After 25 years at Santa Fe Trail High, honoring longtime football coach Bob Von Stein will be easy.

It’s moving on that will be tough.

“He was the consummate professional when it came to football,” SFT athletic director and former assistant football coach Braden Anschutz said. “He had very high standards, but had a very good way of balancing football and what else was important.”

Von Stein, whose coaching resume includes nine years at Olpe, also was the head boys basketball coach at SFT — one of the last coaches above Class 2-1A to lead both sports. Among the speakers during the ceremony at 2 p.m. today at the high school are SFT graduate Debbie Glenn Carrier and former Olpe coach Bill Cowan.

Von Stein never won a state championship, but his 231 career wins place him 11th all-time among Kansas high school coaches. His teams won at least 10 games five times and advanced to the state playoffs in 13 seasons.

Twice — once at Olpe, once at SFT — his teams won 12 games and finished as state runner-up.

But those marks weren’t what distinguished Von Stein.

“I’m not so sure Bob was that infatuated with his record,” Anschutz said. “I think his main focus in all those years was to develop character and develop good people after they got out of high school.”

It’s a tough act to follow for new head coach Dave Watkins.

Watkins, who has coached the Charger baseball team since 2000, was an assistant coach at Wamego and head coach at Waverly before coming to SFT.

In the short time he has known Von Stein, Watkins said he had learned more than just football.

“He’s a fantastic person,” Watkins said. “He’s not really a football coach, but a guy that’s committed to helping his players grow.”

That’s the thing that stuck with Watkins — and will be his focus as he takes over the program.

“If I can be half the coach,” Watkins said, “and do half the things he did with players as individuals, I’ll be very successful.”