On the field, Xs and Os determine the movement of players, but in the hallways of SC’s B-wing, Xs determine the success of an algebra problem. Mark Kropke can help with both. 

As an LT staff member for the past 29 years, Kropke, a math teacher, a varsity assistant football coach, and freshman assistant boys basketball coach, has stayed very connected to the LT community. Although LT still has Kropke teaching until next year, spring 2026, he will retire from coaching football and basketball this year. Kropke’s impact will outlast his final seasons with the impressions he has left on the students he has coached.

Kropke started teaching at LT in 1995 after hearing about the position at a job fair at the University of Illinois Chicago. Soon after arriving, Kropke began coaching the football team, most recently serving as the varsity defensive line coach. Following these 29 years with the team, it’s not the amount of wins or losses that define his career, but the students who he has guided and coached in this time.

“This team, in particular, refused to lose. The senior leadership was remarkable. They kept the team focused on their goals and worked extremely hard from the off season and all throughout the season,” Kropke said.

One such student who has felt the guidance of Kropke, on and off the field, is Cooper Komsthoeft ‘25 a member of the varsity football team, who plays defensive center and tackle. Komsthoeft started on the sophomore football team in 2021, and has been playing on the varsity football team since that same year. As a defensive player, Komsthoeft worked closely with Kropke, a defensive coach.

“Kropke has given me many lessons and teachings in football, whether it is about techniques or how to handle myself through stressful situations,” Komsthoeft said. “Coach Kropke has taught me how to work through adversity and get the job done when I need to most.” 

While Kropke has aided Komsthoeft by providing a successful and rigorous coaching process, his memories of Kropke will not be limited to football.

“My favorite memory of Coach Kropke is all of the times that he has started arguments with our offensive lineman Coach Rigo,” Komsthoeft said. “Coach Kropke has coached me for three seasons now, and his jokes, when he tells them, never fail to make me laugh.”

Not only has the student body been impacted by Kropke’s 29 years as a coach and teacher, but also LT’s staff. Patrick O’Neil is another assistant football coach for LT’s varsity team. After being hired as an English teacher and coach in 2005, O’Neil quickly became close with Kropke and has learned his style of coaching.

“He’s very scientific about everything he does, analytical and logical in the way that he plans for games, and when he plans practices, he’s very efficient, and he breaks things down really well for the players,” O’Neil said.

Not only has O’Neil seen how effectively Kropke can coach and teach his players vital skills, but he has also seen the great and lasting impact he has had on players.

“The players that he’s had love him,” O’Neil said. “Every single game that we go to, even if it’s an away game, there are guys coming up to him hogging him, and they look up to him, and they like being around him. It’s crazy the relationships that he has with these guys because people that I don’t even know will come up to me in the grocery store and have said, ‘when you see coach Kropke tell him that I say hi.’”

O’Neil will continue coaching the varsity football team but will take the wisdom that Kropke has imparted to him for the rest of his career, as he has looked up to him as a mentor for the last 20 years.

Kropke also has coached the freshman boy’s basketball team for the past six years alongside head coach and teacher Luke Jansen. After years of coaching multiple high-demanding sports, memories, of course, overlap and blur together, but it’s not one year that stands out.

“Every year has a special memory in my heart,” Kropke said. “The Quarter Final teams ( 2010, 2011,  2012, 2022, and 2024 ) were special. The Conference Championship Teams ( 2007, 2010, and 2024 ) were special. Each year was special for different reasons. The friendships that I have with my former athletes are special. The friendships that I have with current and former coaches are special.” 

After an impressive run in the playoff season, this last football season has been a culmination of almost three decades of dedication. 

“[Football] is only a game, but what a great game it is,” Kropke said. “LTHS is a special place to teach and coach. I’ve been very fortunate to have spent my entire career at LTHS.”