(Shelby) Dan Schleisman was a jack of all trades when it came to coaching. The former Shelby-Tennant AD was either head coach or an assistant for track, volleyball, softball, basketball, football, and cross country.
Eventually Schleisman jumped at an opportunity to help out with the Treynor track program when asked by Gail Hartigan. Even though he began as a volunteer assistant, he was still all in. “When Gail first brought it up she said I didn’t have to come every day, but I don’t go anywhere and just go one or two days a week so I was there every day of the week and drove from Shelby because I was still teaching in Shelby. So I drove there every day for two or three years without getting paid for that. That same year I started track there I also took over junior high softball and I coached that for a long time.”
Most of his coaching duties at Treynor came at the junior high level, but he took over the Treynor high school cross country program for 15 years before retiring. One of the more unique experiences of Schleisman’s career was the square track at Shelby. “It’s not a track anymore, but it’s still there. It was square. Ask anybody that coached at that time and it was a square track. I’ll tell you it wasn’t easy to mark. It was a cinder track and at that time we did all markings by hand and it was real a pain. The curves weren’t very wide I mean you were around the curve in no time in a square track.”
While some coaches are hesitant to list a favorite sports, that’s not the case with Schleisman. “It’s always been softball. When I first went to Shelby I wanted to be a baseball coach, but they didn’t have enough kids for baseball. So then I got into the softball side and I stuck with that. Mainly because between coaching boys and girls, girls listened way better than boys. Guys a lot of times thought they knew it all. So it’s just a lot of fun to coach the girls.”
Schleisman wasn’t able to lock down a full time gig right of out college and the following year he wasn’t hired at Shelby-Tennant until very late in the process. “August of the next year. It was that late in the year before I finally got a call from Shelby-Tennant saying they needed somebody. So I went over there in August and got the job the same day and also found a house to rent. It all worked out pretty good and it was just a great time there.”
Schleisman says he has a love for all sports. In his retirement he’s relocated to Iowa City and at the time of recording had been 64 for 64 in attending University of Iowa home events this year.
https://soundcloud.com/hyoach/dan-schleisman-why-i-coach
Previous Coaches
(Click to listen)
John Kesselring, Adair-Casey alum
Eric Maassen, (AHST grad) Sheldon
Jerome Hoegh, Atlantic grad (West Sioux)
Gaylord Schelling, Atlantic and Tri-Center
Dick Strittmatter, Atlantic native
Chad Klein, Audubon Native (Kuemper Catholic and Boone)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Monte Riebhoff)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Steve Ahrendsen)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Scott Weber)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Curt Mace)
Jason Mehrhoff, Anita Native (Carlisle)
Eric Hjelle, Elk Horn-Kimballton grad (Underwood)
Brett Watson, Elk Horn-Kimballton alum (Waukee Northwest)
Warren Watson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Chris Stimson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Scott Yates, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Jan Jensen, Elk Horn-Kimballton alum
Seth Poldberg, EH-K grad and Guthrie Center coach
Marc Bierbaum, Griswold grad and Iowa Western track/cross country assistant
Trevor Gipple, (Griswold grad) SW Valley
Curt Schulte, Harlan graduate (Glenwood)
Angie Spangenberg, Harlan and Red Oak
Eric Stein (Harlan grad) Iowa Central
Darrell Burmeister, Nodaway Valley
Lanny Kliefoth, Nodaway Valley
Dan Schleisman, Shelby-Tennant and Treynor
Chad Harder, (Walnut Grad) Tri-Center
Josh Abel, (Walnut grad), Tri-Center
