When it comes to coaching, Mitch Moore, the new head coach of City High’s varsity football team, is not one to be called underqualified. Throughout his career, Moore has coached at various high schools throughout  Iowa and nearby states as well as collegiate level schools including Wisconsin-Whitewater University, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State University.

“I’ve always [been] a huge fan of the profession of coaching and that was always my lifelong goal,” Moore said. “I’d say at a young age I loved coaching. I knew I wanted to impact people through the game of sports.”

Born and raised in Huxley, Iowa. Moore graduated from UW-Whitewater in 2008 after playing three years semi-pro as a receiver for the Cedar Rapids Warhawks. Moore has participated and coached in six National Title games between the years of 2005 – 2012.

“I really enjoy finding what makes every kid be the best version of themselves and so I think I bring a ton of energy every day,” Moore said.

In his years as a college athlete, he was faced with injury and was forced to sit out for a season. This gave him a chance to observe and be inspired by what goes into coaching a team.

“I kind of got to be an assistant coach and see the ins and outs of what football and coaching were really like from that perspective and so I think that guided me on my path,” Moore said.

In 2011-2012, Moore worked as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Southeast Oklahoma State as well as the assistant director for football recruiting and player personnel at Iowa State University in 2014, giving him an extensive background in athlete recruitment and development.

Driven by the positive Iowa City community and the chance to settle down, Moore will now be taking on the new head coach position for the City High football program.

“This job and this community are so neat because I think there’s obviously something about City High, the community, and the history that coaches want to stay here and develop a program,” Moore said.

Dan Sabers, the previous head football coach, has stepped down after 20 years.

“I think [that] when you have the opportunity to be one of the best programs in the state, it would be hard to leave and go somewhere else. I think that’s certainly one of the things that attracted me to this job as well as the ability to stay here for a long time,” Moore said.

Overall, Moore’s hopes for the City High football program are to bring energy and excitement and make it a better program for the future.

“There [are] a bunch of kids in the program right now who haven’t felt the success of some of the past programs in history and so I think this is an opportunity to give this team some new energy, hope, and optimism for just a really unique and fun future,” Moore said.