Iowa Girls’ Coaches Association Announce Girls Basketball
Assistant Coaches of the Year
An overlooked and sometimes underappreciated member of a school community is
the assistant coach. Every head coach knows how valuable a good assistant is to the
success of his or her program. The Iowa Girls’ Coaches Association (IGCA) would
like to salute two long-time assistant coaches and the exemplary role they play in
their communities.
Each of the two winners will be honored at the IGCA Hall of Fame Banquet in Cedar
Rapids at the Clarion Hotel on April 5, 2014, at 6:30 pm.
Sue Crandall, Oelwein
Sue Crandall has been the head 9th grade coach and one of the varsity assistants at
Oelwein High School for the past nine years. Overall, Sue has been coaching
basketball for 25 years, along with numerous other activities such as track, softball,
volleyball and cheerleading. Sue is also the DECA advisor at Oelwein high school.
Sue created special relationships with hundreds of girls over the years. Her
commitment to the students and athletes at Oelwein is unparalleled. Every year, she
hosts a Christmas party for our basketball team that has become one of the
highlights of the season for our players. When Sue and her husband Dan nearly lost
their house to fire three years ago, she still organized the Christmas party and we
held it at another coach's house. To Sue, this is probably a minor or trivial thing, but
I think it is the perfect example of the selflessness and dedication she shows to our
athletes on a daily basis. I could come up with countless examples about this with
Sue. She has high expectations for our players, but is also the first one there to give
the girls a hug when they need it. I honestly think many of them see Sue as a second
mother!
Sue is retiring this year after a long career in education and coaching. She is going to
leave a huge void in our coaching staff that will be very difficult to fill. I believe that
she is a great candidate for the Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Nominated by Travis Druvenga, Head Varsity Girls Basketball, Oelwein High School
Dana Vige, South O’Brien
Dana has been an assistant girls basketball coach for 28 years. He has served as
football coach for 37 years, girls and boys track for 28 years, and 3 years as a
volunteer coach. Dana stands for everything good about coaching. He has always
coached with a purpose to drive his athletes to be the best they can be on and off the
court. He has been a solid rock on our team with the transition we have had after the
passing of our coach last year Derrick Rensink. His consistency has really helped the
players and my own healing process.
I can’t imagine how intense of a coach he was in his younger years based off his
coaching style now! He is as passionate as ever and I am forever in debt to him for
all the help he has gave to the South O’Brien community in the good years, and
through our incredible sorrow this off-season.
Nominated by Jayme Rozeboom, Head Girls Basketball Coach, South O’Brien
Other nominees considered:
Mitch Jankowski, Prince of Peace Prep, Clinton, IA
Joe Benedict, Cedar Rapids Kennedy
Roxanne Kuhlman, St. Edmond Fort Dodge