Bishop Heelan High School announced on Tuesday that Darron Koolstra is the new Girls Head Basketball Coach, according to Activities Director Jason Pratt.
Koolstra was not the school’s first choice but he became the last choice. The school had offered the position to former Hinton Girls Head Coach Matt Leary, who initially accepted the position. However, on Saturday May 30, Leary changed his mind and resigned, saying that he had too many committments.
Koolstra was the Assistant Head Coach at North High School and helped Head Coach Kirk Walker win a state championship in 2009. Koolstra was part of 2 state titles with the Stars.
Heelan won the girls state title in 2008 and made it to the finals this past season. Head Coach Doug Moody stepped down after accepting a similar position in the Omaha area. The Crusaders return Senior Carli Tritz — who was voted the MVP of the entire state tournament in 2009 and has accepted an offer to play basketball at Creighton. All-Tournament Selection Millie Niggeling also returns for Heelan, giving Koolstra a dynamic duo from with to work with.
Koolstra was an assistant in the North basketball program for 11 years — 5 with the girls and 6 with the boys. He spent 1 season as freshman boys Head Coach at South Sioux City. Koolstra is a native of Little Rock, IA and played 2 years of college basketball at Westmar in Le Mars.
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