The morning of Friday, December 6, 2019, Garrett Coon was getting ready for school when he got a call from his head football coach, Jeff Mowry. Mowry asked if he had looked at his email yet but Coon had not. Mowry followed up by saying, “Well I recommend you do because you won Gatorade.”

   Coon is the third Gatorade Player of the Year in Wyoming football in the last four years from Sheridan. A successful season resulted in Coon rushing for 1,589 yards and 29 touchdowns in 196 carries at the running back position while leading the Broncs to a 4A state championship with an 11-1 record overall. On top of that, Coon caught 21 passes for 299 yards and six touchdowns. On the defensive side, Coon was a leader and a threat with 81 tackles and three interceptions, two of those being pick sixes as a linebacker. Coon still has yet to decide where he wants to further his education and football career. “Garrett Coon is a pretty special player,”said Mike Opadaca, Cheyenne Central head coach. “He’s dominant on both sides of the ball; you have to account for him on every play.” Coon is a three time all-state member and has been part of the Super 25 twice in his high school career. 

   Coon volunteers for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and does many things for the youth football programs. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a program where a “big” hangs out with a “little” once a week for a couple hours. Many high school athletes and other students participate in this program and volunteer their time and kindness to younger kids that have a troubled home life. These kids are provided the chance to have a positive role model  around them and be a leader for them.

   The first person Coon told about this accomplishment was his dad, Cody Coon. At first, his dad didn’t believe him because of how content he was. “I was so calm about it, and when I repeated myself he got super excited for me,” said Coon. Though it is a prestigious award for any high school athlete, Coon appreciates his teammates and always brings praise back onto his team and those who have helped him achieve this status.