IDAHO GOES DOWN Keith Director has been appointed head coach of Salmon’s football program following a successful season as head coach of North Fremont High School’s baseball and football teams.
The director, who was hired a few weeks ago, is currently preparing for the Savages’ next season.
The Huskies advanced to the state baseball playoffs and football quarterfinals in the 2024–2025 season.
After such a great year, the director explains to EastIdahoNews.com why he is taking a job in Salmon.
“I found it to be fascinating,” the director says. I found it interesting to add my own unique touch to a program that lacked discipline and structure. I’ve been given the same chance to make a difference in Salmon and restore the football program to its former glory.
Quaid McCreary, who left after one season to accept a position as assistant coach at Carroll College in Helena, Montana, is replaced by the director.
Salmon hasn’t won a state championship in almost 20 years. Craig Larson, the athletic director for Salmon, stated that the team’s most recent championship win was in 2008. The squad last made the playoffs under coach Tyrell Penner in 2019.
Director is excited that Penner will be returning this season as his assistant coach.
The director also asked Sony Galvan, who runs a local fitness center with his spouse, to participate.
“He was a coach for a while, and I knew he contributed to the program’s success on the field and in strength and conditioning preparation off the field,” the director says.
According to Director, North Fremont last took home a state championship in 1989. It wasn’t easy for him to go after such a busy year. He developed a unique relationship with the pupils, and he is overjoyed by the team’s advancement in the previous season.
He claims that most first-year coaches don’t witness this kind of accomplishment. It was incredibly satisfying for us to make it to the quarterfinals in my first year.
During a recent game, center Keith Director gave one of his players a high five. | Courtesy Director Keith
The baseball squad has never advanced past the regular season. Leading the school’s biggest baseball team to a potential state championship was equally satisfying for the director.
According to the director, they usually have nine or ten baseball players, but we had seventeen. Having that kind of attendance is fantastic.
Jason Wright, who was hand-picked by the director, was appointed to replace him in North Fremont. Director recognized Wright’s potential as a future head coach, even though the school district ultimately made the hiring decision. Under his direction, he wants to see the team’s achievements continue.
The Director comments, “I’m leaving the program in a really good place.” Every system is operational. Everything is available to him (Wright).
The outcomes in North Fremont generated a lot of statewide discussion over the director’s coaching skills. Larson is excited to see what the Director can accomplish in Salmon after being impressed by his reputation and performance history.
“I only heard positive things about him during the hiring process,” Larson recalls.
The 3A Nuclear Conference consists of five high schools, including North Fremont and Salmon.
Director has provided one-on-one personal training to dozens of customers off the field. Last year, he founded Director Boxing & Training in the gym he and his wife, Andrea, constructed on their Chester home.
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Bryce Jensen, Payton Martindale, and Ben Reinke are some of his customers. The football squad that won the state wrestling championship earlier this year included the three players. According to the director, their performance at state was directly impacted by the personalized training. Being a part of their achievement makes him proud.
According to the director, three of the four men in the entire school reached the podium.
Training with Director has resulted in numerous additional adult clients having their own success stories.
In 2023, Director relocated to eastern Idaho after a lengthy career working with professional players in New Orleans. He had intended to retire, but instead he developed a clientele.
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Seeing the changes his clients have undergone in the past year has been fulfilling for him.
Director is closing his training firm and ending a job that has offered him happiness and fulfillment for over thirty years as he assumes this new role.
“For me, this marks the end of an era,” he says. Although I find it difficult to accept, I plan to push myself in a different way. I still don’t know what that is.
During a recent game, a football player from Salmon ran a play. | Photo courtesy of Craig Larson
Director is grateful for how friendly the community has been to him and his wife as he gets ready for his first season in Salmon. Going into his new role, he is eager to get started and has realistic expectations.
It will be difficult enough to get us into the playoffs in the first year, which is my goal. “We have a full conference,” he says.
Larson expects the same thing. He hopes the director will lay the groundwork for establishing solid values that will endure for many years to come.
“The director’s arrival has created a lot of excitement and buzz in our community,” Larson says. The Savages will have an exciting coach in Keith, who is an interesting man.
On a personal note
In January 2024, Keith gave me a complimentary training session. He had contacted me to get some press attention for a new training facility he was starting in Chester, and he spent thirty minutes talking passionately about his thirty years of experience working with professional athletes and clients. Edgewise, it was hard to get a word in.
I thought, This man is just talking.
I thought I would show him how strong I was, so I turned up for my free session despite my doubts. A unpleasant awakening was what I received.
Despite my years of exercise, I was unable to finish the schedule he set for me.
Keith’s remarks were straightforward but courteous.
You re not in shape, he said.
He offered to train me at a price I thought was fair.
Feeling beat up and discouraged, there was part of me that never wanted to set foot in his gym again. Still, I wanted to prove I had what it took. We agreed on a price and I showed up the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for the most intense hours of training I ve ever experienced.
His sessions are boxing-based and boxing is something that had been on my bucket list since I was a kid. But after the first week, I wasn t having fun. The mental and physical exertion was brutal and I seriously considered giving up until Andrea, Keith s wife and business manager, walked in and said, in effect, no other client had been willing to consistently drive an hour three days in a row to go through this and show what they re made of.
I committed to sticking with it from that moment on.
The next few months were difficult.
Keith challenged me. In those moments when I thought I had nothing left, he pushed me to keep going and muster strength I didn t know I had.
He worked just as hard to coach me as I did to train, and that made me want to give 100%. One day, after months of consistent effort, something finally clicked and I realized what I was capable of.
Nearly 18 months later, I ve come to enjoy these training sessions and it s rewarding to see what it s done for my body and my mind.
Keith has become a great friend and I m grateful for the skills he taught me, which I plan to continue using on my own. It definitely won t be the same, though.
I wish him all the best.
Rett Nelson
