(Atlantic) From coaching football to baseball and everything in between, Atlantic’s Mike McDermott has enjoyed a career filled with giving kids an opportunity to succeed.
McDermott is a former head football coach for the Trojans and still oversees the Atlantic tennis programs. He’s also been involved with basketball, baseball, and hockey just to name a few.
McDermott lists his dad along with Terry Bitting, Mark O’Brien, Bob Younger, Chuck Burnett, Roger Warne, Joel Simms, Lynn Barnes, Dan Duskin, Dave Duskin, and Tom McLaren as impactful coaches as a young athlete. “Those guys helped me a lot, not only as a player, but in the future as a coach. You take things from each one of those. The things that you like, the things you think can fit into your coaching style and move forward with those. I used a wealth of their knowledge both as a player and as a coach later on.”
In college he gained a wealth of knowledge from the likes of Gary Roach, Scott Hoffman, Kyle Achterhoff, and Rich Wright. McDermott refers to Gaylord Schelling, Steve Blazek, and Terry Hinzmann as the “Big Three” when it comes to his coaching influences. “Those three really made a big impression on me. When I had those three that’s when I knew I wanted to get back into coaching and be a coach. When times get a little tough and you’re not really sure what you should be doing as a young coach, you fall back on thinking about those guys. How would they approach this situation and how would they set up practice?”
McDermott has a reputation as a creative offensive mind. In 2002 he oversaw an Atlantic offense that finished as Class 3A state champions. “Sometimes you just have to stay out of the way and let the horses run a little bit. There were certain times that had to happen and there were times we had to crack down a little bit discipline wise. There’s a fine line there, but it was great to see those guys. Looking back on that, we were kind of a spread team before the spread was really up and going. Looking back at the athletes we had, I think that really fit our mold really well.”
He sums up what his coaching career has meant to him. “There’s been a lot of people I’m grateful that I’ve been coached by, learned a lot from, and now I’m just trying to help youth have those opportunities for themselves.”
In addition to McDermott’s success in football, he led the Atlantic boys tennis team to a 4th place state finish in 2018.
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
Jeremy Blake and Michelle Blake, Nodaway Valley/Atlantic
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
Jim Flanery, Guthrie Center alum (Creighton women’s basketball)
Curt Schulte, Harlan graduate (Glenwood)
Liz Stein, Harlan graduate (Audubon and Underwood)
Mark Kohorst, Harlan (Kuemper Alum)
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
