Kosmoski was a true team player

Hamline University and Concordia University-St. Paul athletes are honoring a staff member and long-time volunteer for both athletic departments. Jed “Kos” Kosmoski was remembered September 12 at a memorial service at Concordia. He was 44 and died of pancreatitis during a family vacation in August.

Kosmoski had a medical condition that affected his growth, and lived with multiple disabilities. He loved sports and helped manage teams at Wayzata and Armstrong high schools. In the early 2000s he began volunteering with the baseball team at Concordia and the men’s hockey team at Hamline.

“Every day we would come to the rink and he would do game day operations, making our life that much smoother,” Hamline men’s hockey team captain Mitch Hall told KMSP-TV. “You’d be coming to the rink after a bad day or a test didn’t go well, Kos would meet you at the door with a big hug. Maybe a fist bump, next thing you know, that’s out the window and you could focus on your game.”

“Sports was everything to him,” said his cousin, Matt Miller. “Just loved being a part of the guys and patting them on the back when they needed it and hated losing and loved winning.”

Concordia created a part-time job for Kosmoski. He did many tasks including managing the weight room, volunteering with other sports and serving as a special assistant to the baseball head coach.

“Everybody loved Kos, he had so many jobs,” said Concordia Athletic Director and baseball coach Mark McKenzie. “People in the business office, he would take deposits for me. I could trust him with large amounts of money. They said he had a disability, well, he had abilities that far exceeded people with full physical abilities by far, by far and a heart bigger than Mount Everest.”

Athletes on Hamline University’s men’s hockey team plan to wear patches for “Kos” on their jerseys this season. Concordia will add his name to batting cages.