Guffey Elementary School archery coach John Ponzar walked out of school last week to a tremendous surprise.
Ponzar, who also is the school’s physical education teacher, was greeted by more than 100 people on April 16 as he and the team came out the front door following practice.
He stood motionless with his team at the door for a moment taking in the gathering, thinking it was in celebration of his 51st birthday. As he was serenaded by the song “Happy Birthday,” he was told to read a banner that was a few steps away from a black-and-gold balloon archway that had streamers hanging from it.
The banner said, “Congratulations Coach Ponzar, 2026 NASP Coach of the Year, Guffey Archery is Proud of You.”
After repeating “What?” a few times, Ponzar exclaimed, “That’s incredible!”
Tara Burger, who has a daughter on the team and another daughter who is a volunteer coach, said she nominated Ponzar for the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP), and she was notified that Ponzar won on April 14.
She scrambled to arrange the surprise gathering at the school to coincide with Ponzar’s birthday.
“It was mind blowing,” said Ponzar, whose daughter, Nora, is on this year’s team and daughter, Myra, is one of the volunteer coaches this year. “I didn’t expect that for sure. We just walked out and when I first saw everything, I kind of thought it was for my birthday. This is a huge surprise. I didn’t expect any of this. This is really cool.”
Ponzar has led Guffey to 16 state titles, and the team will compete in the Centershot Easter National Bullseye Tournament on May 7-9 in Louisville, Ky.
Ponzar said he will receive the national coach award at the tournament, where Guffey will try to win its first national title after finishing second last year. The team completed the tournament tied with eventual national champion Elk Elementary, which won the tiebreaker with 110 10s to Guffey’s 108.
A 10 is the highest score for a single arrow when it hits the bull’s-eye or center hole of the target.
Burger said Ponzar winning the National Coach of the Year award was a longtime coming.
“He should have won it several years ago,” she said. “To be the top coach in Missouri and now he is being recognized at the national level. We are excited for the national tournament in May in Kentucky, so we can bring him his first (national) title.”
Program building
Ponzar started his career in the Fox C-6 School District 28 years ago, teaching physical education at Rockport Heights, Seckman, Sherwood and Simpson elementary schools.
He started teaching at Guffey 27 years ago and began the school’s archery program 18 years ago. He said Guffey, Meramec Heights and Simpson elementary schools all began the same year.
Ponzar said Fox C-6 now has elementary archery teams at Guffey, Lone Dell, Meramec Heights, Seckman and Simpson, and students shoot archery in classes at Hodge and Sherwood elementary schools.
The district also has archery teams at middle schools, and Fox and Seckman high schools.
“It is crazy,” Ponzar said about how archery has grown in Fox C-6 and nationally. “I tell people all the time, it is the most popular sport that nobody knows about.”
Ponzar said the archery team has become part of the culture at Guffey with many students asking about it on their first day in fourth grade, which is the first year a student may be part of the team.
“It has kind of become the pride of our school,” he said. “It is passed down now from sibling to sibling. It is amazing how many kids I have had on the team and then their siblings are on it because they have seen it and want to be part of it. It has just become a culture because of the success we have had.”
Burger said along with building a successful program, Ponzar is a good coach because he forms a bond with every member of the team.
“He knows what they struggle with and how to support them individually,” she said. “One thing special that he does is before the big tournaments, state and nationals, he writes each kid a handwritten note. He talks about how proud he is of them, how far they have come, tips for the tournament to stay focused. The fact that he takes the time to individualize is incredible.”
Burger said to nominate Ponzar for the national coach award, she had to get letters from the school’s administrators, at least one of his coworkers, parents of team members and past team members. She also had to have the current 24 team members and three volunteer coaches sign off on his nomination.
Burger said the work was worth it after she saw how Ponzar reacted.
“It was breathtaking,” she said. “It was an emotional moment for most of the parents on the team.”
State success
Guffey took first in the elementary division at the state tournament on March 18-21 in Branson. The team scored 3,235 points, topping second-place Siegrist Elementary by 164 points. Siegrist finished with 3,071 points.
Nora Burger finished first among elementary girls at state with a 277, which also netted her the top spot among fifth graders.
Jaxson Nanney came in second overall among elementary boys with a 281. He also finished second overall for fifth grade boys.
Henry Schisler and Mohammad Mohammady also captured top-10 finishes for Guffey.
Schisler finished fourth among all boys and fifth grade boys with a 278. Mohammady had the same score as Schisler, but he took sixth overall and among fifth grade boys as Schisler edged him with 15 10s to 11.
Guffey was not the only Fox C-6 team to have success at the state tournament.
In the elementary division, Lone Dell finished fourth with 2,990 points, and Meramec Heights came in seventh with 2,893. Simpson took eighth with 2,876.
In the middle school division, Ridgewood Middle finished third with 3,301 points, and Seckman Middle took fifth with 3,259.
In the high school division, Seckman High came in 18th with 3,291 points, and Fox High finished 33rd with 3,190 points.
“It is pretty cool that we can represent our school district in all three divisions,” Ponzar said. “Some districts have great programs but only in the high school division, not all three tiers. That is what is great; these guys can start here, go to Ridgewood and Fox to shoot. They can start Simpson and go to Seckman Middle and Seckman High. The kids can continue the program from start to finish.”
Other Jefferson County schools also had success at state.
Hillsboro High School joined Guffey as a state champ. Hillsboro High won its title with 3,441 points, topping second-place Blair Oaks High by 31 points.
Windsor High came in 36th with 3,184 points.
Hillsboro Junior High took second place in the middle school division, finishing 10 points behind the state champ. Sarcoxie Middle barely edged out Hillsboro 3,343 to 3,333.
Windsor Middle took ninth in the middle school division with 3,235 points.
Windsor Intermediate finished ninth in the elementary division with 2,859 points.