Russell was the head baseball coach at Lutheran North High School for 40 years. He won 16 district championships, 7 sectional championships, and 6 ABC League championships.

He was an assistant baseball coach at Lutheran North for two years. In 1998 and 2012, Russell won the Hal Whitaker Coach of the Year Award presented by the Greater St. Louis Association of Umpires. He is a member of the 500 Victories Club of the National High School Baseball Coaches Association.

In 2006, Russell was inducted into the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He is also in the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He was the head football coach at Lutheran North for 24 years, winning four state championships.