Travis Keal is the founder of Mill Valley High School’s wrestling program and a long-time educator in USD 232.
And soon, he’ll have another career achievement: the Hall of Fame.
Keal is set to officially be inducted later this year at the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association’s banquet set for October.
“I never thought of myself that way,” Keal told the Shawnee Mission Post. “I just showed up and worked, but it’s nice to get recognized for your efforts and your hard work.”
He built the Jaguar wrestling team from scratch
- Keal first came to USD 232 to teach and coach at De Soto High School in the late 1990s but made the jump to Mill Valley the year that school opened in 2000.
- At the time, he and other teachers also took on the task of building up the school’s now-award winning athletic programs. He’s one of the few left in the building from that founding generation.
- Within a few years of its opening, Mill Valley had its first individual wrestling state medalist.
- In 2020, Mill Valley won its first boys wrestling team state title, and it has racked up a number of top-10 finishes over the last decade. Also in 2020, the team was recognized as a high-performing academic program.
It began with a sticky note
- In the early days, Keal had a sticky note pinned up in his office that listed out the values of wrestling he wanted to permeate the team — build a championship program daily, improve all wrestlers each day, stick to the program’s philosophy and win championships.
- That original sticky note, handwritten in pencil and faded, has since been laminated.
- Over time, the wrestling team at Mill Valley also came to stand with core pillars that included “academics, accountability, attitude, positioning and technique.”
- All of that went a long way toward creating what Keal calls “championship moments,” for his athletes over the years. Those could happen at a state meet, in a classroom or even be a milestone broken at practice.
- And in the end, that ties into the legacy Keal said he hopes he’s left as a coach who “helped kids be the best version of themselves and build character through the sport of wrestling.”
Keal stepped back from coaching last year
- After his twin sons graduated from Mill Valley in 2020, Keal decided it was time to retire from coaching in 2022.
- “That takes a lot of energy, effort, time away from family to build a championship program the right way,” he said. “I didn’t know if I could sustain that energy level as I got older.”
- Now, he’s enjoying more time with his wife and daughter, who currently attends Olathe West High School.
- He’s also putting more time into his side business, which offers mentorship for coaches and coach training for school districts.
- Plus, both of his sons are wrestling at the college level, and Keal wants to watch them compete.
Keal plans to retire from education altogether in a few years
- Keal is still teaching PE at Mill Valley for now.
- However, he said his days as a teacher are numbered — he expects to retire from the profession in the next two years.
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