(Des Moines) Our latest “Why I Coach” guest is a native of Chowchilla, CA. After one year at Merced Junior College, PJ Hedrington transferred to Upper Iowa and has been in the state ever since.
Coach Hedrington got his start in Atlantic where he learned from Gaylord Schelling. “I was blessed with coach Schelling. Gaylord Schelling a Hall of Fame coach at Atlantic. He knew my goal and my heart and things I wanted to do. I had him mentor me and he let me go. He would coach me up on mistakes I made, but he just let me go.”
Coach Hedrington says he had to slow down the game for high school kids and calls it a challenge, but a fun challenge. He was in Atlantic for two years before a two year stint at Adair-Casey. From there he went to Clarinda Academy for three years until he landed his first head coaching gig. Hedrington’s opportunity to lead his own program came at Shenandoah. “I was excited and ready for the opportunity. To go into a program that was 0-29 that’s a handful. That’s a big ask of anybody, especially a young man. I had great mentors like Ken Winkler and a great support system. Looking back at it I wish I had a couple of more years of experience to do that again. There are some things culturally I would have done different, but other than that it was fun. The kids I had and the staff provided a great atmosphere. The community was great. They got their first win in a few years. It was a great experience.”
In his first year with the Mustangs the program won their first game in over three years. “I just remember crying on the sideline with the assistant coaches. I felt so happy and I still feel happy for those kids.” After Shenandoah he spent two years at Kuemper Catholic. He was on the Knight’s staff as an assistant when they won the 2013 State Championship. Another head coaching opportunity came at Forest City for the next two years and he led the Indians to a top ten ranking. He was also head coach at DM Roosevelt for a year and has spent the past couple of seasons as an assistant at Drake.
Hedrington says he’s always been about relationships and has learned as time goes on to be more patient. “Caring about the kids. Kids have always come first. Kids don’t care how much you know, they want to know how much you care. That is so true and I’ve always been that way. I’m more patient with change and ability to adjust. Kids are much different with certain things. As parents we handle things different with kids now so that forces coaches to adjust, but I still coach kids hard and I love them up even harder.”
He had coaches that were like father figures to him and he’s glad to pay it forward. “It was amazing and it is still amazing. That’s the reason why I coach. Watching these young men. That is what it’s about to me. I remember years and years ago sitting there in a blue shirt and Donald Duck tie on Gaylord Schelling’s coach. I told him all I wanted to do was impact 15 lives and that’s my Hall of Fame as a coach. I think I’ve impacted way more and it’s truly a blessing to give back and I think way more kids have impacted me.”
Hedrington indicates he fully intends to be a head coach at the high school level again, but is waiting for the right time and right situation.
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)
Steve Pelzer, Cumberland-Massena
Andy Hensley, Cumberland-Massena grad (Tri-Center)
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)
Liz Stein, Harlan graduate (Audubon and Underwood)
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
Kevin Suhr, (Walnut Grad) Blue Valley High School, KS
