THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Timing right for Lake City to honor longtime football coach Troxel

It was a no-brainer, whenever it was decided the time is right.

Lake City High officials decided the right time was now.

This fall, the football field at Lake City High will be named Van Troxel Field, after the coach who started the Timberwolf football program when the school opened in 1994.

“We’re approaching 30 years as a school, and there’s just a feeling that we need to honor people that helped build Lake City High School, and he’s one of them,” Lake City athletic director Troy Anderson said. “Obviously his work ethic and track record spoke for itself, but the amount of … the type of family he built when he was here at Lake City High School, it’s something that we always want to honor and remember. It’s kind of something we strive for.”

TROXEL, A Moscow High grad, came to Lake City after 15 years coaching high school football in Montana.

At Lake City, he posted an overall record of 142-85-1 in 22 seasons. He guided the Timberwolves to the state playoffs 17 times, including 16 straight seasons from 1997-2012.

Under Troxel, Lake City played in four state championship games, winning a state 4A title in 2002 and a state 5A crown in 2006 — the Timberwolves’ lone undefeated season (12-0).

“There’s something to be said about being the first,” Anderson said. “He built a program from scratch, and it goes all the way to winning state titles. But not only that, the amount of playoff appearances he had, consecutive. I think people forget how impressive that is. You could never have a down year.

“It’s a blueprint for what we want to be in our building, and what we strive for as coaches and teachers. He’s just a very significant person in Lake City history, along with the two others — Jim Winger (former boys basketball coach and athletic director) and John Brumley (former principal), to be honest.”

THE IDEA to honor Troxel, Anderson said, came from a combination of folks — Lake City alumni, past coaches, current coaches, administration, etc.

Led by Anderson and principal Deanna Clifford, Lake City wrote to the Coeur d’Alene School Board in support of Troxel, and the school board voted Oct. 9 to OK the naming of the field in Troxel’s honor.

Anderson graduated from Lake City in 2001, and returned to the high school in 2010 as a teacher and coach.

“As a high schooler, he was an inspirational leader in our building,” Anderson recalled. “He was the cornerstone of anything that had to do with spirit, and our student body. He was grabbing the spirit stick (at the assemblies) when I was a senior in high school, and he was grabbing the spirit stick my first year of teaching at Lake City. He was just the lifeblood of excitement in the building.”

Anderson did not play football for Troxel, but coached JV and freshman football under Troxel for several years.

“Van was one of the more demanding coaches you could ever coach for,” Anderson said. “But then, you would go to a team dinner, and he would welcome you in with a big ol bear hug … he was a caring person, but was also demanding on the field. He balanced that pretty well.

“He did not necessarily care about your knowledge of Xs and Os in football, he cared how good of a teacher are you, and how much can you inspire young men,” Anderson added. “That’s almost what he went out and looked for first in some of those coaches. He was really good at building a young staff.”

A FEW weeks ago, Lake City had a “Heroes Night” as part of its football game vs. Sandpoint, where the players invited their hero (a teacher, a parent, whoever) to the game. Coaches did the same.

Troxel was invited as the “hero” of current Lake City head football coach Byron Hout, who played for Troxel at Lake City, graduating in 2008.

Since Hout took over as head coach at his alma mater this season, he has leaned on Troxel for advice, and Troxel, retired and living in Spokane, has been present at several Lake City games this season.

“It just feels like the full circle of probably the best player he (Troxel) has ever coached, and one of the most inspirational leaders (Hout) coming into the building and coaching for us now,” Anderson said. “To see it come full circle, it just made it feel right.”

As for helping out his former player …

“It’s hard for him not to take a headset these days, but he’s doing his best,” Anderson said.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.