HEBRON, Ky. — Longtime Conner High School football coach and teacher Dave Trosper has passed away. He was 55.
According to LINK nky, Trosper died due to a heart attack Saturday afternoon.
“So sad. Our Coaches Association was all just together 2 nights ago for the all-star game,” Covington Catholic football coach Eddie Eviston said. “God bless his family and Conner community.”
Trosper, a 1988 Boone County graduate, was selected two times as All-Conference in the Mid-South while playing football for Union College and was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates twice.
Trosper is listed in the record book at Union for most tackles in a single game with 19.
“His teams were always ready to compete. They were tough and hard-nosed just like Dave," said Former Simon Kenton football coach and athletic director Jeff Marksberry. "He played at Boone County for Coach (Owen) Hauck and he instilled that same toughness in his teams. He was an active member of the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association and he worked hard for NKY high school football.”
Trosper was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Trosper began coaching Conner's football program in 2007 and was the longest-tenured football coach in Northern Kentucky.
“Dave was one of the guys that helped me grow as a young coach," said Newport Central Catholic football coach Stephen Lickert. "He was in it for the right reasons. He genuinely loved his players and would fight for them to get the accolades and acknowledgment they deserved. He would do anything for his friends and family. I just can’t believe it. “
Mount St. Joseph University defensive coordinator Rick Thompson was the Boone County assistant coach in 1985 and coached a young Dave when Trosper played as a linebacker for Boone County High School from 1985-1987.
"Terribly sad day. I coached him. My first year as an assistant at Boone was Dave's sophomore year," said Thompson.
"He was the epitome of a Boone County football player. Tough and smart. Loyal to his teammates. Did an outstanding job as a coach at every stop. He cared about his players and always wanted the best for them. He also held them to high standards to help them become outstanding men. He also cared deeply for those who worked for him as well."
