(Elk Horn) Pocahontas native Chris Stimson has coached at Waukon and Paton-Churdan, but he got his start at Elk Horn-Kimballton. He’s today’s guest on “Why I Coach.”
Stimson was the head coach for football and boys track and assistant coach for girls basketball when he started in Elk Horn right out of college. He coached the Danes at a time when they were transitioning from 11-player to 8-player. Stimson recalls they were trying to find a way to stay competitive with low numbers. “I thought it was a great idea because I was fortunate enough when I was finishing up my schooling at Wayne State I did a student teaching job at Allen, Nebraska and they had an assistant football coaching position. And I had an opportunity to coach 8-man football there. I was all for it because I knew kind of what it was all about and different ways to manipulate the game to make it beneficial for your players. I was pretty excited for what that brought for the Elk Horn-Kimballton Danes.”
His knowledge of the 8-player game helped, but he also had a ton of great athletes to work with. “Blair Paulsen, Brett Paulsen, Chris Petersen, Kent Gries, Alan Linden, Kyle Jensen and Kyle Chambers. I could go on and on as far as that. They led the way, they paved the way. They set up a successful program for the kids that followed. It was that leadership that came from those guys. They spent a lot of time in the weight room and really worked their tails off.”
The Danes went undefeated in their first two seasons and made the inaugural 8-player state championship game where they lost by one point to Adair-Casey in 2000. When Stimson moved on from Elk Horn-Kimballton his landing spot was Waukon where he was the head football coach for two years, head softball coach for six years, and served as an assistant girls basketball coach under the legendary Gene Klinge. “He was so full of knowledge. He was so welcoming with open arms to come in if you had any question or to teach some things. The kids resonated well with him. He was a great guy and I was glad I had that opportunity to work underneath him and work with him.”
Most recently Stimson was the head boys basketball coach at Paton-Churdan, but lists the amount of time on the road as a primary factor in him deciding to step down. He hasn’t ruled out coaching again and has even sought out some volunteer opportunities.
Previous Coaches
John Kesselring, Adair-Casey alum
Eric Maassen, (AHST grad) Sheldon
Jerome Hoegh, Atlantic grad (West Sioux)
Gaylord Schelling, Atlantic and Tri-Center
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)
Chris Stimson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Jan Jensen, Elk Horn-Kimballton alum
Seth Poldberg, EH-K grad and Guthrie Center coach
Trevor Gipple, (Griswold grad) SW Valley
Angie Spangenberg, Harlan and Red Oak
Eric Stein (Harlan grad) Iowa Central
Darrell Burmeister, Nodaway Valley
Lanny Kliefoth, Nodaway Valley
