Varsity Head Coaches:

New Head Coaches 2022-2023

Head Football Coach - Joseph Ortiz

Perry High School is pleased to announce that Mr. Joseph Ortiz will be named as the new head football coach, pending board approval on January 26, 2022.

Coach Ortiz comes to Perry from Cactus High School where he led the Cobras to a 37-10 record in his four years as the head coach.  In 2021, he was 10-0 in the regular season and took the team to the Open Division Playoffs.  In 2020, the Cobras were the 4A state runner up, in 2019 they were a state semifinalist, and in 2018 they made it to the 4A state quarterfinals. Coach Ortiz has been named Arizona Varsity 4A Coach of the Year and West Valley Independent Coach of the Year.

Prior to Cactus, Coach Ortiz was the offensive coordinator and ran the special teams at Higley High School from 2010-2018.  While there, the team made it to the 4A State Semifinals twice and statistically had the best offense in the conference.  Coach Ortiz also held multiple coaching positions at St. Mary’s, his high school alma mater, from 2006-2010 and coached freshman football at Tempe High School in 2005.

“I am honored and excited to become a part of Puma Nation,” Ortiz said. “I look forward to building upon the strong foundation that has been laid. Go Pumas!"

Coach Ortiz can be contacted at Ortiz.Joseph@cusd80.com. 
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Head Girls Golf and Head Softball Coach - Nathan Harder

Perry HS is excited to announce Nathan Harder as our new head girls golf and softball coach!

Coach Nathan Harder will be making his Perry girls golf head coaching debut in the fall of 2022 and his softball head coaching debut in the spring of 2023. The 2022-2023 school year marks Coach Harder's 16th year on the teaching staff at Perry High School as one of the handful of teachers and coaches remaining from the original PHS staff. Coach Harder has developed a love and a passion for softball watching his daughter play while he transitioned from coaching baseball. Coach Harder is excited for the opportunity to continue working with the student athletes in the softball program at Perry High School. 

Harder coached football at Perry for 15 years, baseball for 14 years, and made the switch to softball in the spring of 2022 for his 1st year assisting with the softball program. Coach Harder’s coaching experience also includes three years coaching baseball at Burroughs High School in Ridgecrest, California (1 Year Head JV Coach, 1 Year Varsity Assistant, 1 Year Varsity Head Coach), and two seasons as a varsity football assistant. He also spent two years at Highland High School in Gilbert as a varsity baseball assistant coach and two seasons as a JV football assistant. Harder has also enjoyed coaching club softball as his daughter’s passion grows for the sport.

Harder played high school football, basketball, and baseball at Fairview High School in Fairview, OK where he grew up. He also played college baseball for Dodge City Community College and Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Harder earned an Associate of Arts degree from Dodge City Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He also earned his Master’s in Education from Northern Arizona University.

When Harder is not working with the outstanding student athletes at Perry High School, he spends most of his time shuffling his daughter around the Valley and country with her club softball team. She played girls basketball for the first time last year and Coach Harder looks forward to talking her into playing golf at Perry in the future. Coach Harder looks forward to building on the tradition of quality softball at Perry High School and making it a softball destination in the East Valley.  

Coach Harder can be contacted at Harder.Nathan@cusd80.com or in room C-315.
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Head Girls Soccer Coach - Kete Meskill

Perry HS is excited to announce Kete Meskill as our new head girls soccer coach!

Starting in the 2022-23 season, Coach Kete Meskill will be the head coach of the Perry Girls Soccer program. This will be Coach Meskill’s second season as a head coach in high school soccer. Coach Meskill spent the 2021-2022 high school season at Queen Creek HS, where he led the program to a 9-2-1 record winning 6A Desert Conference Coach of the Year. The program also received 6A Desert Conference Honors the same season winning Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Overall Most Valuable Player of the Year. Prior to head coaching Queen Creek HS, Coach Meskill spent 8 years within Puma Nation as a Girls Varsity Assistant Coach at Perry HS. Coach Meskill was a part of the coaching staff when the Perry HS girls team finished as 6A Conference State Championship Finalist in 2014, 2018 and 2019.

