INDIANAPOLIS — Joe Keller slightly lifts his head and repeatedly blinks in an attempt to gather himself. But he can’t.
He takes off his glasses before reaching inside the pocket of his black Fishers jacket vest. Out comes a used napkin, crushed into a ball. Keller unfolds it and begins to wipe his face.
The tears are now gone, but the redness in his eyes remains as he recalls the dinner with his wife, Patti, on April 1, 2025.
The couple was celebrating their 30th anniversary. Shrimp cocktails and a steak dinner occupied the white cloth table at Harry and Izzy’s. The pair bantered and laughed as they reflected on three decades. But for the first time since January, reality was setting in for the Tigers’ swim coach.
“I never told my wife, but that was one of the only times where I had thoughts that this might be the last time we get to have a normal dinner together,” Keller says with a quaver in his voice as he leans back on a black rolling chair inside his school office.
Two days later, Keller would have surgery to remove a brain tumor.
Keller wasn’t afraid of death. His Christian faith taught him it’s a doorway to eternal life. But he was scared of the void his absence would leave.
“His biggest worry facing death wasn’t death itself. It was the people he’d no longer be there for, and I don’t know if anything speaks more powerfully to his heart than that,” assistant coach Eric Hudson said.
Keller postpones surgery, keeps tumor secret to ensure program success
Keller led Fishers to a fifth-place finish in the IHSAA boys swimming state final Saturday. The girls team finished second in its state final on Feb. 14. Being a tournament threat has become the standard for the Tigers under Keller.
Keller began coaching at Fishers in 2017, when the program was ranked 173rd in the country. Keller told the school he could change the culture. He did.
Fishers became a gold medal club in 2024, a designation given to schools that ranked in the top 20 for most points in a season. Fishers was 17th.
Keller created a national powerhouse — a program on an upward trend.
Then came the “painful episodes.”
As Keller and Fishers junior Emily Wolf conversed on the pool deck during the winter junior nationals in early December 2024, Keller’s body “sent (me) a message,” a “weird sensation,” he recalled. Keller told Wolf he needed to use the bathroom and immediately found a stall.
“By the time I made it, the whole side of my right leg fell asleep for three to five minutes,” Keller said.
Keller had been experiencing numbness on the right side of his body occasionally for the previous 10 months. On Jan. 7 of last year, he learned why.
Meningioma. It accounts for 30% of all brain tumors. The “episodes,” later revealed to Keller, were seizures.
In an early February appointment, doctors told Keller he needed to have surgery “soon.” Keller wanted August. The surgeon wanted the end of the month. Keller refused, with the state tournament days away.
Keller didn’t tell his athletes about the tumor until after the season, opting only to inform his family, coaching staff and athletic director. Swimming, with all its rigorous requirements, taught Keller how to compartmentalize. A coach for 35 years and involved in the sport since his childhood, Keller mastered the tactic.
“I knew people were counting on me. It was about the vision that we had,” Keller said with the tremble returning to his voice. “I put the situation in a box, and I separated myself from that. I couldn’t let that have an impact on what we were doing.”
Keller’s mass was about four centimeters. If that number reached five, emergency surgery would be required. Every day, Keller’s life was at risk. But he willfully laid it down to ensure Fishers succeeded.
“He puts everyone before himself, and in a time like this, he was still putting people before himself,” added Keller’s son and Fishers assistant coach, Kris.
Keller knew Fishers needed its coach. And Keller, unsure whether this would be his last state tournament, needed his team.
Keller said he felt a “sense of purpose” in coaching while managing the brain tumor. He always told his athletes not to dwell on challenges. Now he was facing a test requiring him to lean on his own advice.
“I knew my situation, but didn’t know what all of it meant. There’s a certain component of control that swimming makes you have that I didn’t,” Keller said. “I trusted my faith, but I still wanted answers, so it was a challenging balance.”
Keller leaned on his Christian faith and his church’s men’s group for support. Keller said the time helped him realize how strong he was in his faith.
“Our sport requires perseverance. We preach discipline and consistency,” Keller said. “There’s a divine reason I got into swimming and I think it was preparation for being able to manage that.”
Fishers swims with renewed motivation
Keller extended his hand and touched the near crown of his head 10 minutes into his one-hour conversation. He can feel the surgical scar. He will for the rest of his life.
The benign mass can return. Keller still loses balance if he bends forward too much. Irritation is one of the main side effects of his seizure medication, Keppra.
Recovery has come with its share of challenges and positives. Kris said, “We competed as a team better this year than the last five years,” and added this season had “more of a family type feel.”
Junior Alex Koo, who won a state title in the 100 butterfly Saturday, echoed Kris’ remarks and said the team’s culture is the “best it’s ever been.”
“We were worried for him, but I knew in the back of my mind he’d be back for us. His journey inspired us 100% this year,” said Wolf, who won a state title in the 200 and 500 freestyle this season. “He put this team over himself so much by constantly working and always in the office. If we need him, he’s there. It made us want to be there for him.”
Keller completed rehab within 24 hours after surgery and was discharged two days early. Keller often paced around his home during his one month off of work. Every step came with a rush of thoughts. Ideas on how to maintain success at Fishers. As long as he didn’t overexert himself, Patti wouldn’t snitch to his doctor.
Working hard is the norm for Keller, who at times traverses to the pool on Sundays before and after church.
“His life is worthy of recognition and imitation,” Hudson said. “If coaches gave even a quarter of the care and passion to the profession as Keller does, the whole sport would be transformed.”
‘It’s good to be seen’
To Hudson, Keller’s situation didn’t change him. Keller is the same selfless man who Hudson forced to celebrate winning coach of the year two seasons ago.
”Nothing has changed except that we get to spend more time with him, which is the most amazing gift,” Hudson said.
Keller lifts his head again. This time, he’s not sitting around at a desk inside his office at school on an early February afternoon.
He’s looking at parents and Tiger fans in the stands above the pool deck inside IU Indy’s natatorium, waving and smiling as they applaud him for Fisher’s performance at state. With every grin, his heart leaped with gratitude.
“It’s good to be here,” Keller said after Saturday’s final. “Some people say, ‘Hey, it’s good to see you.’ And it’s pretty easy now to say, ‘It’s good to be seen.’”
As the high school year concludes, Keller’s focus can turn toward planning an April 1 dinner at Harry and Izzy’s. He’ll sit across from Patti and eat shrimp and steak with a peace of mind. Last year’s fearful thoughts of death are now held captive by one truth.
Keller has life. And so he rejoices.
“I am blessed and thankful for the opportunity to live out the purpose which I have been granted and gifted,” Keller said.
Follow Josh Heron on twitter at @HeronReports for more high school swimming coverage. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Joe Keller coached at state last season with a brain tumor. This year, he’s ‘blessed’ to be back
Reporting by Joshua Heron, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
