Flash forward 24 years later and, effective Dec. 1, Ms. Edwards was officially named director of health, physical education and athletics at Riverhead Central Schools.

“When I saw the position open up, I knew I had to throw my hat in the ring,” Ms. Edwards said. “When you love athletics and you love education and you love being around kids, there’s no job better. It’s my dream job. And most importantly, Riverhead is home.”

After a lengthy interview process in the spring with Bob Hagen, Riverhead’s new superintendent of schools, and the board of education, seeing her phone ring with his name plastered on the screen this summer instantly brought mixed feelings.

“He started talking about how much of a great candidate I was and saying all these nice things about me,” Ms. Edwards said. “Listening to all this, I was waiting for the ‘but.’ I had already programmed myself to accept not getting the position that I didn’t realize, there was no ‘but.’ He just offered me the job.”

After graduating from Riverhead in 2001, Ms. Edwards starred for Springfield College in softball, playing catcher. She smacked 26 home runs in her collegiate career, which set a school record at the time. Following her playing career, she coached at the college level in the Boston area before coming back to Long Island.

“My whole family is here,” Ms. Edwards said. “Family always pulls you back, and that’s exactly what keeps me here today.”

Ms. Edwards accepted a position to coach Pierson in softball and field hockey. During her time there, the field hockey team won a New York State Championship for the first time in school history, and the softball team made it to the state championships three years in a row.

“It was a crazy time because once we started getting success in softball and field hockey, other teams started following suit,” she said. “Baseball started getting good, soccer, every sport wanted that taste of success. At that point, winning becomes the expectation, which is exactly the mentality I want to bring to Riverhead.”

In 2013, Ms. Edwards got an opportunity to head into the administrative field, accepting the assistant athletic director position at McGann-Mercy, a private school in Riverhead. That assistant tag didn’t last long as she fully took over the program shortly after. She held the position until the school closed its doors in 2018.

“While I was at Mercy, I realized this is the job I was meant to do,” Ms. Edwards said. “The opportunity to make an impact on kids across the board and give them a true chance at success was so fulfilling. I wanted nothing more than to do it again.”

She decided to go back to school and received her master’s degree in physical education from Adelphi University. Edwards then accepted a teaching job at Wantagh while being the assistant softball coach for a few years before most recently heading to East Hampton High School to coach their softball team. 

“No matter where I went, I always wanted to come back home,” Ms. Edwards said. “I live in Riverhead. I was born in Riverhead. This was always my end goal.”

When Hans Wiederkehr, Riverhead’s interim athletic director, first heard of the hiring and met Ms. Edwards, he knew instantly she was the right person for the job. 

“Energy,” Mr. Wiederkehr said. “If you don’t have energy in this position, you’re done. And if it’s not positive energy, it’s even worse. She has the energy, and she legitimately wants the best for Riverhead athletics. It’s not just talk. Nobody wants this more than her.”

Mr. Wiederkehr will stay on board to help with the transition and to build off of what’s been done already. The main focus has been on youth sports. In partnership with the booster clubs, youth sporting opportunities have skyrocketed in Riverhead.

There’s football, soccer, basketball, lacrosse — anything youth-related, it’s been started. Most recently, there’s been an emphasis on kid wrestling taking root again.

“Our buildings are full with kids’ sports every day of the week,” Mr. Wiederkehr said, showing off a detailed sheet on his desk. “Parents have stepped up. There’s many volunteers that are committed to turning things around, and both of us are committed to helping do that.”

Another thing Ms. Edwards plans on tackling is the playing fields. 

“We want to make this place pristine and top-notch like our athletes deserve here,” she said. “We’re working hard with the grounds crew to clean this place up. Every day, we have a new project.”

To Ms. Edwards, the budget cuts excuse is gone. There are no more excuses. Riverhead will succeed.

