The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Jan. 22, 2011

As a player, he was a legend.

Thanks to his tireless work ethic, he became legendary to those in the Silver Valley.

After the man who made the buses run in the small community of Wallace, and who coached the Wallace High girls basketball team passed away on Thursday, some former Wallace basketball players are remembering Kirby Krulitz as the man who always had a smile on his face.

Krulitz, 63, died Thursday afternoon following a massive heart attack.

KRULITZ WAS an assistant boys basketball coach to Dick Lilienkamp at Wallace and then was a girls assistant coach under his twin brother, Art, before taking over the girls varsity team in 2005 after Art retired from coaching.

Krulitz guided the Wallace girls to four straight state 1A tournaments, finishing second in 2006. He was also a standout player on the boys basketball team for Mullan, helping the school win a state 1A title in 1965 and later being honored as a Legend of the Game by the Idaho High School Activities Association.

"Kirby was an amazing man," said Cara Hayman, point guard on that state runner-up team in '06, and a 2008 Wallace High graduate. "He had a huge impact on my life, not only as a coach, but for the person he was. He was a man who seemed invincible to me, so strong and always in control. I loved Kirby with all of my heart."

Hayman was a four-year starter for the Miners, three coming with Kirby as head coach.

"Kirby will truly be missed by many family, friends, athletes and the whole community," Hayman said. "I just remember when I would put that jersey on, he would look me in the eye and there was just a twinkle - no words were spoken, but a thousand were said from the look he gave me. He drove me 100 percent all the time from that look, on and off the court."

"Kirby was such an amazing individual," said Lisa Carver, another '08 grad and a three-year starter. "He was so much more than just a basketball coach to every single one of us girls. He was an excellent role model that we all looked up to."

CARVER AND Krulitz could often be found playing a game of P-I-G or H-O-R-S-E before practices.

“I can remember Kirby and I getting into some pretty heated games,” Carver said. “I also remember throwing a fit when I lost those games to him. You come across very few people in your lifetime that you look up to and have an amazing amount of respect for, not only on a basketball court — but in every aspect of life. Kirby was one of those people. I am proud and extremely lucky to have had him as a coach and even luckier to have known him as a person.”

“I am honestly speechless,” said Ashlee (Maravilla) Myles, a two-year varsity player who graduated in ’07. “I have been up all night thinking about him and how much I have learned from him. To think of this poor guy trying to teach a bunch of high school girls how to play basketball. Kirby had to hear things he NEVER wanted to hear, but thankfully he had girls and knew where we were coming from.”

KRULITZ’S INFLUENCE on Myles extended past her playing days.

“I remember him telling me what a great mom I would be,” Myles said. “When I showed up at the gym to keep the clock for an eighth-grade basketball game, Kirby was the first one I ran into — big-fat pregnant — and he just lit up. The next year, I showed up with a little baby and Kirby and Jone (his wife) could not tell me enough how proud they were of me. I still can’t believe that I will not see Kirby at the next game, but heaven gained an amazing coach, father, husband and friend.”

Krista Williams, another ’08 grad who went on to play basketball at Dawson Community College in Glendive, Mont., said that her time with Krulitz was something she’ll never forget.

“He was the absolute best coach I’ve had,” Williams said. “I became the player I am today because of how hard he pushed me. He never gave up on me and believed that I had the potential to go all the way. I played college ball because of him and thank him so much for the work he put in on me.”

Even after losing the state 1A championship game in 2006, Krulitz had a smile on his face.

“He was always there to lend a hand or give you a hug,” Williams said. “I will never forget the smile on his face and the hug he gave me after our second-place finish at state. He was a role model to me and he was very rare. There will never be another Kirby, and I miss him so much. Not only was he our coach, but also our friend.”

GROWING UP in the Wallace area, the memories of Kirby are endless for me, and not just on the basketball court.

I never had to worry about listening to the radio as a kid about school being postponed. It was simple — if I heard Kirby’s old brown truck heading to work, no kid was staying home that day.

He was also really good about hanging around after a game to speak with me as a writer in the Silver Valley — outside of cutting an interview short to catch a flight to Los Angeles to join his kids at an AC/DC concert.

While he may have had a twin, Kirby was one of a kind.

Friendly, caring and a loving father, husband and coach.

There isn’t a person in Wallace he didn’t impact.

Or will soon forget him.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via e-mail at jelliott@cdapress.com.