Coach Meskill also has 12 years of coaching experience within competitive club soccer at Arizona Arsenal Soccer Club. Coach Meskill has head coached multiple age groups ranging from u8-u19 and currently coaches u10, u14 and u19 girls teams in club soccer. He is also on the coaching staff for the Arizona Arsenal professional team competing in their first season within the Women’s Professional Soccer League this summer. Coach Meskill has had success within club soccer as a head coach winning a u18 girls State Cup Championship in 2017 and finished as u18 girls Regional Championship Quarter Finalist. He was a head coach within the u18 and u19 age groups for 3 years helping place 40+ girls into college programs around the country during that time. Coach Meskill has been a State Cup Finalist with u12 girls in 2021 and a State Cup Finalist with u12 girls playing up an age group in u13 in 2022. He was also an Assistant Coach to the u17 girls State Cup Champions in 2015. Coach Meskill received club honors as the 2020-2021 Arizona Arsenal Girls Coach of the Year. Coach Meskill currently holds a USSF “C” National Coaching License and is pursuing his USSF “B” National Coaching License in the Fall of 2022.

Coach Meskill was born and raised in the East Valley, growing up playing basketball, baseball, volleyball, and club soccer for multiple soccer clubs. Coach Meskill graduated from Basha High School and played Varsity Soccer and Varsity Volleyball all four years while attending Basha HS. Coach Meskill received All-State and All-Conference honors throughout his high school career in both soccer and volleyball. Coach Meskill was also awarded Varsity Boys Soccer Defensive Player of the Year his Senior season and was fortunate to be a captain for the team his junior and senior season. Coach Meskill received a scholarship and the opportunity to continue his soccer career playing at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. Coach Meskill gained valuable time on the field as a freshman and sophomore until injuries cut seasons short and he was unable to continue playing.

Outside of Coach Meskill’s involvement with soccer, he finds his time to make it out to the golf courses around the valley with family and friends. Coach Meskill is fortunate to come from a big family and spends plenty of his time away from soccer at family gatherings or celebrations. He has it on his bucket list to make it over to England visiting soccer stadiums around the country and getting to support his favorite professional team Manchester United in person at the world-famous stadium, Old Trafford.

Coach Meskill can be contacted at Meskill.Kete@cusd80.com.
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Head Baseball Coach - Brian Broderick

Perry High School is pleased to announce Brian Broderick as our new head baseball coach!

Broderick spent three seasons as the Perry pitching coach. Along with an incredible ethos for the game, Broderick is a teacher to the players, building the pitchers from simple standards while allowing each young player his own identity. Last year as the pitching coach, he helped lead the Puma staff to a school record of 241 strikeouts. Broderick has a great knowledge of the game to help out every part of the program. A native of Phoenix, Broderick played at Washington High School before pitching for legendary coach Tony Cirelli at Mesa Community College. After MCC, Broderick stayed in the Valley and became a member of the Grand Canyon University Antelopes before being selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft. Broderick spent parts of nine seasons as a professional baseball player, including 2011 when he was called up to pitch for the Washington Nationals. His baseball career took him to many places, including two seasons in Mexico, with him ultimately settling down in the Valley of the Sun.

Outside of baseball, Coach Broderick spends his time with his wife Kara and two boys, Stephen and Braylen. Coach Broderick’s son Stephen will be attending ASU next year to play baseball and continue his education. His other son Braylen is into all kinds of sports as he plays flag football, baseball, and golf. Coach Broderick also likes to spend time playing golf with his family and friends. “I am honored and excited to start this journey with Puma Nation,” Coach Broderick said. “Being able to continue the amazing traditions that have been laid out is going to be fun.”