“The fact of the matter is I care,” she said. “This is my home. I know all these long-time Riverhead families. I want the best for this town, and I believe in this town. Riverhead athletics is changing. We’re already seeing major progress. All I want to do is foster that success and make it an expectation.”

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“You know what they say about retirement,” Wiederkehr said matter of factly. “It’s the second to last stage in life. I just wasn’t ready for that yet. I feel like I still have more to give.”

Wiederkehr wasn’t exactly looking for work but, when he was told of a leadership position in Riverhead, a place he knew very well after raising his family in Wading River, it gave him a new purpose in life. After a few interviews, Wiederkehr was named as interim director of health, physical education and athletics for Riverhead Central School District, taking over a post former athletic director Brian Sacks held for almost a decade.

“Any chance I have at influencing the lives of young students and helping them excel really excites me,” Wiederkehr said. “I know this town has a rich history in sports. I remember all the championship football teams here. I know what sports means to this town. And what excites me the most is that we’ve already turned the page here. We’re starting to compete in every sport again. My job is to continue to foster that growth. But what attracted me the most here was the new superintendent, Bob Hagan, and his vision for Riverhead. He truly wants the best for this place and wants the best people around him to make it that way.”

Though football runs in Wiederkehr’s blood, he’s coached just about every sport as he raised his three kids and has held numerous leadership positions throughout his career. After his playing years came to an end, which featured big time Division I football for Syracuse University and a season in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wiederkehr was offered a job as a teacher in the Babylon school district that also included an assistant coaching position for the varsity football team. 

After a retirement opened up the head coaching position a year later, Wiederkehr was offered the job and never looked back. As the head coach of the Babylon High School football team, a position he held from 1987 to 2002, the Panthers won two Long Island Division IV championships, six Suffolk County titles and 10 league crowns. He then gave up coaching the team to spend more time raising and coaching his kids. He became an assistant coach at Shoreham-Wading River in 2014 to help his son, Ethan’s team. All the Wildcats did those years was win three Long Island championships in a row and two Rutgers trophies.

“I just wanted to be involved with my kid’s lives,” Wiederkehr said of leaving his position in Babylon. “That was the most important thing to me. But they’re all adults now, working great jobs and I still have more to give.”

Wiederkehr’s oldest daughter, Rachel, played Division I lacrosse at Ohio State University. Her younger sister played four years of lacrosse at the University of Mary Washington. Ethan went on to earn a full scholarship and play four years for Northwestern University as an offensive tackle.

Wiederkehr held multiple leadership positions over the years in his path to landing at Riverhead. In addition to being the president of the Suffolk County Football Coaches Association — a position he held for around 20 years — the former varsity football coach most recently was the interim athletic director at William Floyd School District for a year and a half.

“Being an Athletic Director offers an opportunity to help students across every sport,” Wiederkehr said. “It’s really a gratifying position that I don’t take lightly.”

Riverhead Athletic Club president Quinn Alexander knows Wiederkehr well and is super excited to see what he can bring to Riverhead athletics.

“Hans and I go way back,” Alexander said. “Oh God, I’m afraid to say this but I’ve known him for the better part of 30 years. My mother grew up in Babylon, so we crossed paths there. Then she started the girls lacrosse program at Shoreham-Wading River, and his daughters both went through that program, so we’ve got a big history together. Hans truly is a ‘What do you need?’ or a ‘How can I help?’ type of professional. He wants to honor tradition while also supporting the needs of his coaches and teachers in their goals.”

Though there may be an interim tag on his position for now, Wiederkehr refuses to act like it.

“When I hear ‘interim,’ it’s like you’re on the couch waiting for someone to take your spot,” Wiederkehr said. “That’s not me. I’m going to do everything I can to improve Riverhead sports while I have this position. I’m here from 8 [a.m.] to 8 [p.m.] every day. I’m going to be involved from top to bottom. I want to improve every student-athletes experience here at Riverhead. My job is to give them the tools to do so.”

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