The legacy of Coach Jan Keatley continues through funds created in her honor.
Written by Katherine Pyles, 2025
In May 2024, when a crowd gathered at South Point High School for the unveiling of the newly named Jan Keatley Softball Field, Keatley herself expected a simple ceremony. But when the announcement came that a scholarship fund and student needs fund would also be established in her honor, she was momentarily speechless.
“I was overwhelmed,” Keatley said. “I’ve helped establish scholarships for other teachers I worked with, but I never dreamed my name would be mentioned in the same sentence as theirs. You’re taken aback, and you think, ‘Was I really that awesome?’”
Anyone who knows her already knows the answer: yes.
For more than 40 years, Coach Jan Keatley devoted her life to shaping young people in the classroom, on the field and in life. Hired at South Point High School in 1975, she built girls’ sports at South Point from the ground up, coaching volleyball, basketball, track, cheerleading and softball. Her softball teams amassed 31 conference titles, nine district championships and a regional crown, and she became the first coach to reach 500 career wins in the sport.
But for Keatley, it was never about the accolades.
“I just wanted to make a difference,” she said. “I think if we, as a world, concentrated on making a difference in our own backyard, we’d see a different world.”
Keatley’s impact reached far beyond athletics. She became known for helping students quietly and personally — buying shoes when families couldn’t afford them, covering the cost of field trips, even making sure students had an outfit for prom.
Those acts of compassion inspired her niece Pam Ross and former player Amy Frasure to create two funds through Foundation for the Tri-State Community. The Jan Keatley Scholarship Fund supports South Point students who show kindness, strong character and a commitment to helping others — qualities Keatley has always valued above grades or athletic accomplishments. The Jan Keatley Student Needs Fund helps students cover expenses like clothing, school supplies or activity fees that might otherwise prevent them from fully participating in school life.
“Jan worked two jobs and a third in the summer just to make sure she could do things like that for the kids,” Ross said. “There was so much she did that was above and beyond what would ever be expected of a teacher.”
As Frasure put it: “She showed up.”
“She always showed up for everyone, all the time, no matter if it was convenient or not,” she said. “She taught me that your relationship with people matters, that your goal should be to leave this world better than you found it.”
The idea for the funds began while community members were working to have the school’s softball field named in Keatley’s honor, something that had never before been done for a living person in South Point.
“It was important for us to do all this while she was still with us — to let her see it and know how loved she is,” Frasure said. “She helped shape the purpose and criteria for the funds and took part in celebrating the first scholarship recipient. She’s seeing her legacy live on.”
Both funds are managed through Foundation for the Tri-State Community for the benefit of South Point students.
“The Foundation has made it so easy — they walked us through everything in plain language and helped us get started the right way,” Ross said. “People think you have to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to make an impact, but you don’t. The Foundation has been an incredible partner.”
When Keatley reflects on her career, she often returns to a message she shared with her first athletes in 1975.
“I told them, ‘You’re the pavers,’” she said. “‘You’re laying down the road for everyone who comes after you. Make sure you use the right materials — you want it to last.’”
Keatley’s own road has lasted. Many of her former players now coach, teach and mentor the next generation. And through the Jan Keatley Scholarship and Student Needs Funds, Keatley’s legacy will endure for generations.
“I think of these funds as planting seeds,” Keatley said. “Sometimes we never get to see the full-grown plant. But we still plant the seed.”
