Year Inducted: 2011
Nominated By: Richard B. Lane (brother)
Sports Competed In: Football
Athlete, Coach or Contributor: Athlete, Coach
High School:
Attended Pueblo East, graduating in 1976...Played four years of football at defensive back for the Eagles (1972-76).
Achievements:
● Member of the Pueblo Crusaders, Semi-Pro team for a season playing defensive back (1987).
● Worked for one season each as the Pueblo Crusaders offensive coordinator (1988) and defensive coordinator (1989).
● One of the founding coaches of a new league formed called the Junior Football League (JFL) set up for junior-high level kids (1979).
Related Activities (Coaching):
Keith begin his coaching career as an assistant football coach (1981-88) and head track (1982-89) coach at Rye H.S. in Rye, Colorado for eight years ...Five out of the eight years Lane coached at Rye, the varsity team played in state semi-final games and lost to eventual state champion each time...During those years, Rye, as a 1-A school, produced four All-State players...In 1988, they had the state's leading rusher (Frank Whalen) regardless of classification...In 1986, three out of starting five interior linemen were chosen on first team all-league and the other two on the second team...He also coached the Thunderbolts boys Junior Varsity (JV) basketball team for seven seasons (1981-87)... In 1982, the Rye Varsity team won the 1-A State Championship...Also served as the head track coach at Rye...Lane moved to Pueblo in 1989 and became the head football coach for the next 11 years (1989-99) at Pueblo East H.S., where he posted a Win/Loss record of 53-61.....The Eagles made three straight football playoff appearances; reached state quarterfinals...In 1996, his Eagles beat the top-ranked 4A team, it was the first football playoff victory for East, a record that still stand...Brought home to East H.S. the coveted "Cannon" four straight years beginning in 1993, the first time the cannon was won by an East High Football team since 1982...Finished out his coaching career as the head football coaching job at Pueblo West H.S.(PWHS), a position he held for four years (2000-04)... Lane's Win/Loss record at PWHS was 14-36...Pueblo West had been in existence three years when Keith took over as the head football coaching duties...The team had just been moved from 2A to 3A classification, which in effect was a move up two classifications since four of the teams in the league had been in 4A and changed to 3A for two years (2000-2001)...He knew what it’d take to have a top-notch program and he and his assistant coaches set about to build a strong foundation upon which to build in the ensuing years...It was learning and building time for PWHS players and a challenge for the coaching staff but players and coaches never gave up...Other teams began to recognize them; in the early part of the 2002 season, PWHS was ranked 9th in the state 3A classification by The Rocky Mountain News...Players such as John Gersick, Matt Gersick, Steve Jordan were some who went on to college football, playing for Adams State College... In 2003, Keith also served part-time as the PWHS. Athletic Director, and 2004 served as the AD in addition to coaching duties...In 2005, he became Athletic Director full time.
Coaching Achievements:
● Coached Rye JV basketball team for seven season (1981-87) and won seven league championships, while posting an 84-25 win/loss record and never losing a league game.
● As the Thunderbolts head track coach, Lane's team were the League Champion eight consecutive years; Southeastern District Champion 1982 and 1987 and Southeastern District runners-up in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989.
● Keith's teams broke school records in the triple jump, long jump, high jump, two-mile, 800-meter run.
● Broke new record in the 100-meter dash in District competition (1985) that still stands in 1992.
● Named the South-Central League Football "Coach-of-the-Year" (1995) as head coach of Pueblo East H.S.
● Produced four All-State Players (John Reardon, Sol Garcia, Carlos Maes, George Carroll).
● One Rocky Mountain News All-Colorado Team Player (1996 - Receiver George Carroll), who went on to play for University of Northern Colorado.
Contributions:
● Worked two summers (1979-80) as the Assistant Director Baseball for the Pueblo Old Timers Baseball Association (POTBA).
● Serve as the Assistant Athletic Director at Pueblo West H.S. for one year (2003) before being promoted to Athletic Director for a position he has held since 2004.
● Guest Speaker at Nike "Coach-of-the-Year" Football Clinic (1996).
● Guest Speaker at Colorado All-State Football Clinic (1997).
● South-Central League President (1996-98).
● South-Central League representative for all-state selection committee.
Professional Affiliations and Achievements:
● Past President of South-Central League of Athletic Directors.
● Serves as a member on the Colorado High Schools Activities Association (CHSAA) Board of Control.
● Serves on the CHSAA Football Committee.
Keith has a connection to five championship teams in three different Sports:
● Assistant Basketball Coach: Rye H.S. State Championship Team (1982)
● Defensive Coordinator: Pueblo Crusaders Semi-Pro Football National Championship Team (1989)
● Athletic Director: Back-to-Back Pueblo West high School Girls State 4A Softball Champions (2004-05)
● Athletic Director 2007: Pueblo West H.S. State 4A Football Champions (2007).
Under Keith’s leadership, PWHS has built an exceptionally strong athletic program. In addition to the team championships referenced above, they have produced five individual State 4A wrestling champions for 2004-2008, an individual boys State 4A shot put champion in 2004, individual boys State 4A high-jump champion in 2005, individual boys State 4A golf champion in 2006...The volleyball teams have dominated locally, winners of multiple S-CL titles. The Cyclones are consistently strong contenders in baseball & in boys & girls basketball, soccer, swimming, tennis, cross-country. Four years ago, they added boys & girls lacrosse co-op teams (made up of all local high schools plus Canon City.).
Personal:
Keith, who is retired, lives in Pueblo with his wife, Vonda.
