Former Huntley volleyball coach Kahl was one of a kind

I once asked longtime former Huntley girls' volleyball coach Larry Kahl what role he played in the success of his program.

This interaction came at the conclusion of the team's practice - that started at midnight (the first allowable minute when fall practices could begin). If you knew Kahl, a midnight practice wasn't surprising.

He told me in the old Huntley High lunchroom he was no different from the guy who goes to the cardboard factory every day and loves making boxes.

To an extent, Kahl wasn't kidding. It was evident being around him how much he loved coaching volleyball. Kahl taught himself the game after taking the middle school volleyball coaching job in the 1970s after nobody else would take it. His record you ask at the middle school level? 164-4.

But Kahl, who died on Halloween in South Carolina at the age of 71 after a long battle with cancer, was so much more than just a volleyball coach. In fact, it might be impossible to attempt to properly articulate how much Kahl impacted and affected the legions of students and athletes he coached and taught in his career, which still was going even in retirement in South Carolina (he coached a middle school team there for a few years).

Beyond being one of the favorite people I've ever countered, Kahl goes down as one of the Fox Valley area's all-time coaching greats, regardless of sport. He took six teams to the Class A state finals. And could those teams ever play - hard hitters, great setters and always fundamentally sound. He had a tremendous four-year run from 1994-1997 where his teams took a second, a third and two fourths at state. In 15 years his teams won 432 matches and sent many players on to Division I schools.

More than just a coach

But with Kahl, the volleyball stuff ends up being almost a footnote. Just ask Meghan (Zimmerman) Holst, one of the many talented offensive players who Kahl developed over the years.

"I look at the girl I was back then and I was a broken kid and it showed sometimes with my attitude," she said. "Even though he was frustrated with the choices I was making, he loved me anyway. He's one of the greatest men I've ever met. He pulled the best out of you regardless if you were good or you weren't. He found a way to make you better and accentuate your qualities. I wouldn't be where I'm at today without him. He was so much more than a coach. He was like a dad. He gave every ounce of himself to me and you can't put a price on that. He held me to a higher standard than I would for myself. He saved my life."

Becky (Chappell) Sellek is another former Huntley player (Class of 1993) who later came back and coached on Kahl's staff at the school (1999 to 2003). She, too, is thankful for the guidance Kahl provided her as a teenager.

"I don't know how I would have made it through certain times in my life without him," she said. "He was so much more than a coach. He was a mentor and a father figure. As far as being a teenager, it was hard enough just being one let alone doing the right thing all the time. Even if you screwed up, he never turned his back on any of us. Sometimes he took the blame for things he didn't do. He was always there to back us up. He pushed us to be better people. To this day Icannot thank him enough for all he has done. I was fortunate to go back and coach with him and learn even more from him."

Megan (Borhart) Remus directed me to a Facebook post she made about Kahl two years ago when she learned of his diagnosis. In it is a recollection of a time she and some teammates had to face him after smashing some pumpkins at the school before Halloween.

"The next day you sat us down on the curb outside and told us how disappointed you were," she wrote. "You told us we were to act like role models and that our team held the school's pride. You didn't even yell, but I never felt so bad in my life. I felt horrible disappointing you like that. I was so angry when you benched everyone involved, including most of the starters, for the game that week causing us to lose against one of our biggest rivals. You taught us about consequences, but also about loyalty, hard work and being part of something bigger than ourselves."

Borhart's sister, Erin (Mayer), recalled the dreaded "Pit" drill Kahl would conduct. During the drill if someone let a ball go to the floor without any effort, the drill started over. I once witnessed one of these sessions and would not wish it on anyone.

"He would throw the ball in any direction and we had to get a hand on it," she said. "It was all about effort. We were trying to get to 125 touches. I dove behind a ball cart at the end and couldn't get up because I was exhausted. He threw a ball and hit me and said that counted as a touch. That meant a lot. He put us through some hellacious drills. He definitely had a tough exterior and could be intimidating, but he set such an example. We knew he would do anything for anyone. He steered people in the right direction. He would pick up people who needed a little extra guidance. I'm never late to things now because I can always hear him in my head saying you have to be 15 minutes early - Vince Lombardi time. He was incredible."

Marion Hansen-Paetznick (Class of 2000) added: "He was a hero to every girl in that program. He held us to such a high standard. He would tell you if your boyfriend wasn't good enough for you. When I met my husband, I brought him to meet Mr. Kahl. He liked him. He taught me excellence is a habit."

Kahl also had a knack for developing players. During the start of that 1994-1997 state run, Huntley's enrollment was in the 200-300 range, a far cry from current-day Red Raider numbers. In the last week I've heard stories about a left-handed middle and a 5-2 outside hitter, products of having a limited roster size.

"He made players out of the worst athletes he saw," Sellek said. "He would look at a girl regardless of talent and say she will go far. Nine times out of 10 she sure did."

As I mentioned earlier, Kahl was self-taught in the sport of volleyball. Those famous black-and-white composition notebooks he could be seen with? They were filled with intricate details on matches, practices and training. His daughter, Heidi, read me some of the entries out of a 1994 book. It's no wonder his team's were always prepared.

In addition to his own studying and creativity (he handcrafted jump boxes for training), he coached for the nationally known Sports Performance club. Kahl would make the hour drive from Huntley 3-4 days a week to further hone his craft. He won numerous national titles there.

"He was an outstanding coach," Sports Performance founder Rick Butler said. "He had a passion for the game. He was tough and hard-nosed, but every player who has ever played for him loved him. He made a big impression here. He cared a lot about the kids. He always tried to get the best out of you. He asked a lot from kids but he never asked anything less from himself."

Kahl leaves behind a quartet of people who he made the biggest impact on - his wife of 48 years, Cindy, daughters, Heather and Heidi (his daughters have four children between them), and son, Bryan. If there is a team mom Hall of Fame, Cindy Kahl certainly deserves to be in it.

"He never thought of those wins as his," Cindy Kahl said. "They were the girls.' He trained those girls hard. Early groups called him Sarge and then they called him Bear, but he was a gentle giant with a real soft side to him. He loved coaching and loved being around the kids."

As many know, Heather (Holmes) and Heidi (van Beveren) both went on to play Division I volleyball after Huntley. Both also coached after their playing days with Heather enjoying an eight-year run as head coach at Wake Forest University.

Heather, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 (and is healthy today), said her own medical struggles brought her even closer to her dad.

"He even found some humor in it," she said. "He said, 'If you want to follow closely in my footsteps this is not the way to go,'" she said with a laugh. "We had some serious talks between us after I was diagnosed. Our illnesses were something we could share and it's something we both understood. He battled and battled to the end. He worked 30 hours the week before he went into the hospital. He was my Superman. I wanted to be him. He was my everything. I didn't get married until I was 32 and a lot of that had to do with the fact I couldn't find anybody like him."

"He was our compass," Heidi said. "We're a little lost without him right now. You always wanted to do your best for him, no matter what. There are a lot of people who would run through brick walls for him. That was my dad. He was brilliant."

Remus always thought she had a unique relationship with Kahl. "He made me feel so special, like one of his daughters," she said. "He apparently made 500 other women feel the same way."

Lisa (Aschenbrenner) Lauer, a 1997 Huntley graduate who played on three state teams (and was in the last class that used the Redskins name), summed Kahl up perfectly.

"He was his own brand," she said. "Him and his family were Huntley High School. Our school was so small, yet he developed so many good players for so long. People used to joke that there must be something in the water. There wasn't anything in the water. It was all Larry Kahl."

Mike Miazga has been writing about sports in the Fox Valley for more than two decades. Email him at mjm890@gmail.com.