Owatonna’s Holcomb Becomes St. Cloud Girls Hockey Coach

I'm going to miss talking with Tony Holcomb on-the-glass at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna. I could usually find him behind the net on the east side of Dudley Otto Rink. He always had something to say about the tunes I had spun that day on AM 1390 KRFO. We might talk about the game in front of us, but just as likely we asked about each others kids.

Holcomb has accepted the girls hockey varsity head coaching position in St. Cloud. It is his first varsity head varsity job. He recently was hired as a special education teacher in the St. Cloud district, according to a story in The Rink Live. The St. Cloud girls hockey program is a co-op of Apollo, Tech, and Cathedral. They go with the nickname Icebreakers.

I enjoyed picking Holcomb's brain about coaching. He has coached multiple sports at a variety of levels over the years. I have bumbled along as a baseball coach for my son's teams over the years. I think he still owes me a book that he recommended I read, though I don't recall the name of it.

Holcomb has taught and coached at Owatonna High School, Bloomington Jefferson, and Cannon Valley Special Education Coop in Faribault. A St. Cloud State graduate, Holcomb told The Rink Live, "I've coached a lot of youth hockey and, looking for a new teaching job, teaching special education, I saw St. Cloud had an opening."

He says he was in the area while watching his son Alec pitch for Waterloo of the Northwoods League last summer, "It reminded me how much I enjoy St. Cloud."

On a side note, I recently caught up with Alec who was just finishing his senior year at North Dakota State University. He has an ultimate goal of getting into coaching as well.

Tony said, "I haven't coached in high school for probably 10 years and I've been coaching a lot of youth programs...(with his children older)...This is the time to get back into high school coaching."

Holcomb can continue to listen to AM 1390 while in St. Cloud. That frequency belongs to a Townsquare Media station WJON. He spoke with Granite City Sports.