Michalik hired by Fort Dodge
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I'm not sure the situation the past couple years but he has his work cut out for him. Girls basketball at Fort Dodge has been bad for a long time. I think it was 4-5 years ago they had a winless season where they got outscored something like 90-10 in a game.
I believe he married an Iowa farm girl
That always kind of makes me smile....I'm guessing 18 year old Julo never thought he'd come to Iowa and never leave. He's probably been here longer than he was in Slovakia.He was in a pretty serious car accident several years ago.
Julo was my coach at the Nick Nurse basketball camp about 20 years ago. He was an absolutely awesome coach, funny, bright, he was having a good time teaching
He is an awesome dude. Super nice.
Had his own little funny farm going on near Harlan (i think).
Had his own little funny farm going on near Harlan (i think).
I believe he married an Iowa farm girl
He was in a pretty serious car accident several years ago.
But, but... people don't come to Iowa for opportunity. Only people with no options end up in Iowa!
Had a chat with him tonight before the game in Harlan, Yes is is a Soccer coach.
Right after getting out of the Hospital after his accident. He was on crutches with a blood soaked sock helping me coach a my sons soccer team here in Harlan. UHH lets put it this way he isn't an elementary school age type coach. He accused some of the kids that may have weighed more than other of eating too many donuts and sitting on the couch all summer. (might have been the truth, but still).
I don't, but Julo does Twitter:
https://twitter.com/juliusmichalik/with_replies
I don't know for sure, but a post there suggests he was laid off, because of budget cuts. My understanding is that as a large, sprawling rural district (and as a result, high transportation costs), somehow Tri-Center had budget issues that relate to the state funding formula (my understanding anyway). So they had to lay some teachers off.
Again, I could be wrong about this, but that's the way it looks.
I think the Tri-Center girls soccer team, which Julo coaches, is pretty good.
Tri-Center girls basketball has been above average of late, I believe, and like many small schools, goes up and down depending on players available the time. They finished 2nd in state a few years ago, I think a year before Julo became head coach, but lost two big seniors from that team -- one Miss Iowa basketball, Wendy Ausdemore, a multi-sport star who could play every position on the court, and who played at UI, and the center, who I think got a basketball scholarship at Army.
https://twitter.com/juliusmichalik/with_replies
I don't know for sure, but a post there suggests he was laid off, because of budget cuts. My understanding is that as a large, sprawling rural district (and as a result, high transportation costs), somehow Tri-Center had budget issues that relate to the state funding formula (my understanding anyway). So they had to lay some teachers off.
Again, I could be wrong about this, but that's the way it looks.
I think the Tri-Center girls soccer team, which Julo coaches, is pretty good.
Tri-Center girls basketball has been above average of late, I believe, and like many small schools, goes up and down depending on players available the time. They finished 2nd in state a few years ago, I think a year before Julo became head coach, but lost two big seniors from that team -- one Miss Iowa basketball, Wendy Ausdemore, a multi-sport star who could play every position on the court, and who played at UI, and the center, who I think got a basketball scholarship at Army.
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Yes. Thanks for the correction. I wanted to put her name in and revised it because of that, because she was so good, so outstanding an athlete (but couldn't remember). She also had state titles (or near titles) in track, and I think the shot put.
Tri-Center actually has a fairly strong history in girls basketball, including a rivalry with Elk Horn-Kimballton in 6-player, where Elk Horn's best player was Jan Jensen (long the assistant to Lisa Bluder, at UI, and before that at Drake, where she played). Tri-Center's best player was Jodi Ratigan, who got a scholarship at UI.
They were the two best 6-player teams in that area at that time. I think both schools were 5 player by Jan and Jodi's senior years (maybe all schools were by then).
Another Tri-Center alum, Karen Jennings, was national POY at Nebraska:
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=122497
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Thanks, mkadl.
Obviously I am pretty far removed. From a brief article today in the Council Bluffs Nonpareil, it appears I also overestimated how long Julo was head girls basketball coach at T-C, which was actually 4 years. It also confirms that his teaching contract was not renewed. It would suck for anyone, but again, it has to do with unexpected budget cuts. I don't know all the detail, but if I lived in the area, I would certainly want to know what I read before in the paper was correct. I would add, the high price of gasoline in recent years has a direct effect on school transportation costs. But I would think, it also tends to benefit schools closer to Council Bluffs-Omaha, like Underwood and Treynor, as to enrollment and population growth -- relative to Tri-Center (though it is still within easy commuting distance).
Michalik leaves T-C for Fort Dodge
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/spor...cle_81c8cea8-e25c-11e4-a88c-23c07eabe5be.html
To complete the square, the father of the author of the Nonpareil article, Gary White, was for a long, long time the Tri-Center girls head basketball coach and athletic director.
Kevin White covers southwest Iowa sports for both the Nonpareil and the Omaha World-Herald.
Here is Rob Gray's post yesterday and his earlier article on Michalik.
http://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=203350
Best of luck Julo!
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demoncore1031
Well-Known Member
My favorite ISU team ever was 1994-95 when we had Michalik, Hoiberg, Meyer, Beechum, Hamilton, Holloway, Hayes, Kimbrough and Abdel-Khaliq. Meyer vs Big Country and Ostertag were some classic battles.