Shortridge High School offers a variety of athletic sports and activities. Listed are our athletic coaches and their contact details; please feel free to reach out to a coach to learn more about the sport, verify schedules and volunteer at ticket gates and concessions.
Athletic Director
Mr. Craig Huljak
I am the Athletic Director of Shortridge High School. Having been with Indianapolis Public Schools for 20 years, I have been fortunate enough to have had roles as a teacher, a youth athletics coordinator, youth coach, high school soccer coach and assistant athletic director. These experiences and education have led me to a role in which I can best facilitate a rewarding experience for our student-athletes, coaches, parents, staff and community. It is an honor to be part of Shortridge High School and to help lead our athletics to a brighter future.
Away from work, I have been married for 11 years. Throughout this time together, we have been blessed with 5 wonderful children. While I do cheer for the Colts, the Irish and the Kentucky Wildcats, Shortridge Athletics is the team that I root for above and beyond all else.
Phone: (317) 226-2810
Email: huljakc@myips.org
Degrees and Certifications:
BA, Visual Arts Education
MA, Education
MA, Sports and Recreation Management
Assistant Athletic Director
Mr. Tyran Fakes
Phone: 317.410.6367
Email: fakest@myips.org
I am from Plainfield, IN and attended Plainfield High School. After high school I attended UIndy, where I was a member of the football team. I graduated from UIndy in 2011 and 2014, receiving my BS in Business and Sports Administration and MS in Sports Administration. Most recently I was the Athletic Director at Eastwood Middle School. Prior to Eastwood, I worked in college athletics at the Division I and Division II level in Facility and Game Day Operations.
Athletic Coordinator
Ms. Jennifer Maxwell
Phone: 317.331.2970
Email: jennifermaxwell72@yahoo.com
Athletic Coordinator, Girls Swimming and Girls Cross Country
Ms. Melody Groothuis
Phone: 317.226.2810
Email: groothuism@myips.org
Coach Groothuis (Coach “G”) has been involved in competitive sports most of her life. She started swimming at the age of 9, competing in State, Zone, and National competitions until her junior year of high school. She also began running cross-country and track/field in middle school, going on to compete in 8 state XC and Track/field competitions, earning 3 All-state honors in XC and 1 in Track/field at Martinsville High School. Coach G went on to run Div I XC and Track/field for Columbia University in New York, where she earned a BA in Archaeology. Upon completion of her undergraduate education, Coach G worked for the Indiana Division of Natural Resources as an assistant archaeologist and coached high school XC and Track/field for 6 years as well as YMCA youth swimming. As a former student-athlete, Coach G places high emphasis on academic achievement and works to support all aspects of athlete development. She lives on the northside of Indianapolis with her husband, two kids, and 4 cats. Coach G works in the media center at Shortridge, studies in the MFA in Creative Writing program at Butler University, and enjoys reading, writing poetry, and hiking in her free time.
Boys and Girls Tennis
Mr. John Keele
Phone: 317.258.6051
Email: keelej@myips.org
Boys Cross Country and Boys Golf
Ron Crane
Phone:317.563.1834
Email: craner@myips.org
I moved to Indianapolis at the age of 19 from southern Indiana. My coaching experience began as the Freshman Baseball coach at Arsenal Technical High School. I completed my B.S. in Secondary Education in 1995 and started teaching and coaching at Emmerich Manual High School with the Freshman Football, Varsity Special Teams, and Assistant Track positions. I have had the privilege to teach at Shortridge High School since 2018. I am very proud to serve as a coach for the Shortridge Blue Devils.
Varsity Girls Soccer
Mrs. Ann Herrera
Phone: 260.452.6558
Email: herreraam@myips.org
I was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I graduated from Homestead High School then attended The University of Findlay where I received bachelors in both Pure Mathematics and Mathematics Education. After graduating, I moved to Southern California where I taught math, frequented Disneyland, and attended many Dodger games. I moved back to Indiana in 2018 for my husband’s job and have been at Shortridge ever since!
On the soccer side of things, I’ve been playing soccer my whole life. There were very few times in my life where I wasn’t involved in something soccer related. I played all the way through my 4 years at the University of Findlay. I started coaching in 2014 when I coached Varsity Soccer at San Jacinto High School in Southern California. I took a small break from coaching when I moved back to Indiana, but I look forward to being a part of the Girls Soccer program here at Shortridge!
