Ryan Ewy Enjoying Time Coaching Friends Football

By Kayla Milhon
Staff writer
IG: kaylaa.ml_

Most people spend their whole career trying to get really good at one thing.

Ryan Ewy is doing doing two.

By day, he’s teaching Computer Aided Drafting at Hutchinson Community College. By night — and a ton of weekends — he’s out on the football field at Friends University as the Assistant Defensive Analyst.

Ewy’s been doing that for four years now. At first, it might seem like totally different worlds, but for Ewy, it’s really all the same — leadership, loyalty, and genuinely caring about helping people grow.

He started at HutchCC, got a few degrees, then finished his bachelor’s in Technology and Leadership at Fort Hays State University. Now, in his seventh year teaching at HutchCC, students know him as the guy who has their back, who pushes them to grow, and who reminds them that learning doesn’t stop after class.

He’s got this line he says a lot, and it sticks.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

Ewy takes that same mindset straight onto the football field, where Friends is getting ready to play Benedictine in the NAIA quarterfinals.

At Friends, he’s part of what he calls one of the strongest team cultures he’s ever seen. Ewy said the Falcons do things the right way. They lift each other up, hold each other accountable, and push each other to be better every day. After every practice, the Falcons have this tradition where everyone shares two positives. Something they did well, or something a teammate did that stood out. It sounds small, but it adds up.

Their practices are full of break-down chants, encouragement, accountability, all the stuff that builds more than just skills. And it drives their biggest goal – winning a national championship. Yeah, the challenge is huge — the time, the commitment — but Ewy said the whole team is in.

All that work is paying off. Friends is 12-0 nad one of the most dominant teams in the NAIA. They’re first in points per game — 57.2; first in rushing yards per game —470.1; first in total touchdowns – 93; and third in total yards – 523.4

On defense, where Ewy does his analyst magic, the Falcons are just as lethal – second in points allowed per game (12.9), fifth in total points allowed (155), second in total yards allowed (240). They’re third in sacks, top 10 in passing yards allowed and basically, the Falcons a complete team.

Ewy will tell you straight up — he doesn’t do any of this alone. Balancing a full-time teaching gig and college coaching takes a lot of support. He gives huge credit to his boss at HutchCC, Jill Cunningham, who’s been encouraging all the way, and to his wife Hali, whose patience and support make it possible for him to give his best in both places.

At the end of the day, Ewy isn’t looking for recognition. He just shows up every day with purpose. At HutchCC, he’s building learners. At Friends, he’s helping build one of the strongest teams in the nation. And in both places? He’s building people.

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