Kerry Kelly steps down at ML

Kerry Kelly, Medical Lake's head baseball coach since 2011, announced his intention to resign from the position in a letter to school athletics director Justin Blayne on June 5.

Citing health concerns of both his mother and himself, Kelly, who turns 53 next month, said, "I think it just came down to, it's a good time."

"It wasn't an easy decision, I love coaching at the high school and the Medical Lake community," Kelly said. "I'm still very rooted there," he added.

Kelly will remain involved with Medical Lake's summer American Legion program, assisting a trio of coaches, Rob Beamer, Todd Soliday and Austin Sharp, craft the strategy.

"I feel really good about those three guys and any of the three could run a program if they desire to do so," Kelly said.

His tenure with the Cardinals has included a memorable 2013 Northeast A League regular season title and a run to the quarterfinals of the state tournament. That came after a 1-17 season in 2012. In seven seasons he had an overall record of 76-68 with five playoff appearances.

Thus ends a career as a head baseball coach that began in 1997 in his native San Diego area at Orange Glen High School. He followed his mother, Lynne, in the profession as she coached high school softball. Kelly moved to the West Plains in 2007.

He spoke of a recent conversation with his mom that aided his decision. "She and I had a long talk on Mother's Day, I started leaning that way around that time," Kelly said.

Kelly also talked openly about his past year for the first time. It included spending five months on his own version of the "disabled list" after undergoing open-heart surgery last September to replace a malfunctioning valve.

"Quite honestly, with my own stuff, my heart surgery, this was kind of a physically challenging year, just from a standpoint of energy and doing what I need to do," Kelly said.

He stumbled across the problem about a year ago after ignoring symptoms he knew he should have heeded.

"I knew something was wrong but I really didn't go in (to the doctor) for my heart," Kelly explained, adding that it was a routine trip for a vaccine where the red flag flew.

After tests showed the need for a closer look at why Kelly was not feeling well, he said, "I'll never forget his face," adding his doctor told him, "Kerry, you failed your test and you failed it miserably."

"This is the scary part," Kelly said. "They told me I was a walking time bomb, and then they sent me home for two weeks. I'm like, 'Thanks a lot,'" he added.

"The symptoms leading up to the surgery, I was really struggling," he said. "If I could give advice to anybody - and if anyone asked me I would give them some advice - listen to your body."

When he finally went to the doctor, he was told, "My aortic valve distributing my blood was pumping at 11 percent. His doctor said "I don't know how you made it this far?"

That brought to light periods in the past where several times Kelly thought he was going to pass out. "What's going on, why (are) you sweating, why (are) you breathing so hard, you haven't been yelling?" Kelly recalled.

"It was pretty darn lucky, I'll say that," he said.

Along with tending to his mother, Kelly is far from fully retired as he works a crazy overnight shift for Costco making sure the warehouse is fully stocked. The shift generally starts at 2 a.m.

While his time on the sidelines was not all that fun, it did give him an opportunity to catch up on things, like seeing the World Series and watching the NFL.

And with his springs no longer tied to preparing for a new high school baseball season, Kelly plans to check off a major bucket list item.

"I think I'd like to go see Spring Training, take some time and go to Peoria (Arizona), because the (San Diego) Padres are my team," Kelly said.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].