PEQUOT LAKES — The Pequot Lakes Patriots have found their new coach.
Current Pequot Lakes superintendent Kurt Stumpf takes over as the boys’ basketball head coach after approval from the school board Monday, May 5.
Stumpf fills the position left open when Rich Spiczka, who spent the last nine seasons as the Patriots coach racking up 195 wins and four straight state tournament appearances, resigned.
Stumpf is no stranger to the sidelines. He coached the Pierz Pioneers for eight seasons from 2003-2011. He was an assistant coach for one year in Little Falls under Kevin Jordan. He’s also coached AAU with the Minnesota Comets for 15 years.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to connect with our student-athletes, our families and our coaching staff,” Stumpf said. “I’ve been around the game ever since graduating high school coaching at different levels.”
Last season, the Patriots went 23-9 and won the Section 7-2A for the fourth straight season. In the Class 2A State Quarterfinals, Pequot led No. 2-seed Waseca by four with under two minutes left before the Bluejays ended the game on an 8-0 run.
It was the Patriots’ fourth straight time losing in the state quarterfinals. They lost in the state consolation semifinals to Montevideo 62-39.
“Coach Spiczka and the basketball program have had success recently,” Stumpf said. “They’ve made the state tournament the past four years and I would say I’m proud of not just our boys basketball players, but we have great kids throughout. There was a draw to this job because of the commitment level of our players, our parents and our coaches.”
Stumpf formed a relationship with Spiczka prior to becoming superintendent at Pequot Lakes. They coached against each other and played as teammates on the same AAU team.
“I don’t know if I’ll bring anything different because not being on the previous coaching staff you can observe from the sidelines, but really you don’t see the day-to-day practices and strategy that goes on before the games,” Stumpf said. “I’m a coach that likes to build leadership within players and give opportunities for student-athletes to lead, so emphasizing communication. When it comes to strategy, I think that’s all going to work itself out in the long run as our coaching staff gets to know players strengths and what’s best for the team.”
Stumpf is finishing his fourth year in the Pequot Lakes district as superintendent.
“Kurt has head coaching experience and has been a successful head coach in Pierz and has stayed involved in the game with coaching the Comets in AAU basketball pretty much every weekend,” Pequot activities director Bill Magnuson said. “He’s extremely organized and has a plan that we really liked hearing. We got somebody with experience who has been successful and we think he can continue to lead this program with the success we’ve been having.”
CONRAD ENGSTROM may be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad.engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.
Started at the Dispatch in June of 2019.