CEC Girls Hockey To Have New Coach

Mar 10

Kerry Rodd-NSO

Since the inception of the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey program there has been only one person at the helm steering the ship as head coach. However, starting next season Dick Bartholdi will no longer be the head coach of the program, following a decision to take it in a different direction within the past two weeks.

“Coach Bartholdi and I had a conversation after the season was over regarding whether or not he would return as coach the following year,” commented Lenarz. “This is not unusual and I have similar conversations with just about every coach after the season for that sport is done. During that conversation I told Coach Bartholdi that I felt it was time for us to make a change with the program. We continued our conversation and in the end he left the decision in my hands.”

Coaches in the Cloquet School District all operate under the same one year contract in which they are hired on a yearly basis. It is up to the district to determine if they would like to tender a contract to that person each year, and then it is up to the coach to decide if they want to come back for another year. In this case, Lenarz made the decision to end the coaching relationship and move in another direction.

“Obviously when a decision like this is made there are a lot of reasons that go into it,” explained Lenarz. “Going into specifics won’t benefit anyone, but I can only say that I have appreciated Coach Bartholdi’s dedication to the girls and the program.”

There is no question that without the type of dedication Bartholdi exhibited that the program would not have reached the heights it did. Bartholdi was a tireless worker and student of the game who could be found scouting other teams throughout the area as well as attending UMD women’s hockey games in an effort to continually learn new ways of helping his high school team. That work ethic was also extremely apparent in the off season when Bartholdi spent hours and hours developing his players in the summer and taking them to tournaments.

“[Coach Bartholdi] has achieved incredible things during his tenure and his record speaks for itself,” mentioned Lenarz. “This was not an easy decision and was certainly not one made in haste. He has done a tremendous job of building a program that is respected state wide. He would be the first to tell you that there were lots of people involved with this program that contributed to its success. As with any program, boys or girls, the kids deserve the real credit. The fact that they have been willing to work as hard as they do is a credit to them, their parents and their coaches. Coach Bartholdi has been instrumental in helping to promote that.”

Under the direction of Bartholdi, the Lumberjacks have been to numerous state tournaments and have finished as high as second place in the Minnesota State Class AA Tournament. A year ago, the Lumberjacks surprised everyone with an incredible run to the state tournament that saw them surprise Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall in the Section 7AA championship game. In fact, the number of ways Bartholdi made the program successful are so numerous that to try and mention them all in this article is probably close to impossible.

Now the task of trying to find a new coach to lead the team ahead is at hand and that job will be difficult.

“He leaves some very big shoes to fill and we will probably take our time to make sure we get the best coach we can to replace him,” Lenarz remarked. “I will approach filling this position with the same attitude I have with any other position I have had to fill. I want to find a qualified coach who is committed to providing a positive experience for our kids. “

Kerry Rodd can be reached at kerry@northlandsportsonline.com