Jerry Moran: “the residents of Hill City, KS, a county seat town in Northwest Kansas will experience something new next winter: a new…”

“the residents of Hill City, KS, a county seat town in Northwest Kansas will experience something new next winter: a new boys basketball coach will be on the sidelines for the Hill City Ringnecks. After 58 seasons as the head coach of Hill City High School, Keith Riley has officially retired. Today, I pay tribute to his career, not just as a coach on the basketball court and the track field, but also as a teacher in the classroom. His success was the result of his genuine interest in the well-being of the students who walked the halls of Hill City High School. Whether kids played for him or simply took his industrial arts classes, Coach Riley sought to help them achieve their full potential. Like so many educators, he cared about his students, and they knew he cared. He freely gave his time to kids who asked to spend an extra hour in the evening shooting hoops or a Sunday afternoon in the spring learning to pole-vault. When class projects were due at the end of the school year, he stayed in the woodworking shop late into the evening so his students could apply that last coat of varnish. Under his leadership, Coach Riley's team won more than 800 games and 3 State titles--plus another 6 track and field championships--and his students won class projects; they won competitions there. In those seasons where there was less success, his expectations for his players remained unchanged. Talent wasn't required to play hard and do the fundamentals well.”