Click here to listen to Dave Riggert’s interview with Chris Neff

The head coach of the boys basketball program at Lafayette High School has resigned. Chris Neff sent a letter to the St. Joseph School District Thursday morning, to take a position in the North Kansas City School District.  He will be the head boys basketball coach at Staley High School.

“It has been a pleasure to work in the Saint Joseph School District for the past nine years,” Neff wrote in his resignation letter. “I would like to thank each of you for all that you have allowed me to do and all that you have done for me within the district. I am forever grateful for all that we have accomplished and how we have grown. The relationships that my family and I have through our time in St. Joseph will always be cherished and have helped to mold us into the people we are today.”

Coach Neff was hired in 2007 as a math teacher and head basketball coach. Neff’s accomplishments as head coach at Lafayette high School include, among others:

• 2016 Class 4 Final Four, 2nd Place
• 2014 Class 4 Final Four, 2nd Place
• 2011 Class 4 Final Four, 4th Place
• 7 MEC Championships: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
• 6 District Championships: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
• 2013-2014 St. Joseph Sports, Inc., Coach of the Year

“We certainly have big shoes to fill at Lafayette High School. The students and staff will miss Coach Neff. He was the driving force for our success in the basketball program and we congratulate him on moving to the next level. We thank him for his tireless efforts to make our basketball program one of the best,” said Tyran Sumy, Principal.