McKim says farewell to Creston, hello to Omaha

After hearing news of Creston native educator and coach Ryan McKim’s coming departure, a sullen disposition was the norm for several of his colleagues over the past two days.

McKim announced in a post on Facebook he would be moving to Omaha, Nebraska for a variety of reasons, but spoke with the News Advertiser about what emotions and thinking he was going through during and after the decision-making process.

McKim, an environment and spatial technology teacher at Creston Community High School, head girls varsity basketball coach, co-head football coach and an assistant golf coach, will be someone whose missing presence will be immediately felt.

The decision did not come easy.

“I’m extremely excited about the future and what’s going on but this being home and the individual kids, I’d leave somebody out if I started listing names,” McKim said. “Just the individual kids that I’ve had the opportunity to develop relationships with, they will continue, those relationships. The kids, they make it challenging.”

He finished his third year at Creston, his alma mater from the class of 2004, as a professional for three years after spending time coaching college football in various roles at Iowa State and Oklahoma. He was a graduate assistant for the Cyclones, a special teams quality control coach for coach Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma Sooners. McKim has put in countless hours with young athletes, and his impact was felt by many in a short time.

“Coaching is coaching and I do believe there are differences between levels in a lot of different ways but at the core of it I think coaching is coaching,” McKim said. “I love doing it here and obviously with this being home there’s an added dimension of purpose because you want to be proud of where you’re from.”

McKim noted he believed the timing was right for him, and thinking about the impact of his decision still weighed on his mind.

“At the end of the day I think you have to do what’s right for you and that’s what I’m doing,” McKim said. “I’m really excited about what lies ahead, and the people here have been great and I knew they would be because that’s how they have been since I was just a little kid. Creston is just a great place.”

McKim was the relationships he has built once more while back in his hometown over the last few years are not the type to fizzle away.

“I’ll miss seeing those guys every day, but kids are resilient,” said McKim. “The kids that I have had success building relationships with know that just because I won’t be in town doesn’t mean that our relationship won’t continue.”

The News Advertiser will have updates concerning the next person to step into McKim’s coaching roles for Creston Community School District, as well as McKim’s next step in Omaha at a future date.