6A Assistant Coach of the Year - 2003

T.J. ULMER
Olathe North High School

Winning the 6A Assistant Coach of the Year Award is Olathe North’s T.J. Ulmer. Ulmer helped lead the Eagles to a fourth-place finish at Regionals with eight state qualifiers this past season.

Ulmer began his coaching career at Olathe South in 1995-96 as an assistant. He then was head coach at Emporia Middle School from 1996-98, where his teams won five tournaments and only lost two duals in two years. That group of athletes went on to win state as juniors in high school.

Ulmer joined the Olathe North staff in 1999 assisting his father, long time head coach Gary Ulmer. He helped win three individual state titles and 5 top six finishers, with one athlete going on to become an NCAA Division I national qualifier.

He also has served as a coach on the Kansas Cadet national team and as head coach of the Kansas All-Metro team in 1999.

As a competitor, Ulmer was a Cadet All-American, placing 9th at the World Cadet Festival in 1990. He won three Cadet freestyle state titles and was a Southern Plains Regional runner-up in 1987. He was a Sunflower League and regional champion, as well as a two-time state qualifier. He was a 1991 Cadet National team member.

He currently teaches Science to 8th and 9th graders in the Olathe school district. He graduated from Emporia State University in 1999.