Keller’s dream comes true at Columbus

COLUMBUS JUNCTION - Joel Keller always dreamed of one day being the head wrestling coach at his alma mater.

The 2008 graduate of Columbus Community High School just never imagined it would happen quite this fast.

Keller, who is 29 years old, took over as head coach of the Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union program last fall when Hall of Fame coach Bill Plein, who had coached the Wildcats to 403-87-1 dual-meet record and five consecutive state team championships during his 28 years, stepped down to take over the head coaching job of the Notre Dame-West Burlington/Danville program.

For Keller, who previously coached the Columbus/W-MU junior high team and was an assistant coach at the varsity level, it was the natural next step.

'It's something I've always wanted to do. Now I'm a part of it. I get to work with the kids every day and then we get to come in and wrestle every day at the school,” Keller said. 'I wrestled from 2005-07. I wrestled for Coach Plein. I learned a lot of things. I learned responsibility, accountability. Most importantly control what I can control. Give it my best every time, whether that's teaching a lesson or coaching kids or raking leaves.”

The Keller family has a long history with Columbus wrestling program. Joel's father, Gary Keller, wrestled for the Wildcats back in the 1980s. When his sons - Joel, Jake and Josh - got old enough, he got them started in the sport.

One of the Columbus wrestlers Keller looked up to when he was younger was Derick Ball, who is now the head wrestling coach at Highland High School, one of Columbus/W-MU's biggest rivals.

'I liked watching Derick Ball,” Keller said. 'He was fun to watch. I liked watching Zack Pugh. He was a go-getter. Those are guys that inspire you. You want to be just like them.”

Joel Keller went on to play football at Iowa Wesleyan for a couple of years before completing his English degree and landing a job at Columbus as a junior high English instructor. He wanted to give back to the sport, so he joined the wrestling staff, which also included assistant coach Andy Milder, who is helping guide Keller as an assistant coach this season.

'He's been around the whole time since Plein started,” Keller said of Milder. 'He was actually my Dad's best man. It's almost like a family business. We're very close. I wouldn't want to do it without him.”

Keller is learning that with the head coaching job comes more responsibility, more paperwork and more dealing with parents, administrators and officials.

'Little details. A little more responsibility here and there. The unpredictableness of being a head coach,” Keller said. 'That's probably the biggest thing. I was about as prepared as I could be, but every day there seems to be something new coming at me. It's been a learning experience.”

One of the first thrills Keller got to have as an assistant coach was getting to coach his younger brother, Josh. It was a unique opportunity for both.

'I got to coach Josh. That was a real learning experience,” Joel Keller said. 'It's been a family business. It's something we enjoy. We're still always wrestling around. They are both supporting us and supporting the Columbus Wildcats. They are also two of my biggest critics. I value what they say.”

One of the first duals of Keller's head coaching career came against his mentor, Plein, in a quadrangular Dec. 18 at Winfield.

While Plein got the better of him - ND-WB/Danville handed the Wildcats a 46-34 setback - it was an experience Keller won't soon forget.

'That was fun,” Keller said. 'I never dreamed I'd be coaching against him. That opportunity was a lot of fun. It's always a learning experience competing with him. I can't wait for the next one.”

So just where does Keller see the program heading into the future? Well, he was part of the Columbus tradition growing up, so he hopes to live up to the high standards already in place.

'The next steps for the program are continuing what we already had planned and making sure everything was going to fall in line,” Keller said. 'We are going to continue just like we have every year. Different faces. We've always been tremendously consistent at Columbus, just different faces and that's all it's been this year.”

With Columbus blue running in his veins now as a head coach after being an athlete, his dream has been fulfilled.

'It's an honor,” he said of the opportunity. 'I'll be a Wildcat for life. I didn't know if I'd ever get this opportunity to come back and teach and coach. I thought it might be when I was 40 or 50, but I've been able to do it since I was a rookie. It's been a dream come true.”

Matt Levins contributed to this story