Greg Hoeckle confirms 2023-24 will be his last year at Carrington

Apr. 6—CARRINGTON, N.D. — Greg Hoeckle is about to enter a totally different stage of life.

"Back in the '70s and '80s there were not a lot of options (for a career) in small-town North Dakota," said Hoeckle, a teacher and coach at Carrington High School. "My brother, two sisters, and two sisters-in-law were all teachers and I enjoyed working with kids. A (teaching) job opportunity came up that spring and the superintendent asked me if I wanted the job. I liked the school and community, so it was an easy decision."

All 34 years of Hoeckle's teaching career have been spent in Carrington. The longtime teacher and coach even student-taught at Carrington in the spring of 1990.

Most of Hoeckle's time at Carrington has been spent teaching elementary school physical education. He has also taught junior and senior high phys. ed, junior high health, junior high business and keyboarding at the junior high and elementary school levels.

"We have great students at Carrington, but I am limited in what I can teach them," Hoeckle said. "Since most of my time is spent in physical education and sports, I am having issues physically with the job. The students will be better off with someone more mobile than I am."

Hoeckle confirmed that the 2023-24 school year is his last year teaching and coaching in Carrington. The National Coach of the Year nominee said he does not know what his future plans are at this time.

"I owe a lot of my success at Carrington to many contributing factors," Hoeckle said. "My family: wife Brenda, daughters Taylor and Taryn, and son Thomas have all been a big support (and) my assistant coaches and athletic directors throughout the years have been a huge part of Carrington's success. Carrington School District and the Carrington community support all the sports programs and have been instrumental in its success."

2024 marks Hoeckle's third time being nominated by the State of North Dakota for National Coach of the Year in the sport of girls track and field.

Hoeckle is a former North Dakota track-and-field athlete himself. Hoeckle competed in track and field in high school at Pingree and then at Pingree-Buchanan.

"Our teams had a lot of success, but not much leadership," Hoeckle said.

After graduating, Hoeckle went on to gain a teaching degree and coaching minor from Valley City State University.

"While there I met up with my mentor, Dave Bass," Hoeckle said. "In college, I coached track for one season at one of the elementary schools, one season at Oriska High School, and one season under Coach Bass at the university. Coach Bass was intense, knew everything, was a great motivator, and was loved by all. He was my biggest inspiration in coaching."

When Hoeckle was student teaching at Carrington, he coached under North Dakota coaching legend Ron Wingenbach, who also happens to be up for the National Coach of the Year in the sport of football.

"Ron left that spring for Bismarck Century and he told the superintendent that he wanted me to replace him at Carrington," Hoeckle said. "Our Superintendent Dr. Charles Brickner asked me if I wanted the job and I said, 'Sure.'"

Hoeckle took over the track program in the fall of 1990.

"I love working with the athletes and helping them become their best version of themselves," Hoeckle said. "I am lucky because I get to see the potential in these athletes at an early age, but it is still up to them to work hard and put in the time to be their best.

"One of the main aspects that I try and instill in the athletes is the mental part," he said. "We have them work on self-discipline, mental toughness, stressful situations, confidence, focus and determination. These areas are just as important as the physical part."

Through the 2022-23 season, Hoeckle collected a 285-59 record. Under Hoeckle's reign, Carrington has collected nine state championships, three state runners-up titles and 19 regional championships. He has been named the Regional Coach of the Year 10 times, the State Coach of the Year seven times and a National Coach of the Year finalist twice.

All of his accolades are a testament to Hoeckle's willingness to learn and try new things.

"During my first couple of years, I became sick of Harvey High School kicking our butts in the hurdles and I had enough," Hoeckle said. "Beckee Keller of Harvey and Dale Kennedy from Montana State University both helped inspire me a lot. I learned that coaching is a continual learning experience. Hurdling was no longer a weak area."

Whitney (Carlson) Bruins is one of many testaments to Hoeckle's coaching methods.

Throughout her high school career, the 2021 North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame inductee achieved 19 state titles, beginning with a victory in the state Class B 800-meter relay event in 2001. Her freshman through senior years, she won four state individual titles each season.

Bruins broke several overall and Class B state records, two of which — the 100 hurdles and long jump — are still unbroken. Bruins helped Carrington to three North Dakota Class B crowns and was named Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year. She was named Class B Female Senior Athlete of the Year in 2006.

Hoeckle was also on the sidelines when Jim Kleinsasser, Sarah Klein, Adriana Friezen, Josey Page and Kayla Hochhalter were named the Class B Senior Athlete of the Year.

While he's only seen six athletes named the Senior Athlete of the Year in his tenure, Hoeckle has witnessed more than 80 school records get broken and thousands of personal goals be met.

When asked which athletes stood out to him as a coach, Hoeckle took a moment to contemplate.

"How many pages is the article?" he said. "That question really throws me for a loop. It makes me think about all the standout athletes that have come through the track and field program."

After much deliberation, Hoeckle produced a list of about 40 names.

"There are many state champions that are not on this list," Hoeckle said. "The stories behind all these athletes are endless — the number 40 is not even close to all of them. I cherish the time I spent with every one of them, and they are the true success stories of the teams. I am so proud to see so many of the athletes become coaches themselves and give part of themselves to help other athletes."