He lived, he loved ... and they'll never forget

(Photos by Michael Fischer) Players and coaches hold hands along with armbands to honor Rick Kaiser, an assistant coach who died at a hospital in Rochester, Minn. on Sunday.

Sports Editor

He was fun-loving and supportive. He was an encourager, and positive above all else. He had all the characteristics a person who helped teach young people should have.

Spencer/Emmetsburg assistant soccer coach Rick Kaiser's life was cut short Sunday, April 20, at Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Minn. after the 51-year-old had battled cancer for a little more than a month.

"He doesn't have any more pain. Now he just has a better seat to watch our games," said Spencer/Emmetsburg co-captain Abby Salton.

Salton, her Tiger teammates and head coach Tom Van Tassell, in the midst of a 3-1 season, were forced to pick up the pieces of their broken hearts, stepping back onto the field Tuesday, just 24 hours after learning of the death of their coach.

"Rick was very important to, not just the girls team, but to a lot of the soccer players in high school and to me. I miss him a lot," said Van Tassell, who is also a minister in Spencer. "We knew that he would want us to carry on and keep loving the game ... and take care of each other."

Kaiser had been diagnosed with liver cancer the first week of March. He had surgery to remove a portion of his liver, his gall bladder and lymph nodes.

After an up-and-down couple of weeks, Kaiser was put in intensive care on Monday, April 14. Saturday, April 19, Van Tassell visited his assistant coach and friend in the Rochester hospital where doctors informed Van Tassell and Kaiser's family that they had done all they could.

Less than 24 hours later, Kaiser was gone.

"We had planned to give the girls the latest update on Monday, to tell them that nothing else could be done," said Van Tassell. "We never got that chance."

Kaiser spent his life as a major advocate of the game he coached. And he instilled his love of soccer into his players.

"We play a game that we love and that Rick loved. But all of us involved in high school athletics also know that there's more important stuff in life than the game," Van Tassell said. "We can have our ups and downs as a team, but we can learn from things. In sports, we learn about tragedy and joy and how to encourage each other and take care of each other."

Kaiser's death took the players by surprise. They knew he was sick, they just didn't know how serious it truly was.

"We always thought he was going to get better," said Kelly Gerdeman, a junior forward on the Tigers' varsity team.

"We never expected this," added junior varsity stopper Kari Echtenkamp, "we thought he would eventually come back to us."

"Rick always seemed like he could do anything, which is why we thought he would get better," said Madella Smith, a starting midfielder on the team.

Kaiser's friends and family said their final goodbyes Friday at his funeral service at Sacred Heart Church in Spencer. Kaiser is survived by his wife, Lorraine; his daughter, Megan, a student at the University of Iowa; and his son, Nate, a student at Iowa State University.

"There was nobody else like Rick -- he was one of a kind," said Salton.

"Personally I'm just kind of selfish -- I just want him back," sophomore forward Carolyn Gerdeman said, trying to fight off the tears as she and her teammates shared memories of Kaiser Wednesday at the Spencer Soccer Complex.

To the Spencer/Emmetsburg girls soccer team, Kaiser was more than just a coach. He had built his reputation within the Spencer soccer family as a positive role model. He built that reputation on love, encouragement and understanding. And to his players, Kaiser, who stood at 6-3, was larger than life.

"He was a great big teddy bear," Spencer junior Emily Johnson said with a smile as her teammates unanimously agreed.

"He cared about you as more than a soccer player," Smith said. "You were an extension of his family."

"He was someone you could really joke around with, too," said Carolyn Gerdeman. "There are a lot of coaches who are aggressive, and that's why high school girls quit sports. But Rick was always encouraging. He always tried to lift us up no matter what."

"I'm always hard on myself, but he was always there to pick me up and tell me to stick with it," added Sam Caven, a defender on the Spencer/Emmetsburg varsity team."

His actions often spoke louder than his words.

"He supported everyone no matter what they were in," said starting varsity defender Kelsey Nielsen, agreeing with teammate Carolyn Gerdeman who said, "he even came to our stupid JV basketball games, which nobody ever came to."

"It was always nice to look up and see him in the stands," Nielsen added.