Football and Boys Track & Field
Mr. Jovan McCray
Phone: 804.665.4653
Email: jmccrayuva30@gmail.com
I was born in Richmond, Virginia and I have my BS from Marion University Indianapolis, Indiana. I previously coached a variety of high school and college athletics. I was the former coach for 2 HBCU All American athletes. I have held roles as Line Backers Coach of Virginia State, Grad Assistant at UVA, Def. Coordinator at Shortridge, and most recently was the Head Track and Wrestling coach of Crispus Attucks High School.
I am a former All Region Wrestling Team member, Leadership Award Winner, and current member of IHSAA. I still have a large family in Virginia, and I enjoy visiting them and doing cross-fit in my spare time.
Girls Golf
Mr. Owen Harrington
Phone: 317.226.2810
Email: spikesgolfwork@gmail.com
Girls Volleyball
Tanaviah Hinton
Phone: 317.937.5591
Email: hintont@myips.org
I am from Indianapolis. I graduated from Emmerich Manual High School in 2005. I have a BS from Indiana State University. I have been coaching volleyball for 7 years at a middle school level at George Washington Carver #87. I also coach Girls Basketball and Track and Field. I became one of the coaches for IPS’s district middle volleyball team the Trailblazers.
I have two children, both are boys. They also love sports! They play football and basketball, as well as wrestle. I had the pleasure of being their Team Mom during their time in youth league football.
I love music (I absolutely love Beyonce), dancing, watching my favorite tv shows, and reading books. I enjoy being around family and friends. I am very excited to be coaching at Shortridge. My goal is to help these young ladies have fun, learn, and enjoy playing volleyball while getting better each day.
Boys Basketball
Mr. Drew Fountain
Phone: 219.794.5273
Email: drewfountain33@gmail.com
Drew Fountain is excited to start his first year as the Blue Devils Head Boys’ Basketball Coach and Special Education Inclusion Teacher in the 2020-2021 school year. Coach Fountain is a proud native of Gary, IN where he was born and raised. He is a graduate of Horace Mann High School. After High School, Coach Fountain attended Indiana State University where he earned a B.A. in Recreational Sports Management. He then went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Grand Canyon University.
Coach Fountain is coming to Shortridge from Fishers High School where he has had the opportunity to teach and coach for the past nine years. In the classroom, Coach Fountain spent five years as an Instructional Assistant and four years as an Exceptional Learner Resource Teacher. On the court, Coach Fountain served in many roles over his nine-year tenure including Head Freshman Coach, Head JV Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach.
Before moving to Indianapolis, Coach Fountain spent three years coaching on the college level as a Men’s Assistant Basketball Coach at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond, IN (formerly known as Purdue University Calumet). He also spent one season at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, IN.
Coach Fountain has been married for 10 years to his wife Jennifer and they have two beautiful children; Kaiden is 14 and Kamden is 4. In his spare time, Coach Fountain enjoys spending time with friends and family, golfing, playing ping pong and watching Coach K. and the Duke Blue Devils on TV. Fun fact, Coach Fountain visited Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University on his honeymoon.
While at Shortridge, I hope to be able to add value to the Blue Devil culture, instill confidence, character and tradition in our Shortridge students, and build a well-respected, elite basketball program that produces successful young men both on and off the court. I want to build meaningful, and genuine relationships and learn as much as I can from our students, players, teaching staff and community.
#WINtheDAY
Girls Basketball
Ms. Jes Wright
Phone: 317.226.2810
Email: jeswrite84@gmail.com
Coach Jes is starting her first year as Head Coach for the Lady Blue Devils Girls’ Basketball program. Relocating to Indiana at the age of 7, Coach Jes passion for basketball immediately started to grow. At Cathedral High School, Coach Jes helped lead her team to back to back State Championships. After High School, Coach Jes attended Lynn University where she received a B.S. in Sports and Recreation Management. She then went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Management from Western Governors University. Coach Jes currently serves as the P.E. Teacher at Pleasant Run Elementary.
On the court, Coach Jes is coming to Shortridge from Cathedral High School and Lawrence North High School. During her time in those programs she served as the Head Freshman Coach, Head JV coach and Varsity Assistant Coach. Coach Jes is the Director of Operations for the All Indy Belles, a travel AAU basketball program for girls grades 3rd – 8th. She is also the Founder of For the Wild Child, a sports and mentoring program which is comprised of young women 14 and under who are committed to building individual confidence, sportsmanship, self-esteem and leadership skills.
Coach Jes enjoys listening to music, reading books, watching movies, taking naps with her dog Trail, and putting together puzzles. The most challenging puzzle she ever solved, was the Rubik’s Cube. Coach Jes loves the outdoors and attended Wilderness Survival school, so she is always up for an adventure that includes hiking and/or camping.
