Jim Newsted will get a chance to work with John Rinehart again.
On Friday, March 13, the West Platte Board of Education hired Newsted as the new football and track and field coach for the 2020-2021 school year.
“Football is more than just a game, it’s a bond of individuals,” he said in a press release. “It is a sport that unifies individuals into one working machine. Players become accountable for themselves and each other. They ultimately become family. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to build this West Platte football family.”
Jim Newsted
The physical education teacher will replace Paul Thomas in both of those roles. Thomas recently resigned as the head football coach, which came after members of the community went to the school board to try to get him out.
Thomas brought lofty credentials with him when he replaced one of his friends, the late Nate Danneman, prior to the 2017 season. A member of the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Thomas had 131 wins when he arrived at West Platte but that number grew by only four – going 2-9, 1-9 and 1-9.
Newsted guided Centralia to a 10-1 record this past season and is 21-11 in three years as the head coach. He has worked the past 22 year at Centralia, holding various titles as girls basketball coach, wrestling coach, track and field coach and football coach. He was the offensive and defensive coordinator and helped the team reach the state finals twice and win state in 2003.
His time at Centralia overlapped with the tenure of Rinehart, who was the principal at Centralia prior to leaving in 2012 to take a job as Albany’s superintendent. Rinehart, now Dr. John Rinehart, made the jump to West Platte in 2015.
Newsted is a native of Newton, Kan., and graduated from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan. He later earned his master’s from William Woods University.
His teaching career started at Cass-Midway as a science teacher. He coached football (the team won the Class 1 title in 1996), track and field and basketball. After four years, he left for a job at Centralia.