Veritas Christian School has named Gary Hammer athletic director.

Hammer will step down as Veritas’ boys basketball coach and will coach junior high girls basketball at the school.

Hammer was the Lawrence High varsity girls basketball coach from 1990-1996, winning a Kansas state championship and receiving the Coach of the Year award in 1992.

Hammer is retiring this month as an elementary school physical education teacher. He will begin his new role with Veritas this summer.

“I’ve enjoyed working with a great group of dedicated teachers and administrators over the years at Schwegler,” Hammer said. “Watching the kids grow, develop in movement skills and social skills has made my job very rewarding. My physical education philosophy is this: You learn through movement.”