Bob Krizancic was born in Sharon, Pa, the son of Fran and Mickey. He has two younger sisters: Michele, a Flight Attendant for American Airlines and the Director of Business Development for Rebel Athletics and Susan, Regional Business Director, Mirati Therapeutics. Both sisters, their families, and Bob’s dad reside in Hamburg, NY. Bob moved to Kansas City at age 2. Before settling in Girard, Ohio, he and his family spent time in Pennsylvania and a few places in Ohio. A 1971 graduate of Girard High School, Bob played basketball and started every game his sophomore, junior and senior year. He was 2nd team all-state and accepted a full ride to Youngstown State University. The legendary Dom Rosselli was his coach at YSU for his entire career.

After graduating from YSU, Bob spent the next 3 years as a freshman basketball coach at Ursuline High School, Junior Varsity Coach at West Middlesex High School in Pennsylvania, and assistant varsity coach at Hubbard High School. With just 3 years of experience, he was named head coach at Girard High School in 1980. Prior to th 1980 season, Girard had 27 losing seasons out of 30 and had not got past the sectionals in tournament play.

Bob signed a 2-year contract, and it was a good thing he did because the Indians went 1-20 in his first year. Instituting his vision and culture was the key to the next 12 years at Girard. His pressing and running style soon became the trademark at both Girard and Mentor. The Indians became a power in Division 2 with 4 regional appearances and the Division II State Title in 1993. The Indians were not one of the four seeds in the sectional/district draw that year and were underdogs in their last 7 tournament games that year. Girard beat Columbus Whitehall and NBA player Samaki Walker for the state title. They were nicknamed ‘the cardiac kids.’ The town of Girard likened their team to the movie Hoosiers.

Prior to the 1993 title, Bob spent two summers as the assistant head coach for the Youngstown Pride of the World Basketball League. The league had 5 franchises in the US from coast to coast and 5 in Canada. The league ran from May through September.

One month after the State Championship, Coach Krizancic accepted the head coaching position at Mentor High School. Having only won 22 games in the previous 4 years, Mentor immediately had winning seasons and became a Division 1 power. The Cardinals have won 16 District titles in the Krizancic Era, 3 regional titles, and the state title in 2013. He is one of a handful of coaches who have won state titles at different high schools. His 2021 team went undefeated in the regular season and ended up number one in the AP Poll. They lost in the state semi to eventual state champ Centerville.

Two of the low points in Coach K’s career were: the loss to Cincinnati Moeller in overtime in the state semifinal in 2010 with his oldest son on the court and the season ending in 2020 after a regional semi win and not being able to play the regional final to go to state because of covid.

To date, Coach K has 20 league titles, 20 district titles, 4 regional titles, and 2 state titles- one in D1 and one in D2. In 2013, his team ended #1 in MaxPreps in Ohio, #25 in the country in USA Today, and #21 in the country in MaxPreps. He has produced 9 First team All-Ohios, including his son Cole. (Conner was 1st team All-Ohio as a football quarterback).

He was named Associated Press Division 1 State of Ohio Coach of the Year in 2008, 2010, 2019, and 2021. He was the OHSBCA Coach of the Year in 2021 and also the NFHS Coach of the Year in 2021. He is in the following Hall of Fames: Girard High School- one of 15 original inductees, Curbstone Coaches, Trumbull County Coaches, and Lake County Captains Crow's Nest.

In May of 2022 his book “Mental Toughness: The Game Changer” was released by Newman Springs and was the #1 new release on Amazon and shot to #4 on the Best Sellers List on Amazon in the Sports Genre category. In May of 2022 he had a speaking part in the movie “Shooting Stars” about LeBron James which will be released in 2023. Coach K also has his certification in Life Coaching from the World Coaching Institute.

Bob’s two sons, Cole and Conner, are his pride and joy. Cole was first team All-Ohio in basketball and played four years at Ashland University. He got his master's at Tulane University. He is currently playing for the Burning River Buckets of the American Basketball Association. Cole is the leading scorer in the history of Mentor High with 1765 points.   His youngest son, Conner, was on the All-state tournament team in the 2013 State Basketball

Title season. He was also First team All-Ohio in D1 football and Player of the Year as quarterback. He still holds some passing records in the state title loss vs Cincinnati Moeller. He received a full ride to the University of Minnesota and transferred to play at Ohio University. He currently owns his own business, Good Wolf Marketing in Fort Lauderdale, FL.