Danny Krispinsky, women’s head soccer coach, passed away following a long and courageous battle with cancer on Jan. 1 at the age of 35.

Krispinsky was an Ashland native that inspired those around him to live their lives to the fullest and with a positive mindset. He used his strong faith and turned it into courage, and he utilized that as a coach and as a player.

“I knew Danny all the way back to when he was a soccer and basketball player at Ashland High School,” Director of Athletic Communications, Dusty Sloan said. “What I will always remember about Danny is how hard he fought to be here with his wife Matti and his family, how strong his faith was, and how much he wanted to have a positive impact on his team and those around him.”

Krispinsky coached the women’s soccer program at AU for five seasons before stepping down last July due to his health reasons. Krispinsky started his collegiate head coaching career in 2013 when he took over the 7-10-1 program and turned it into a 10-6-2 first season? finish. The team was 8-3-1 in the GLIAC and advanced to the GLIAC Final Four that year.

Before he took the head position, Krispinsky was the assistant coach with the AU men’s soccer team from 2010-2011. Krispinsky then took a year to coach the boys soccer team at Ashland High School where the Arrows went 15-3-2 and won the Ohio Cardinal Conference championship with a 10-0-0 record.

Krispinsky was a 2002 graduate of Ashland High School and continued his education at Ashland University. He was a member of the men’s soccer team from 2002-2005 and helped lead the Eagles to a GLIAC title in 2005. He earned All-GLIAC honors twice before he graduated in 2006 from the university with an education degree.

In 2015, Krispinsky encountered his first battle with cancer. The #DanTheMan movement started and continued throughout the next three years. The movement was made for those to show their support for Krispinsky and let him know that he was not alone in his battle.

The movement spread through Ashland and eventually was known world-wide. Local and national celebrities were apart of the movement and got involved in helping Krispinsky with his fight.

Jim Tressel, NBA player Kosta Koufos, the 2015 Columbus Crew team, former OSU men’s basketball coach Thad Matta, the cast of “Criminal Minds”, Ezekiel Elliott, USA men’s national team captain Wil Trapp and even David Hasselhoff were all apart of spreading their love and support through the movement.

Krispinsky touched the lives of many throughout his short time alive and the positivity, love, courage and faith he shared will be remembered by those who had the honor of knowing him or had the chance to meet him.

Krispinsky leaves behind his wife, parents, family, many friends and a legacy that will be remembered forever.