PREP FOOTBALL: Leaving a legacy at Lakeland

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

The last time someone with the last name of Kiefer wasn’t the head coach of the Lakeland High football was in 1979.

That will change come kickoff this August.

Tim Kiefer, 49, stepped down after 19 seasons as coach on Monday. Tim’s father, Terry, was head coach at Lakeland for 25 seasons, in 1974 and ’75 and from 1980 to 2002, finishing with a 173-71-2 record and back-to-back state A-2 (now 3A) titles in 1988 and 1989.

“There’s a lot of things that factored into it,” Tim Kiefer said. “I think you hear coaches talk about wanting more free time for their family and wanting to do other things, and they’re applicable to me as well. From my perspective, my daughter (Addie, a senior) is going to college next fall and most likely going to be doing college sports. My younger daughter (Lila, a sophomore) plays volleyball, and I really don’t want to miss that stuff. My son (Harrison) and I have wanted to go to Alaska to go fishing, but we haven’t had any time to do that.”

While he’s stepping down as head coach, that doesn’t mean Tim Kiefer won’t be involved one way or another with the program.

“I’m not necessarily out of coaching, but I’m not sure about putting the time commitment into being the head coach right now,” he said. “I still want to be involved, but also want to scale it back a little bit.”

Tim Kiefer played on both of his dad’s state title teams, as a receiver and outside linebacker, graduating in 1990. He finished 74-105 in 19 seasons at his alma mater, and 80-117 overall after including two seasons as coach at Timberlake (2001-02).

Tim Kiefer's Lakeland teams made the playoffs eight times. He succeeded his father as head coach in 2003, Lakeland's last season in 3A; Lakeland moved up to 4A in 2004.

“It’s hard,” Tim Kiefer said. “Just looking at it from my perspective and being a little kid, pre-high school kid and bugging the high school players. All those things that come from being a kid of a coach and playing in the program and all of that, it played through my mind. But at some point, it had to come to an end. It was a big part of my life and will continue to be that. I just need to refocus and shake things up.”

“What an incredible legacy to have for Lakeland football,” Lakeland athletic director Matt Neff said. “They (Terry and Tim) been involved with the program for the longest time. Both are men of integrity and great individuals. You won’t find a lot of people that don’t have a lot of positives to say about them. We couldn’t be more grateful for the time they put into the program.”

During Tim’s time as head coach, Terry was an assistant for 16 years.

“My dad was careful and guarded with how he gave me advice,” Tim Kiefer said. “He had a good balance of helping and not helping, and letting me figure it out.”

Last fall, Lakeland finished 5-5, advancing to the state 4A playoffs and falling to eventual champion Skyline of Idaho Falls 42-21 in the opening round. The Hawks will return six all-league selections next fall.

“I didn’t even tell the kids face to face because I thought it was going to be too hard to do,” Tim Kiefer said. “I’d contemplated doing one more year, but then thought whoever steps into that spot, it would be the right thing to do to step away.”

Against Skyline, in a game played at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Lakeland led 14-7 at halftime and was tied 14-14 after three quarters. Skyline scored 28 straight points in the fourth before Lakeland scored again to close out the game.

As Tim Kiefer crossed the field, it was a different feeling.

“I thought we were playing well and then the wheels kind of fell off,” he said. “After the game, it just felt like that was it. Walking across the field, not that I knew at the time, but it just kind of felt like the last time I was going to be head coach.”

Kiefer will continue to be an assistant for the track and field program this spring.

“I’ve been honored to coach for so long at Lakeland,” he said. “I appreciate the support.”

Kiefer’s resignation is the second in the 4A Inland Empire League this offseason after Moscow football coach Phil Helbling resigned to spend more time with his family.

A search to name Kiefer’s replacement will begin soon.

“Hopefully we’ll get some good experienced candidates that can continue to grow the tradition,” Neff said. “It’s going to take some time to find the right coach, and we want to make sure we find the right coach. It’s definitely going to be a process that we don’t want to rush. We want to make sure we get it right for our community and players.”