TIFFIN, OH (WTOL) - Tiffin coaching legend Roger "Buzz" Kirkhart passed away Monday at the age of 73, but his legacy is far from forgotten.
Buzz began coaching at Calvert High School in 1974. During his time there he led the school to five consecutive Sandusky Bay Conference Championships and two consecutive State Championships.
After leaving Calvert, Buzz then went on to Tiffin University, where he was the athletic director for four years.
Coach Kirkhart will always be loved and remembered by his players, but the most important thing he taught them was that what you do now is what matters.
"This is not the most important thing you are ever going to do. But it's the most important thing we're going to do together," Nick Fabrizio recalled Coach Kirkhart saying. "And you look at that and it's like in life and everything you do in every aspect… it was, you know, always give your best, always work hard, always be the most prepared."
The idea that whatever it is you're doing right now is the most important thing and that the people you share it with are an important part of that moment, that's the lesson Coach Kirkhart shared that will never age.
It doesn't matter that he wasn't the first to say it, for the young men at Calvert it stuck and will live on after he's gone.
But that's just the power and responsibility of coaches, to leave something behind that their students can use for life.
"I learned that who you surround yourself with, you know, kinda shows what kind of man you are," said Mike Somers.
It's the preparation for life that is the very reason these sports were put in schools. And when you lose sight of that, they're just games.
A viewing service for Kirkhart will be held Saturday, March 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Apostolic Christian Church in Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Memorial contributions can be made to Tiffin Calvert High School, 152 Madison St. Tiffin, Ohio 44883.
To read Kirkhart's full obituary, click here.
