Huge honor for Flathead's Hodge
Flathead High School boys track and field coach Dan Hodge was awarded the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s National Coach of the Year award for boys track and field June 26 at the NHSACA’s convention in Des Moines, Iowa.
The fourth time proved the charm for Hodge, who was a finalist for the award in 2002, 2005 and 2008.
“Since I came to Flathead in 1972, I’ve been kind of chasing Joe McKay,” Hodge said of Flathead’s retired girls track coach, who won 12 state championships according to the Montana High School Association. “It makes me feel like I’m even with him.
“He quit coaching eight or 10 years ago and I feel like I finally caught up to Joe, and what a great target for me, because he was a tremendous guy, a tremendous coach and a tremendous person.”
Partly due to excitement and partly because he was seated near the back of the room, Hodge said he sprung out of his chair and jogged up to the podium when he heard he had won the award.
“We were the farthest coaches from the podium so I jogged up there, I was happy,” Hodge said. “Then when I got the award I started thinking back and it’s not just an award for me. I think it’s an award that speaks for Flathead High School track since I’ve been here.”
While the award is called “coach of the year,” it rewards coaches for their career accomplishments through the 2011-2012 season. In 38 years as Flathead’s head boys track coach, Hodge has won six state titles with seven second-place finishes. He’s also guided his teams to 16 divisional championships and has coached five Gatorade Player of the Year award-winners.
“In 1970-1971, I was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam,” Hodge said. “I got home from the service, I applied for one job in 1972 and I’m still at that job. My job has been real stable, I’ve been in a real stable program. I’ve had tremendous support from assistant coaches and parents. When you put that all together, it’s the formula for success and it’s not just me. Everything fits together.”
Hodge said his wife, Pat, and his assistant coaches have been a huge part of his success.
“I dont think there’s a track staff in the United States that has more longevity than our staff,” he said. “I would put our staff against any coaching staff in the United States and I would say they’re as good as any college staff in the United States. They’re all professionals.”
Hodge’s contributions to the sport go beyond the high school level. He’s helped with the highlander youth track program for 40 years and is a certified USATF official who officiates indoor meets in Bozeman during the winter.
The award had eight finalists. Hodge qualified after winning the Region 7 (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska) Coach of the Year award. While his credentials speak for themselves, he was still forced to sweat it out at the convention.
“I was unbelieveably nervous,” he said. “They were awarding coach-of-the-years for 19 sports. It just so happened that the coach of the year I was up for was the 17th they were awarding. I had to sit through 16 National Coach of the Year awards.”
Hodge was one of three Montana coaches honored at the convention. Great Falls C.M. Russell football coach Jack Johnson and Cut Bank tennis coach James Gregg also won Coach of the Year awards in their respective sports.
Flathead girls track and field assistant coach Gary Moen was a finalist for the Assistant Coach of the Year award for girls sports.