Jeff with Assistant Principal, Hal Mortensen, Athletic Director, Matt Messer, and Principal, Grant Hanevold.
Jeff has coached and taught at MVHS for 36 years, coaching boys basketball for 32 of those years, and he is still assisting with coaching football and boys and girls track. I know I am bragging a little, but I'm pretty proud of my hubby. He led the Pirate basketball team to six straight appearances in the state championship game, winning the title in 2003. He's been basketball coach of the year for the Southern AAA Conference seven times, and the Nevada Coach of the Year twice. He was the girls track coach when they won three state championships and two runners-up, and was named Coach of the Year five times. He was assistant boys track coach when they won seven consecutive state championships. He has been on the coaching staff of nine football state championships while being the defensive coordinator. Jake's senior year he was coached by his Dad in football, basketball and track! I don't know if he loved it, but I know Jeff did. He still loves teaching and coaching after all these years, and you can only imagine how sore my backside is from cheering him on from the bleachers for 36 years!
Jeff and Gary coached together for at least 21 years, give or take, and taught together even longer than that, and Jeff has nothing but respect for Batch. You couldn't have found two better men to honor.
Congratulations to my sweetheart of almost 37 years!
6 comments:
Congratulations Dad! What an honor, to be one of the first 2 inducted to the Wall of Fame. It was so much fun to be coached in track by Dad, and my sophomore year we were state runners up! That year we set a record for highest points by a team at a division meet, too. Dad really made something out of nothing that year because we only had 1 or 2 seniors. I'm so glad he was honored by MVHS for his years of great coaching! Congrats!
i have always thought my dad was the coolest and i like to brag about him too. congratulations dad! i must say that i wish dad was the track coach for my junior and senior years (we had some of the worst coaches ever those years) but i also loved having dad there to watch me. he didn't have to be running around as the coach, he just watched me. i wish i could have been at the game when dad got his major award though...
We're so proud of Dad and wish we could have been there to see him get his major award. We brag about him, too. He's been an amazing coach and deserves all the awards he's gotten. Yay Dad!
I have so many memories from all the sports I played under Dad that I couldn't even start to list them. I've always cherished them, but watching Josh grow up has made it to where there aren't many days that go by that I DON'T think back to those times. Even though I wasn't on the team that finally reached the top in basketball, I'm so proud of all that we accomplished, and proud of the way Dad ran the team. He taught me how to play the game right - using the backboard, boxing out, seeing the ball carrier and your man at the same time, defending by watching the torso not the head, faking people who are block happy, cutting off baseline and forcing to the middle. I play once or twice a week and still focus on those things. Even when I was being coached by other people, I could always hear 2 people while on the court - my coach, and Dad up in the stands. Him and Batch deserved it, and I'm so proud.
I have always been so proud of my dad too! I have so many memories of hanging out at track meets or ball games when I was a kid. Half the time I think I was under the bleachers, but I always felt special knowing my dad was the coach.
Too bad dad never coached girl's basketball, maybe I would have stuck with it then. Although the one year he was my track coach, I probably wasn't the easiest person to coach.
Anyway, I do feel it's high time our dad got a little bit of the recognition he totally deserves. I wish we could have been there to see him get the award, but it was nice to be there at Christmas when they honored him. Also, nobody even let us know when the award was being given out--possibly we could have tried to come!
We love you mom and dad! I know mom has sacrificed a bunch too over the years supporting dad--no Friday date night for 36 years, weekends raising us kids when dad was away at games. So thanks to both of you!
I think it would take me nine or ten lifetimes to rack up so much athletic accomplishment. Congratulations coach Keel!
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