GhLinks Media
The man killed in an accident on a softball field near Westerville Central High School was retired softball coach Jerry Kelbley, the coroner’s office confirmed Friday.
Kelbley retired in 2017 after coaching for Westerville South High School for 36 seasons.
His longtime friend and fellow coach Brian Wamsley, who coaches the softball team at Westerville Central High School, said Kelbley was an innovative thinker and a master at keeping softball fields well maintained.
Kelbley died in an accident maintaining the fields near Westerville Central High School at about 2:15 p.m. Thursday.
The field was being “dragged” which commonly involves machinery breaking up clods of dirt or soil, police said.
Wamsley said Kelbley died doing what he loved.
A well-maintained field makes the game move faster, and it makes the kids play better, he told Wamsley early in his coaching career.
“If he could’ve chosen a place to die, it would have been a softball field,” Wamsley said. “He loved the game that much.”
Wamsley said the community will likely hold a memorial service or vigil to honor Kelbley, but a date hasn’t been set.
“I mean, all the kids have played for him over the years … It’s just unbelievable, the lives he’s touched,” Wamsley said.
