Beloved Guards coach dies

BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON HIGH — When it came to athletics at Bellarmine-Jefferson High, Hal Krug was the school’s go-to guy.

For 26 years, whether the school needed him to coach a particular team, serve as athletic director or someone required historical background about Bell-Jeff sports, Krug was always up to the task.

It is that dedication to the school, along with his gentle persona, his love for his players and his caring nature that many associated with the school say they will remember about Krug, who died Sept. 1 from complications following open-heart surgery in March. He was 80.

“When it came to Bell-Jeff sports, Hal was definitely the go-to guy,” Bell-Jeff Principal Sister Cheryl Milner said. “He coached many sports for us and he had a great deal of knowledge.

“He was also very dedicated to the school. You could always see Hal at many of our sporting events.”

Krug began his tenure at Bell-Jeff in 1976 and retired in 2002. Throughout his years at the school, Krug led various teams to league championships, CIF Southern Section playoff victories and helped prepare his share of athletes for college.

At various times in his career at Bell-Jeff, Krug coached football, baseball and volleyball, turning out a number of college student-athletes.

He coached the Guards football team for seven years and the baseball and girls’ volleyball teams for 15 seasons each. He also assisted with the girls’ softball program and the boys’ volleyball teams, working with Russ Johnson.

Krug, who was also a popular teacher at the school, won five league championships with the girls’ volleyball team and brought nine teams to the CIF playoffs.

In baseball, he led the team to one league title — in 1979 — and nine playoff appearances, including the program’s only CIF victory. He was also the school’s athletic director from 1976 to 1981 and played a key role in the construction of the school’s Keating Memorial Gymnasium.

“We were 0-28 in football the three years before I got here,” Krug said in an interview with the Leader when he retired in 2002. “Basketball and baseball had averaged two wins a year in the three previous years. Our school was rumored to be closing and we had no gym and the graduating classes were around 80 students.”

As the head football coach from 1978 to 1984, Krug posted a 26-32 record.

Krug coached the baseball team from 1976 to 1990 and went 162-141. In girls’ volleyball — which he coached from 1987 to 2001 — the Guards posted a 187-93 record.

“I always seemed to be lucky to find great athletes,” Krug said in 2002. “I had great quarterbacks and good pitchers and catchers. Of my setters, I only had about five of them in 15 years, they were all excellent.”

Those who worked alongside Krug over the years at Bell-Jeff have a wealth of fond memories about a man described as “big and burley, but with a caring heart and a love for his students.”

Eli Essa said he feels lucky to have worked with Krug at the school, and learned a lot from him.

“You have to understand that this was a man who knew nothing about volleyball when he took the job at Bell-Jeff,” said Essa, the Guards’ boys’ basketball coach. “But the school needed a coach, and Hal and Russ Johnson took over the duties.

“Those two went to many clinics and also learned about the sport through books.”

Essa said although Krug was apprehensive at first about tackling a new sport, he grew to enjoy volleyball.

“He told me that in all of his years of coaching, with all the different teams and sports he coached, that he got the most joy out of coaching girls’ volleyball,” Essa said. “He truly loved his players and they in turn loved and respected him.”

Essa said many might not know that Krug was a standout football player at Michigan State.

“I’m originally from Michigan, and Hal and I would talk a lot about Michigan and Michigan State football,” Essa said. “He would tell some great stories. That was another thing about Hal, he was a great storyteller.”

Sab Manente also has his share of precious memories about Krug. However, his respect for his former colleague and friend goes much deeper.

In the 1970s, Krug contacted him about serving as a junior varsity football coach at Bell-Jeff. But Manente wanted a full-time job, so Krug helped steer him into teaching.

“I really owe Hal for getting me into teaching, and really helping me find my life’s work,” said Manente, who is a teacher at Bell-Jeff.

“But that’s how Hal was. He would help you out if you needed it, and he was always there for the people around him — and his students. He was just a great guy.”

Bell-Jeff Athletic Director Bryan Camacho had the pleasure of working with Krug when he first took over the head duties in 2000. In addition, Krug was a coach and teacher when Camacho attended the school as a student before graduating in 1992.

Camacho said he was able to learn a great deal from Krug.

“He taught me how important it was to have passion, and really love what you do,” said Camacho, who is also the Bell-Jeff girls’ basketball coach. “I learned about hard work, respect and dedication from Hal.

“And those were a lot of the same things that he taught his students and the players on his teams. More than just sports, he taught life lessons, things you could use forever.”

Current Guards cross-country Coach Mike Morgan was one of Krug’s students. He said the school is forever indebted to him for what he accomplished at Bell-Jeff.

“What really tells you how important he was to the school is how many former players and students would come back to see him,” Morgan said. “He influenced so many people over the years.

“And if you go into our gym, he is the reason why a lot of those [league championship] banners are up there. He meant so much to our school.”

Long before his teaching and coaching career began during the 1970s, Krug enjoyed a life filled with success and accomplishments.

He earned a scholarship at play football at Michigan State, where he competed for two years. However, he left the school to join the Marines and saw combat in the Korean War.

After serving for four years, Krug took a job at General Motors, where he worked for more than 17 years. He worked as an executive in the Pontiac training division.

“Of all the years he spent working at [General Motors], it was nothing like the love he had for coaching and teaching,” said Kathy Krug, Hal’s daughter. “He just loved Bell-Jeff and he loved his players and his students.

“He really loved sports, and that was one of the reasons why he first went into coaching and teaching.”

“We all miss him very much.”

Along with his daughter, Krug is survived by his son, Jim, and two grandchildren, Kayla and James.

A memorial for Krug will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Robert Bellarmine Church (Fifth Street and Orange Grove Avenue). There will be a reception at Bell-Jeff following the memorial.