Koester took over the THS program for the 1982-83 season and set the tone for success immediately, as his first squad went 24-5 and advanced to the state tournament.

That was simply the beginning of a legendary career.

He never had a losing season, finishing with a 652-88 overall record, an almost unimaginable 88 percent winning percentage and an average of 27 wins per year. That included six seasons of 30 or more victories.

In 24 years, Koester’s teams won 23 regional championships, 13 sectionals and 13 super sectionals. In 13 state tournament trips, the Lady Shoes won Class A titles in 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1995. The 1988 squad went a perfect 32-0 and the three back-to-back-to-back state championship teams proved to be nearly unbeatable, posting a 93-2 overall mark.

The Lady Shoes were also state runner-up four times and brought home a third place trophy once.

In other words, THS was the most dominant girls basketball program in the state during Koester’s tenure.

Thompson is in the process of collecting memorabilia to place inside the shadow box, which could be as large as 46 x 42. She hopes to have team pictures from all 24 of Koester’s teams. She also plans to include a photo of the former coach, plus a list of his records, a poem written by some former players and the medals from each of his five state championships.

“I want this to be something real special for him and his family,” Thompson said.

She is asking for help collecting the team photos. She has some already, but is still missing the pictures from several years.

“I know team pictures were taken every year,” Thompson noted. “I’m hoping people will share their pictures with me. We’ll make a copy and give the photo back.”

If anyone has a team picture – from any year that Koester coached – please bring it to Thompson at the high school or drop it off at the high school office. Once a copy is made, the original will be returned.

Thompson is just one of the players that were positively impacted by Koester.

“He was hard on me. There’s no doubt about that. But he was hard on all of his players,” she recalled. “As players, there was always this love-hate relationship. He made you work and earn everything.

“He was a humble man and he also taught us life lessons,” Thompson added. “Sometimes, when we were just 16-17 years old, we didn’t realize what he was teaching us until later. I have the utmost respect for Dennis.”

She also credits Koester for paving the way for her to be a teacher and coach at THS as well. Thompson was his assistant coach from 1992 until his death and has been the Lady Shoes head coach ever since.

“He actually coached both the varsity and junior varsity one year all by himself so I could join his staff the following year,” Thompson recalled. “When you’re a player, you never think you’ll be friends with your head coach. But Dennis and I became very good friends.

“He was always there for his players,” she added. “He would do anything for them. I thought the world of him.”

Koester’s family – wife, Linda, and daughters, Holly and Kristina, still live in Teutopolis; and his son, Kevin, lives in Altamont. His other son, Jay, is deceased. There are also three grandchildren.

Thompson is hoping to have the shadow box completed and ready to hang sometime during the 2021-2022 season. She hopes to have a special ceremony at a Lady Shoes home game.

“Initially, I thought about hanging it in the vending area,” she noted. “But with the renovation going on, we might change that. I just want it to be in a good spot so people can see it. He really does deserve this recognition.”