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From: "Olson, Lynn" 
To: "Women-in-hockey@plaidworks. com (E-mail)"
  
Subject: St. Cloud State University fills women's hockey coaching
  vacancy
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 14:44:08 -0500 
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SCSU fills women's hockey coaching vacancy 
Kevin Allenspach  
email@hidden 

The way the St. Cloud State women's hockey players look at it, any move was
better than none. They're just happy to know that now they have a head
coach. 
Jason Lesteberg, who coached his first Division I season at Bemidji State
last year, signed a four-year contract on Tuesday morning. He will earn an
annual base salary of $54,000, beginning July 29. The contract of Kerry
Brodt Wethington, the first coach in the four-year history of the program,
expired on June 30. On Feb. 13, she announced she would step down at the end
of the season, and her team went on to finish 7-26-1 overall - the worst
record of her tenure. 
The intervening 41/2 months left the players feel like they were sailing in
a rudderless ship. 
"I'm relieved and I know our whole team is happy to have this done," senior
defender Amanda Mathison said. "We were all ready to move on a long time
ago, but we haven't been able to really leave things behind until now. This
gives us that much more incentive. I'm sure everyone's working out, thinking
they want to come in and impress (Lesteberg) this fall. He knows what it
takes to turn a program around with what you've got right now because that's
what he did at Bemidji State." 
Lesteberg, whose name ironically was misspelled in the school's official
announcement of the finalists, was chosen over Canadian Olympic assistant
Melody Davidson, South St. Paul High School coach Dave Palmquist and America
West Hockey League commissioner Steve Nelson. 
"Professionally, I really like this campus," Lesteberg said. "The facilities
are phenomenal. All the key elements to success are here. That's where I
want to be." 
The other three candidates, all reached late Monday, had not been in contact
with St. Cloud State officials, meaning Lesteberg was indeed the school's
top choice. 
"We all felt any one of (the finalists) could've come in and done an
outstanding job," St. Cloud State athletic director Morris Kurtz said.
"That's a great scenario for us, because you can't go wrong. 
"The next step was to figure out who was the best fit. It became clearer and
clearer that (Lesteberg) had the knowledge, the energy, the work ethic
needed to fit our program. 
The Huskies finished 6-17-1 in the WCHA last season, seven points behind
fifth-place Bemidji State. Lesteberg's team was 12-13-8 overall, 7-11-6 in
the league. The Beavers were 9-24-1 overall, 6-17-1 in the WCHA, the year
before he arrived. 
Lesteberg coached at Wisconsin-Stevens Point two years ago, and spent the
previous eight years at Gustavus - four as a player and four as an assistant
coach. At Stevens Point, his team was 13-13-1 overall in the school's first
season of varsity women's hockey, with just 15 players on his roster, and
none with prior college experience. During his tenure at Gustavus, the
Gusties were 33-39-5 overall. 
"I was kind of surprised, but then I think I would've been surprised no
matter who they chose because I was clueless to tell which one (of the
candidates) was better than the others," senior goaltender Laura Gieselman
said. "I liked what (Lesteberg) had to say when he came (to campus). He said
we're here to go to school and to play hockey. Bemidji State moved up a lot
last year under him. They were more physical and they had a great work
ethic. That's something we need." 
St. Cloud State posted its only winning overall record (17-16-2) in
2000-2001. But more than a dozen players have since quit, transferred, been
declared academically ineligibile, or been released from the team. There are
22 players on the roster now, and Lesteberg said he may add another couple,
in addition to holding open tryouts this fall. 
"My first priority is to contact all of the players and introduce myself as
the head coach," said Lesteberg, 30. "We need to start building a bond and a
relationship. Building the program back up doesn't start in the fall when
school starts." 
St. Cloud State men's hockey coach Craig Dahl, the chairman of the search
committee, said Lesteberg's interview set him apart. 
"That really wowed me," Dahl said. "I had no question about x's and o's with
some of the other candidates. (Lesteberg) was the best prepared. He knew
about our program and what it takes to fix it." 
Lesteberg's excitement was tempered Tuesday by two things. One, his father
was to undergo gall bladder surgery in the Twin Cities. Two, he was leaving
a program he'd thrown his heart into - if only for a year. 
"I feel bad for my players at Bemidji," Lesteberg said. "I really care about
them and I hope they'll know that. 
"(Family) is a big element of my life," added Lesteberg, whose parents and
his brother and his family live in the metro area. "I don't let something
like that take me away from my job, unless it's something of a serious
nature. But being able to see my nephew and niece and all my friends in the
Twin Cities ... it's going to be nice." 
Lesteberg, a national coach of the year nominee the past two seasons, said
that - while recruiting is important - he intends to focus on the current
team right away. 
Kurtz said he expects no miracle turnaround. 
"I think we always evaluate all our programs the same way," Kurtz said.
"First, is the mission of that program consistent with the mission of the
athletic department and the university? We want outstanding young people in
the classroom, on the playing surfaces and in the community. Secondly, we
want to have a competitive program. It's not win-at-all-costs, but we want
to win as much as anyone. We've demonstrated our patience over the years
with a coach like Craig Dahl, for example. There's no dictum. There are no
swords hanging over your head saying you've got to be (at a certain number
of wins) in three years."