(Photo – Kevin Patterson)
STORY CITY — Hall of Fame Roland-Story football coach Kerry Van Winkle died on Wednesday at the age of 83. Van Winkle was the coach of Roland-Story from 1973 to 2013 and led the Norsemen to 243 wins and 2 state championships in establishing the Norsemen as one of Central Iowa’s preeminent Class 2A powers.
Van Winkle began his head coaching career in 1968, when he was hired as the head coach of the Kanawha Bulldogs in north central Iowa. Van Winkle finished with 32-16-3 record in his 6 years in Kanawha, which eventually joined with Britt to form West Hancock in 1988.
Hired by Roland-Story in 1973, Van Winkle built the Norsemen into a powerhouse, culminating in back-to-back state championships in 1980 and 1981, winning the 1980 state title with a 12-0 victory of Hudson and the 1981 state title with a 22-21 victory over Columbus Junction. Van Winkle would see his teams make the semifinals 3 times in 1978, 1982 and 2008, as well as 3 quarterfinal appearances in 1991, 1997 and 1999 to highlight his 17 playoff appearances as Norsemen head coach, to go with 4 district titles and 8 Heart of Iowa Conference titles.
Van Winkle is a member of the Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, along with fellow Heart of Iowa Conference contemporaries of his time in Bill Taylor of South Hamilton, Ken Winkler of West Marshall, Randy Hinkel of Madrid and Larry Tryon of Ogden.
Van Winkle was also the long-time girls track coach at Roland-Story, where he coached 6 individual/relay state champions as head coach.
Retiring after the 2013 football season, Van Winkle finished with a career record of 275-147-3 in 46 seasons, and is currently the 20th-winningest coach in state history.