And it's one particular action that none of the Spencer/Emmetsburg girls will ever forget.

"After varsity games, he would be standing on the sidelines with his arms wide open," said Nielsen, spreading her arms to mimic Kaiser's post-game ritual. "He was just waiting for us to run off the field and give him a big group hug -- that was so cool.

"He was always there for us. How much he cared really meant a lot."

To the players, Kaiser was someone they could trust.

"If he didn't know you, he would take the time to get to know you," said Molly Clasing, a midfielder and one of the few Emmetsburg girls on the team. "He was always a shoulder to cry on. He was definitely always my shoulder to cry on."

"He always knew when there was something wrong and he would squeeze it out of you," said Spencer junior Emily Johnson. "He always wanted to know how we were doing. And he would always listen if there was something wrong."

Even when he found out about his cancer, the Spencer/Emmetsburg girls soccer team stayed at the top of Kaiser's priority list.

Through his recovery following his surgery, Kaiser managed to attend two of the Tigers' games. And when it came time for team pictures, and the regular team pasta suppers, Rick was right there with Van Tassell and the girls.

"He could barely walk, he was so sick. But he was there," said Hannah Brockshus, recalling team picture day. "And he was more worried about my concussion than he was about himself."

"I asked him how he was doing and he changed the subject right back to us," said Salton, snapping her fingers for emphasis. "Not for one second did he want us to worry about him."

"At one game, Rick was on the sidelines and Tom asked the trainer, Kevin Carlson if he had heard about Rick's surgery," Smith explained.

"Rick interrupted and said, 'Yeah, I got a nose job,'" Smith continued, drawing a laugh from her teammates with a typical story of Kaiser's quick wit.

For a team that has won 17 games compared to six losses since the start of the 2007 season, the Spencer/Emmetsburg girls believe Rick had a little bit more to do with their success than just his coaching skills.

"He was our good luck charm," said Brockshus. "And he was the reason most of us played."

Kaiser, it turns out, truly was the reason many Spencer/Emmetsburg girls decided to give soccer a chance.

"He's the one who got me to do soccer and that's why I'm still doing it now," said Jimi Anderson, echoing the sentiments of Grace Gould, who said she would never have played soccer if it weren't for Kaiser.

Kaiser also had a big impact on the Tigers' team chemistry.

"He kept us together," said Brockshus, who explained that, "a bunch of high schools girls in one place isn't always the easiest thing to handle."

"He really was our glue," Salton added.

With their emotions on their sleeves -- each member of the Spencer/Emmetsburg soccer team will wear a black wristband for the rest of the season in remembrance of Kaiser -- the Tigers took the field 48 hours after the death of their beloved coach in honor of him.

"We want to celebrate Rick's impact on our lives and play for him," Van Tassell said.

And they took the field to a song they will use as inspiration, one they will use to remember Kaiser.

"Just like the song says, we live, we love, we forgive, we never give up," said Van Tassell, reciting the lyrics of 'We Live,' a song written by the Christian band Superchick. "It reminds us that every day is a gift and we need to make the most of it."

Fully believing that their good luck charm was looking on from somewhere else, somewhere better, the Tigers posted a shutout win -- a feat they duplicated two days later to improve to 5-1.

"The goals seemed sweeter last night because they were for Rick," Salton said Wednesday.

Even in his death, Kaiser continued to teach the Spencer/Emmetsburg team, and the girls say his memory has brought them closer still.

"It's tough having him gone, but it was sad seeing him hurt so much," said Smith. "It was still him, but he didn't have enough energy to really be Rick.

"He wasn't ever bitter," Smith added, saying Kaiser stayed true to form. "He was positive through and through."

They'll miss his compassion and his encouragement. They'll miss his trail mix and Oreos on the bus, and his chocolates during the games. They'll miss seeing him stroll the sidelines in his baby blue baseball cap. And they'll certainly miss that great big group hug after games, and that shoulder to cry on.

But the Spencer/Emmetsburg girls will take comfort in knowing and believing that their good luck charm, their glue, their teddy bear, is looking on from that "better seat."

And because of their memories, Rick will never truly be gone.

"His voice will echo in the stands forever," said Echtenkamp.