my life," Wes said. "I always thought if I ever leave, Texas Tech is a place I want to come. I never thought I'd have the opportunity until 1999."
Wes found his way to Tech at a time when the track and field program was in dire need of a guiding light to bring it back into relevance.
Wes was that light. Since taking the helm, he has guided the Red Raiders to five Big 12 team championships, five top-five NCAA team finishes, and 12 top-10 NCAA team finishes. In addition to his team success, Wes has coached 21 NCAA champions, 225 first team All-Americans, and 13 Olympians during his tenure in Lubbock.
For the Kittleys, it's safe to say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as Zach Kittley is well on his way to becoming a successful coach in his own rite.
Zach, the youngest of three boys, found at an early age that much like his father, he wanted to be a coach. It was the combination of competitiveness and admiration that eventually led him down a similar path as his father.
"Basketball, baseball, running track, football of course, just being around them is what really drove me into loving sports so much and wanting to compete," Zach remembered. "Growing up I always looked up to my dad so much. Seeing him every day in his element, coaching his guys, it was just something I felt I wanted to do."
Zach's desire to coach and his passion for the game of football led him to become an assistant under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. After four years, the amount of knowledge gained from his assistantship is immeasurable.
In his role, Zach works day-to-day with the Red Raider quarterbacks, namely Nic Shomonek, who has flourished already this year under Kittley and Kingsbury's guidance. Kittley oversees the quarterback group when Kingsbury's duties pull him away to either the defense or various other duties.
"The ultimate goal is to win a Big 12 Championship this season." Zach explained. "We have worked hard over the last 9-10 months. We want to proudly represent the Lubbock community and Texas Tech University and give our fans what they deserve."
After years of working closely with the football team, Zach has begun carving out a place for himself at Tech and his father couldn't be any prouder of where his son is and where he is going.
"It's not very often that a dad gets to see a son following in his footsteps and I'm really proud of that," Wes said. "I think he is going to be a fabulous recruiter and coach. As a father, I can't tell you how proud I am to see him continue to grow in his career."
Whether or not Zach will have as long of a career with Tech as his father is unknown, but one thing is for sure, he will cherish the time he spends as a Red Raider.
"Being at Texas Tech really is a dream come true for me," Zach said. "I love Texas Tech, I love Lubbock, I just wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
That's a sentiment that runs deep in the Kittley family, in fact.
"Texas Tech has blessed our family," Wes said. "We're Red Raiders for life."
