Boulder – A sweatshirt from a Fort Collins fly-fishing shop covers the University of Colorado T-shirt for the walk to the parking lot in the early fall chill. Outside the Coors Events Center, two CU volleyball players marvel at the dedication of their new interim assistant coach, Andy Klussmann.
It doesn’t matter to them that Klussmann once wore green and gold as an assistant coach at Colorado State or that two weeks ago he cheered for the Rams football team when it played the Buffs in Denver.
It makes no difference to Klussmann that these players wear black and gold.
Klussmann is again coaching the sport he loves just over two years after a horrific car accident stole the life of his wife, Janna, and stole his career. Klussmann was in intensive care for three weeks with a head trauma. Months of rehabilitation followed at Craig Hospital before he could walk again, and then only with a cane.
“I can see it in his eyes. He’s bright-eyed every day. He’s here for a reason, and I know he takes it day by day and he’s thankful he can walk to the gym every day and drive here,” said Alex Buth, a sophomore on the team. “He’s a very thankful person, and he’s giving it back to us, the other coaches and his family.”
In exchange for his volunteer duties while CU assistant Jil Thomason is on maternity leave, Klussmann draws gas money for the nearly 2 1/2-hour daily commute from Fort Collins and some CU sweats to add to his collection.
If the accident caused by an uninsured drunken driver hadn’t resulted in a precarious financial situation, Klussmann gives the impression he’d pay CU coach Pi’i Aiu for the opportunity.
“It’s good to be in the gym,” Klussmann said. “Overall I’m doing very well. I still have continued healing to do. I love the opportunity to be in the gym again.
“Black and gold, green and gold or red and gold, it’s the same sport anywhere you go. … It’s a place I feel comfortable being. It’s always an opportunity to have something back I used to have.”
Aiu has always said that unlike the bitter football rivalry between CU and CSU, volleyball matches are about good, healthy competition, not rioting and tear gas.
“We needed someone to fill in for Jil. We wanted someone good, someone with volleyball knowledge and someone who could help us,” Aiu said. “It was a perfect fit for us. I kind of feel we got a steal.”
He and Klussmann had enjoyed fly-fishing excursions. They e-mailed regularly, and with Thomason leaving just when the school year started, Aiu asked Klussmann if he would be interested.
Aiu placed a courtesy call to CSU coach Tom Hilbert, and Klussmann also sought Hilbert’s approval. With no openings on the CSU staff, Hilbert was all for the hire.
“I wholeheartedly supported Andy,” said Hilbert, who was instrumental in helping Klussmann navigate everyday tasks when he left Craig Hospital. “There’s a lot of rivalry people play up between the schools, but the coaches know each other very well and respect each other.”
It also helps the schools don’t play this year, unless they meet in the NCAA Tournament. They have faced off in three of the past six NCAAs.
“Thank God. Both teams can’t win when they play each other,” Klussmann said about not having to face his old team.
Buth says the coach as been a blessing to the team because of his knowledge of the game and his positive attitude.
“He’s easy to talk to as a coach. Whenever I need positive encouragement or have a question I go to him,” Buth said. “He’s a great coach and knows exactly what he’s doing. He helps all of us a lot. Our team has only gotten better. I feel I’m a better player because of what he’s told me. ”
Before the accident, Klussmann, a former beach volleyball pro who played at UCLA, participated in practice playing across the net from the Rams.
The head trauma took away those quick reaction skills, balance and coordination.
Klussmann isn’t sure how long the current assignment will last. He credits his mother, Helen, for making it possible by helping with his sons, ages 3 and 5.
When the crash occurred, the family was going to Cheyenne to visit Janna’s family for the younger boy’s first birthday on Father’s Day in 2004.
With the travel and recruiting demands of the profession, Klussmann isn’t sure when or if he can return to the profession full time. He took his first road trip with the Buffs to Texas last week. Although CU lost to the Big 12 powerhouse, Klussmann took consolation in just being on the bench in another venue.
“We’ve heard a lot. He’s told us his story. He told us right away we could ask him any questions,” sophomore Ashley Venhorst said. “He always has something optimistic to say. I think a lot of that comes from the accident. It’s incredible.”
No one begrudges Klussmann’s loyalty to CSU. A memorial fund supported by CSU fans helped him and his boys get through some of the financial duress.
“I told the girls right away ‘You know I coached at CSU. But it’s all about you guys right now,”‘ Klussmann said. “I’ve always been a supporter of both teams. The only time I didn’t like CU was when we played them.”
Considering CU athletic director Mike Bohn worked at CSU a decade ago and CSU women’s basketball coach Jen Warden is a former Buffs player and assistant coach, there’s far more familiarity and respect between the programs than some unruly football fans might believe.
The coach didn’t even tease his CU students after CSU won this year’s football game.
“Not at all,” Venhorst said. “He’s on our side now.”
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
