Statue memorializes iconic Lincoln High School coach and his enduring philosophy
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (BVM) — Sioux Falls embraces its public art. The newest piece is called “Coach” – a statue of the well-known and loved Rich Greeno. Greeno, who coached track and cross country for six decades and won 19 state championships, died in 2017 at age 88.
Dedicated in June, the statue is located on the Sioux Falls bike trail where Greeno trained with his students. What makes this statue so special? “Coach” is the first piece of art dedicated to a local sports icon. For those behind the memorial, their hope is that the statue represents the lasting impact Greeno had on Sioux Falls and South Dakota.
Zon Tran, who ran for Greeno at Lincoln High School in the mid-1980s, was one of the individuals who lead the way for the memorial. He, like so many of Greeno’s former runners, felt a special connection to this humble man whose entire life was about teaching, fitness and coaching.
“I, like so many others, wanted to do something that would preserve Coach Greeno’s legacy,” Tran said. “It was more than his success as a coach. It was also how he went about instructing kids. He preached a simple philosophy of trying your best.”
Tran believed his former coach’s mantra was enduring – that it doesn’t matter what your age is or what your ability might be; what matters is that you give it your best and work to improve yourself.
At Lincoln, Greeno had built dynasty but there were little things that set this coach apart. Patriots teams were noted for the sharpest uniforms of any school around. Few knew that to keep them looking good, Greeno would gather each runner’s uniform after each meet and launder it himself. If a student couldn’t afford running shoes, he bought them a pair.
Commitment and high expectations were essential for Greeno’s teams. No matter the weather, he never canceled a single outdoor practice. If you ran for Greeno, you ran outdoors every single day – rain or shine. And for 40 years, he directed the summer track and field program for the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department.
Tran says his own experiences with Greeno made establishing a memorial a personal mission.
“I first met Coach in ninth grade,” Tran said. “I didn’t initially go out for cross country because I was not a good distance runner. Still, I heard from my friends that Coach Greeno had a reputation for treating superstar runners and slower team members exactly the same.”
It was in 1985 that Tran went out for track at Lincoln and experienced Greeno’s reputation.
“Matt Kiesow was the superstar on the team, but sure enough, I was impressed with how Coach treated me,” Tran said. “He had a gentle way of telling me what to do and it was very hard to say no.”
Tran recalled that Greeno always ran with the team.
“I couldn’t complain; he had gray hair, and I was a teenager,” Tran said.
Tran was especially touched that before a meet, Greeno always folded up individual uniforms and included a little, handwritten note for each of his runners.
“He used to spell my name wrong, my actual first name is spelled Zong,” Tran said. “He always forgot to put in the ‘g.’ But, Coach was always so nice to me and so pleasant, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he spelled it wrong.”
After a while, Tran started liking the way Greeno pronounced his name.
“He said my name with respect,” Tran said. “When I compared that pronunciation to how my friends and others pronounced it, it sounded weird and lacked love and respect. When I became a U.S. citizen, I decided to drop the ‘g’ and my first name spelling became Zon.”
Shortly after Greeno’s death, others like Tran were coming up with memorial ideas, from a resting bench in Tuthill Park to naming a trail, the groups came together. It would be a statue of Greeno running and it would be placed on the bike trail along Tuthill Park — his favorite haunt.
Local artist Darwin Wolf was commissioned in 2018 as the committee raised $175,000 over a three-year period of time. The simplicity of the title “Coach” helped Wolf as he created the statue.
“The title was intended to indicate the kind of relationship Coach Greeno had with his runners,” Wolf said. “They never called him ‘Coach Greeno,’ rather they just called him ‘Coach’ as if everyone knew who they were talking about. I never got to meet the man but what his runners say about him speaks volumes.”
The 8-foot bronze statue now stands at a rest-and-stretch area on the river greenway where the public passes while on the bike trail and where Greeno’s teams once ran. The hope is that the Greeno memorial inspires everyone to stay active no matter the age.
Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken says he is pleased with the city’s newest piece of public art especially because it recognizes an iconic coach.
“Public art contributes so much to the quality of life of our city especially downtown and in our parks,” TenHaken said. “When we are able to honor significant members of the community like Rich Greeno with a statue, it adds beauty to our city and educates others on the legacy of our past leaders.”
