Longtime Land O' Lakes High Coach Dies

Land O’ Lakes High School is saying goodbye to a man described by many as the best coach ever.

Kris Keppel, 54, died Sunday following a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, according to the school district.

Keppel was the boys cross country coach and helped the team finish in sixth place during the 2013 state tournament. All told, he served as coach for 22 seasons.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am calling this evening to inform everyone of the passing of Kris Keppel,” Principal Ric Mellin said in a recorded call that went out to Land O’ Lakes High School families Sunday. “I was informed that he passed at 4:32 p.m. this afternoon while in hospice care.”

Crisis counselors are expected to be on the Land O’ Lakes High campus Monday.

Last summer, Keppel’s students nominated him for Brooks Running’s 2014 Inspiring Coaches Award. In the nomination, it was written that students didn’t expect Keppel to show up for the 2013 state finals due to ongoing chemotherapy treatments.

They were wrong, however.

“To their surprise and delight, Coach Keppel showed up with clipboard in hand and an IV bag attached to his hip,” they wrote in his nomination.

The grandmother of a former student explains Keppel’s influence on his kids the best: He “knows how to address any issues that may come up – whether it be something with running, something with another teammate, academics, personal problems at home – or how to ask a girl to Homecoming.”

See Also:

• Bay Area Coach Kris Keppel up for National Honors

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