Dan Karsjens of AGWSR has been named the Iowa Girls Coaches Association’s Assistant Coach of the Year.
First-year head coach David Koop says the unwavering commitment shown by Karsjens over the last 30 years demonstrates how deserving he is of the award.
“There’s nobody more deserving than Mr. Karsjens of that award,” Koop says. “The dedication and the time he’s put in for the last 30 plus years of his life. He was on the state title team when Coach Bruce Dall was here. And he really just brought that experience to our staff. He’s seen a lot. He’s done a lot. He has the credentials to back up what he’s talking about. And I knew having him on the staff would be a big blessing for us. And the girls respect him. They’ve known him, I’ve known him, he taught us all in PE growing up. And it was just great to have him on the staff, whether it’s games or practices, not always running drills or stuff like that, but just sitting there and knowing that he can give insight when something’s over at the end of practice on what we can do better or how we can keep growing as a program and as a team.”
In Koop’s nomination letter to the IGCA, he noted that Karsjens was willing to be an unpaid assistant so younger assistants could be paid for their work. Koop said that Karsjens has been a great coaching mentor, and someone who would do anything for the student-athletes at AGWSR.
Karsjens was recognized for the honor at the program’s end-of-season banquet this week.