Cheerleading
Mrs. Chastity Brooks-Deaton
Phone: 317.226.2810
Email: brooks0deatonc@myips.org
Baseball
Mr. Zac Adams
Phone: 317.226.2810
Email: zadams918@gmail.com
Girls Track and Field
Ms. Taryn Walker
Phone: 317.855.0165
Email: walkert@myips.org
Coach Walker was born and raised in Indianapolis. She graduated from Cathedral High School and earned a BS at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana. Coach Walker has been coaching track for the last past 8 years. Starting her coaching journey at John Marshall Middle/High school as head girl’s track coach for 2 years. Then an assistant track coach for Crispus Attucks High School and Northwest Middle School. She joined the Shortridge athletic community as an assistant coach for the girls’ track team specializing in shotput and discus.
Currently working on her Master of Art in Education, Coach Walker enjoys spending time with her family, church, traveling, volunteering for youth organizations and representing her sorority Delta Sigma Theta, Incorporated.
Softball
Mr. Owen Harrington
Phone: 231.203.3027
Email: spikesgolfwork@gmail.com
Owen Harrington is beginning his sixth year as the Varsity Softball Coach at Shortridge.
He’s been coaching softball since 1994, coaching in Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and Indiana including starting/re-starting softball programs at Miami Country Day School in Miami and at Shortridge HS in Indianapolis.
He has also coached volleyball and women’s soccer at the varsity level and is currently the assistant for women’s golf.
He has a BS in Sport Management from Barry University in Miami, a certificate in Gifted Education from Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC, and an MS in Sport Management with an emphasis in Athlete Development at the University of Florida.
Over the past 26 years, his teams have won more than 350 softball games and featured 29 All-Conference, 21 All-District/All-Section, 16 All-Region, and 4 All-State softball players. (He’s also lost a whole bunch, but he doesn’t like to talk about that.)
Aside from coaching, he plays piano, collects baseball cards, and plays a ton of Strat-O-Matic Baseball. He enjoys mountain biking with his son Sam, shooting hoops with his son Pete, playing trucks with his 4-year-old, Thomas, and hanging out on the porch with his wife, Kate.
Varsity Boys Soccer
Mr. Rory Priest
Phone: 317.946.3232
Email: roryjohnpriest11@gmail.com
Born and raised in Indianapolis, I attended University High School of Indiana (Carmel) and then graduated from Indiana University in 2015 with a B.A. in Sports Communication. For the past 3 years, I have worked as a Deputy Fire Marshal and Public Educator for the Indianapolis Fire Department. With IFD, my main goal is to educate the general population about fire and life safety.
My entire life I have spent around soccer. Most of my love for the game comes from my father, Wes Priest, who played soccer for Indiana University and won an NCAA championship with the program in 1988. My dad would go on to serve as coach of numerous youth teams , director of coaching, and eventually a board member all with Dynamo FC (Indianapolis). It was my time spent playing at Dynamo FC and in high school that I really cultivated a love for the game. I have coached numerous age groups at the club and high school levels. I spent 4 years as the women’s soccer assistant/head coach at University High School and have worked as an assistant/JV coach at Shortridge High School for 2 years. I’m so excited to continue to help our program grow and truly believe we have one of the finest coaching staffs in the state!
Boys Swimming
Ms. Jessica Carlson
Phone: 317.226.2801
Email: carlsonjr@myips.org
Coach Carlson has been involved in swimming most of her life. Her mother signed her up for swim lessons every summer at the local pool until she completed the entire American Red Cross program – Levels 1 through 6. Carlson joined the Greenfield Community Aquatic Team in middle school where she learned how to swim competitively. She was on the swim team in high school where her events were the 500-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle relay. Carlson earned her lifeguard certification and became a lifeguard and swim instructor at the local pool where she learned to swim herself. Carlson really enjoyed teaching kids how to relax in the water and perfect their stroke. She continued to work at the pool every summer for 4 years. As a teacher, Carlson loves engaging with her students outside of the classroom and teaching them how to push themselves to the next level in the water.
Boys Volleyball
Mr. Noah Allen
Phone: 463.201.7410
Email: allenn@myips.org
My name is Noah Allen, and I am the Varsity Boys Volleyball Head Coach for your Shortridge Blue Devils!
I have been with IPS for two years thus far and eager to continue my education and athletic journey for years to come! I currently work at IPS 87. I have coached several sports at the middle school level and now excited to tackle sports at the High School level.
I am a graduate of HCC in Henderson, KY and a current student at WKU to complete my BS.
Outside of work I am an avid North Carolina Tarheel fan, newly engaged and quite the sports junkie!
Go Blue Devils!