After over 40 years of coaching, Lake Hamilton head cross country and track and field coach Karl Koonce will be taking a well-earned break.
A press release from the school district announced Koonce will be retiring at the end of the school year, having been on staff at the school since 1981.
"This time a year ago, I was contemplating it, but I wasn't sure," he said Thursday. "Somebody told me before that you'll know when it's time. Last year, I didn't know. I think I know."
The announcement took many by surprise. Many fellow coaches, former athletes and parents spoke with him Thursday afternoon at the Lakeside Ram Relays.
"I heard somebody say, 'You've still got a lot of energy.' That's just it: I don't want to be one of those people that lose that energy before I retire," he said. "I don't want to be where I'm not doing my job well. I think it's time."
Koonce said that there were several things that went into his decision to retire.
"It's 46 years of this," he said. "I need to slow down a little bit. It's getting a little more stressful. It's nothing negative that's going on. Everything's fine. I'm looking forward to just a little more free time and getting up in the morning and doing what I want to do. Not that I don't enjoy what I'm doing, because I do, but it's kind of hard to explain."
The 67-year-old coach has plenty of plans for his retirement, including fishing, but he also wants to stay close to the sport
"I can do some other things," he said. "I'm not going to sit around watching TV all the time. I've got other things I want to do. I'm going to still be involved in the sport.
"I do want to exercise my wrist a little bit more out on the lake fishing. I'm not going to fish every day. I've got some retired buddies who've said, 'Let's go.' I'm looking forward to spending some time doing some fishing as well as some other things."
Koonce admitted that it was hard to try to find one thing that stands out from a career that includes 29 state championships and 45 state runner-up titles at Lake Hamilton.
"I knew you were going to ask me that," he said. "That's hard. I don't know.
"I guess the most recent state championship is the most memorable. Last year, (it was) very memorable winning both boys and girls track. Maybe because it's the most recent, but I cherish them all."
Koonce said that last year's state championship stands out because all of his athletes were celebrating the win as opposed to either the boys or girls coming in second or third.
"Probably what comes to mind is that state championship last year because it's the most recent track one and both of them at the same time," he said. "Everybody was celebrating. ... They rallied around each other toward the end, and they supported each other. That was something I took a lot of pride in, too: everybody was rallying around them."
One point of pride for the long-time Wolf coach is the fact that he gets to work with many former students and athletes.
"This may sound funny, but one of the things I take a lot of pride in is being able to have a coaching staff full of my former students and athletes," he said. "Not all of them, but a bunch of them are. I take a lot of pride in that, and in the classroom.
"Five of our science teaching staff are my former students -- I taught them biology or anatomy and physiology or coached. I don't claim that I got them into teaching science, but at least I didn't scare them away from it too bad. It's fun to serve on a teaching staff with some former students. That's pretty much what it is with me now; I'm the old guy on the block, and that's OK."
In addition to his team's accomplishments, Koonce has plenty to be proud of on his own merits. He was named Arkansas Coach of the Year 18 times, a five-time Section Coach of the Year for Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado, National Coach of the Year for Boys Track in 2009 and was the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association State Cross Country Coach of the Year last season, among many others.
He has also coached 12 All-Americans in track and field, started the Arkansas All Star Cross Country team and, along with University of Arkansas coach John McDonnel, started the Arkansas-Oklahoma All Star Competition in 1994. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Lake Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame, and he will be inducted into the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in July.
One of Koonce's high school records still stands at Genoa Central in the 880-yard (now the 800-meter) dash, and he still holds multiple records at Henderson State University, noting that he was disappointed that the university no longer has a track and field program.
"There's a young man there that has his eyes on it," he said of his high school record. "That's the good thing about school records: it's a motivator. Kids see that record, and that's what they want. They want their name on that wall. From watching him run, he's got a good shot at it."
The biggest thing for Koonce in his retirement comes down to one thing: "And of course, I'll be a big Wolf fan."
"Without interfering, I'll be a Wolf fan."
Sports on 03/29/2019