Willis named Kaneland softball coach

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Kaneland filled its varsity girls softball coaching position internally, announcing Tuesday that Brian Willis is the Knights’ new coach.

Willis brings a diverse coaching background to the position. In addition to coaching Kaneland boys basketball and boys soccer at the lower levels, Willis has managed and coached in a slow-pitch men’s softball program for eight years. He also has coached softball and football in other districts.

“He’s firm but he’s fair and he loves the kids,” Kaneland athletic director Leigh Jaffke said. “That’s what I heard from the freshman boys basketball parents last year. Just the fact that he treats them with dignity and respect and that he wants more from them than just becoming better players. He wants them to become better people.”

A driver’s ed and physical education teacher at Kaneland, Willis is in his ninth year at the school.

"It was something I wanted all summer. ... You go through interviews all the time and something you think, 'Ah, this isn't a big deal,' but this one I really wanted," Willis said.

Willis takes over the program from Dennis Hansen, who coached softball and boys basketball at Kaneland before resigning under pressure last spring after a school investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior.

Hansen was suspended midway through the softball season. Ken Neahring was named interim coach for the rest of the year but Neahring, a retired teacher, decided to step away from the program, Jaffke said. Willis served as an assistant with Neahring for the later stages of the season.

A news release from the school said that Willis “believes that every person associated with Kaneland softball will responsibly conduct themselves in a way that will promote a positive environment.”

Kaneland went 27-9 last season and figures to return a formidable team led by sisters Delani and Rilee Vest.

"There's a lot of good talent coming up," Willis said. "This wasn't a situation where I had to start from the bottom of the barrel."

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