Dear Coach Kirst,
You were one of the most beloved teachers and coaches at Hanover Park. You always went out of your way to say, "Hi," to all of the students you knew and even to the students you didn't know. You loved joking around with all the guys and calling them "Paesan," whether they were Italian or not. To you, anyone that went to HP was Italian.
I had played basketball for as long as I could remember, but my freshman year of high school I decided to quit so I'd have one season off from sports. That was until I met you, Coach Kirst. I walked into the gym one day after school waiting for my mom to come pick me up when the girls freshman basketball team was warming up for a game. You walked over and asked if I was from the other school. When I told you I wasn't, and I told you my name, you recognized me from summer open gyms and asked me if I wanted to do the book for that game. I figured why not. After that game, you told me I could have a spot on the team if I wanted it. After thinking it over, I decided to join the team. So much for having the season off, but that was when you became my coach. I'm so grateful you were.
You excelled in so many areas of life, however, remembering people's names was not one of those areas. When I first started playing for you, you couldn't remember my name to save your life. You would call me everyone else on the team before getting to my name. Sometimes you would even call me by my brother's name because you had him as a student before having me as a player. Eventually you decided that you were just going to call me by my last name.
Coach, you were so passionate about everything you did. You had the biggest personality and were always looking to make people happy. Everyone from HP remembers the day you came to school dressed as Snooki, or that every year when the choir came around singing Christmas carols you were always right beside them singing and dancing along.
The New Jersey high school sports community was shocked when you suddenly passed away in June 2015. I remember when I heard the news I couldn't believe it and didn't want to believe it was true. When the day of your wake finally arrived, it became clear how many people's lives you touched. Myself, along with countless others, waited nearly four hours to pay our respects to a wonderful teacher, coach and man. The obvious love for you didn't stop there, a memorial fund was made in your honor to help your family in this difficult time. Donations flooded in, raising nearly $400,000. Hanover Park and Bernardsville came together and had a memorial game this past season to celebrate your life.
Although you taught me how to be a better basketball player, that's not all you taught me. You taught me how to be a better person. You taught me to not take everything so seriously. You taught me to be confident and look people in the eye. You taught me that sometimes you have a plan and that it doesn't always work. You taught me so much and I will always remember the impact you had on me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Rest easy Coach.
