Great Plains Athletic Conference

Mount Marty Names New Women's Basketball Coach

Posted by Corey Westra - Mon, Jul 21, 2008 - [ Women's Basketball ] - Viewed 266 times

Tom Schlimgen

Tom Schlimgen, former high school coach and South Dakota Hall of Fame recipient, has been selected as the new head women's basketball coach for Mount Marty College. Schlimgen has over 30 years of experience coaching high school and amateur sports in South Dakota, with the past 30 of those years in Scotland, South Dakota. At Mount Marty, he will be replacing former women's basketball coach, Chuck Iverson, who has accepted full-time duties as athletic director for Mount Marty College.

"We are excited about Tom accepting his position at Mount Marty. He will be a great fit for the basketball team, the college and the community," Iverson explained. "Several things attracted us to Tom. He has a great knowledge of the game, he has a fantastic network of coaches throughout the state, and his personality and philosophy fit perfectly with the Mount Marty basketball program and the college as a whole."

As Scotland's head boy's basketball coach, Schlimgen led the team to 18 district championships, 5 regional championships and 16 conference championships. The team also finished as the 2004 State B Championship runners-up.

Schlimgen considers the adjustment from high school varsity basketball to college basketball an exciting challenge. "I think basketball is basketball, but the level of play goes up," Schlimgen reflected. "I don't anticipate a lot of changes from varsity to college ranks, other than the shot clock which would be new for me. It's very challenging, but I'm looking forward to the season. We have a very nice group of ladies returning, and I see no reason not to expect the team to perform well.

"I'm especially aware of the high standards in Mount Marty athletics," he continued. "There is a very nice tradition in women's basketball here and coach Iverson has done a nice job of motivating the teams. I'm excited to continue carrying the torch of this very successful program."

As he begins his new role at the college, Schlimgen will address some key objectives at the start of the year, which will include filling assistant coaching positions and making the players feel comfortable and welcome with the transition. "I want to meet as many players as I can to make sure this happens," Schlimgen said. "Perhaps one of the positives is my tie to South Dakota sports when so many Mount Marty players are from South Dakota."

Schlimgen has a passion for all sports, and served as the head coach for girls basketball for four years, golf for 19 years, contributed over 20 years to summer baseball teams and served as assistant football coach and junior high football coach for many years.

Through his involvement, he's earned the respect of coaches throughout the state. In 2002, he served as the president of the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association (SDBCA) and in 2007 was inducted into the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition, he has appeared numerous times as a guest coach for several basketball all-star teams.

Schlimgen is presently a member of the Men's Senior Baseball League where he appeared on the national championship team representing South Dakota in 1992 and 1993 and coached the SD 40 and over team in 1998 and 1999.

Schlimgen originally entered coaching after graduating from Dakota State University with a major in social studies and a minor in physical education. From there, he taught social studies at Huron Junior High School for four years before relocating to Scotland.