Todd Keenan realizes how unique of an opportunity he has after being named the Gahanna Lincoln High School boys soccer coach.

Although the program completed its 40th season this fall, the Lions have had just two previous coaches in Mark Meuser (1972-96) and Dwayne Marshall (1997-2011).

Keenan was approved as coach during the school district’s board of education meeting Dec. 8.

“My professional goals have changed a little over the years, but I’ve always loved coaching, and I look forward to heading the Gahanna boys team,” Keenan said. “Dwayne was my mentor for the past 10 years, and that has helped me tremendously. The two guys before me laid the groundwork. Both are passionate men, and I’m pretty humbled and grateful to be in this situation. I think the program is in a pretty good place.”

Keenan had been serving as a varsity assistant and the junior varsity coach under Marshall, who stepped down after 15 seasons.

A 1998 Coshocton graduate who made third-team all-state as a senior, Keenan played for Otterbein from 1998-2002 before taking a job as a teacher and coach at Gahanna in 2003.

“He’s been with the program for the last seven or eight years as an assistant coach and is a phenomenal teacher and a phenomenal coach,” athletics director Justin Sanford said. “As j.v. coach, his teams haven’t lost a game since 2005. He’s very relatable to the kids. As soon as the job came open, I was overwhelmed with calls from parents and players with who they felt should be the next coach, and every one of them said Todd Keenan. It was an easy decision.”

Marshall, who spent eight seasons coaching Columbus West before taking over the Lions’ program, stepped down to focus on educational pursuits. He teaches government and economics at Gahanna.

“I’m very happy that Todd is taking over,” Marshall said. “I couldn’t have asked for anyone better. His character is superb.”

“He played at Otterbein and he’s coached in club and select programs around the area, so he’s got a ton of knowledge of the area,” Sanford said. “We were just fortunate that Todd was in house and we were able to execute this internally. For us, it was a win-win situation since he’s already on staff here and we knew he was qualified.”

Under Marshall, the Lions went 201-60-24 and won the Division I state championship in 2009. The Lions went 19-1-1 and were regional finalists in 2010.

This fall, Gahanna went 17-2 but lost to Worthington Kilbourne 3-2 in two overtimes in a district final.

Gahanna has gone 116-12-11 since the beginning of the 2005 season, including winning the first four district titles in program history.

“I wasn’t the best player, but I was always one of the hardest working players,” Keenan said. “Talent doesn’t always beat hard work, and that’s what I hope to continue to teach in this program.”