Dan P. Ritter III
Biography
Dan P. Ritter III retired educator, Dan spent 45 years teaching and coaching at the high school and college levels. Growing up in Kansas City, Kansas, Dan was a three-sport athlete and participated in the industrial arts program. He went on to Wichita Statue University where he lettered in both football and track and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Education.
Dan’s high school education and coaching career took him from Kansas City to Miami, Arizona, to San Diego, California. He advanced to collegiate coaching in 1985 with positions at the University of San Diego and Indiana State University. Dan returned to the high school classroom and coaching with a move back to Kansas City in 1999. Along the way, Dan has trained and mentored thousands of students.
Dan is a “builder”, and he has successfully built Career and Technical Education and athletic programs throughout his career. Over 20 years ago, Dan leveraged his on-field experience to start a high school robotics program. His teams went on to succeed at the local, regional,and national levels. As the popularity of robotics’ programs grew, so did Dan’s profile in the FIRST movement. Dan conducted program development workshops across the country and was the recipient of the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award. Named after the FIRST Robotics founder, this award recognizes an individual who has done an outstanding job of motivation through communication while also challenging the students to be clear and succinct in their communication. Students act as the nominators and it is considered the highest FIRST recognition.