Blue Springs coach Kelly Donohoe undergoing cancer treatment but wants focus on team

As the Blue Springs football team vies for a fifth state championship appearance in the past seven seasons, its coach has disclosed a battle of his own.

Wildcats coach Kelly Donohoe began chemotherapy treatment Monday for cancer in his abdomen region.

Donohoe, who has led Blue Springs to four state championships in his nearly two decades there, underwent surgery in August after his initial diagnosis. He had planned to keep that confidential, telling only family and close friends.

The circumstances have demanded that circle expand. Donohoe was recently informed he would require nine weeks of chemotherapy, with weeks one, four and seven necessitating daily treatment. Donohoe, who is also the school’s activities director, began his first cycle Monday, forcing him to miss school. He was also late for football practice as the Wildcats prepare to play Rockhurst in the Missouri Class 6 state semifinals.

“I’m gonna be fine,” Donohoe said. “The truth from my heart is that I’m uncomfortable that I ever had to tell people, but it was my duty to tell people that I was going to be gone for extended periods of time. Something I always tell my players is this team isn’t about one individual. That’s what bothers me most about this. It’s a private issue that I want to deal with my family and people close to me. I want to the focus to be on my football program and not me.”

Blue Springs will play at Rockhurst at 1 p.m. Saturday, the winner gaining access to the Class 6 state championship game. Donohoe’s teams have marched to the title game in four of the past six seasons.

Because his treatment could require his tardiness to practice, he informed his players of the diagnosis last week. He has chemotherapy scheduled for every day this week. The doctors have informed him that he will likely be physically weaker as the sessions progress.

“My fear is that I might have bad energy on the sidelines, and I don’t want that to trickle into my team and my players,” Donohoe said. “This game should be about them.”

Donohoe took over the Blue Springs program in 2000. He won his first state championship a year later in 2001. He added titles in 2003 and back-to-back trophies in 2012 and 2013. The Wildcats finished runner-up in 2009 and each of the past two seasons. They are 210-54 in his tenure.

Starting in the 2017 school year, Donohoe became the school’s activities director. He has relinquished those duties to assistants Al Hull and Sarah Schulenberg during his chemotherapy treatments.

Sam McDowell

Sam McDowell covers Sporting Kansas City, the Royals, Chiefs and sports enterprise for The Star

This story was originally published November 13, 2018 at 8:57 PM.