Lange’s impact on his players will be felt for years to come

Llano High School girls coordinator and head basketball coach Todd Lange died May 4 after an eight-month battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

A fish fry fundraiser to benefit the family will be conducted from noon-2 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the Llano High School cafeteria, 2509 Texas 16 in Llano. Cost for the meal is by donation. A silent auction also will be conducted.

A graduate of Granbury High School, Lange, who also served as a softball assistant coach, and his family arrived in Llano for the 2018-19 academic year.

“Coach Lange was a great guy,” Llano athletics director Matt Green said. “Clearly he loved basketball, and he was an avid golfer. He really meshed well with our staff on the football side. He was loved by his staff and our staff.”

Lange and his wife, Melinda, have two children: Jaxon, a junior, and Lolo, an eighth-grader. Jaxon’s nickname is “Juice,” given to him by his dad.

“He has an amazing family,” Green said. “Jaxon is on our state golf team. Lolo plays basketball. He was expecting to coach her in high school.”

The Yellow Jackets are playing in the Class 3A state golf tournament Monday and Tuesday, May 9-10, at the Jimmy Clay Golf Course, 5400 Jimmy Clay Drive in Austin.

The coach applied for the Llano job in the spring of 2018 from Anson where he guided the Lady Tigers to third in their district. He also coached at Montgomery High School and was part of two state championship teams.

“He had a very good resume, had been very successful, and turned the program around at Anson,” Green said. “Number one, he was an extremely humble man. We were looking for someone who didn’t have a big ego. We needed someone to come in with discipline, was a hard worker, and strong character. We needed a team player to head our girls program. He was confident. You could tell he was going to work well. He had a lot of integrity and strong work ethic. His demeanor and personality worked well.”

While Green didn’t know Lange before he interviewed him, the two men discovered they had sons who were around the same age, much of the same ideals and values, and a love for close-knit communities as well as sports.

“He’d been in two small school districts,” the athletics director said. “One was Axtell, near Waco. He had a lot of involvement from parents. He was going to fit well. He was going to be easy for the parents to talk to. Our community has been amazing to the Langes.”

Green said he enjoyed observing Lange coach the Lady Jackets because of how he interacted with his players.

“The way he coached was unique,” he said. “He was able to get loud if he needed to. He did such a good job of explaining things to kids. When the kids were playing well, he’d be giddy and celebrate their success with them. He was like a big kid. He also possessed the ability to be a good leader for our program. He could get super excited and enjoy the ride.”

Lange’s approach to everyday life was much like he coached.

“He always had funny sayings,” Green said. “He had ‘isms’ where he’d add things to the ends of words to make them funny. We had so many great times on the golf course. He was a really good golfer. But you wouldn’t know it unless you played with him. He was a really amazing guy.”

Lange refused to let his fight stop him from doing what he loved. He conducted basketball practices and coached on the sideline. Then when he was unable to coach in person, he watched from home thanks to the streaming system set up by the schools. Lange took notes and gave feedback to the players and coaches.

“He was a super human being,” Green said. “He battled, he fought. He was amazing.”

Lange is the second Llano coach who has passed away during the 2021-22 school year. Cross country head coach Steve Golemon died Oct. 19, one week after the Lady Jackets won the District 25-3A championship and the Yellow Jackets finishing third in the boys division.

Green said he doesn’t recall being part of a coaching staff that had one coach die during the school year, much less two.

“It’s been a hard year, especially on the girls side,” he said. “The world is not a better place.”

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