Stange is back in saddle at Sterling

By Sam Ojeda Sports Editor

It is not very often that the world sees coaches come out of their retirement but former Hutchinson Community College athlete, coach and administrator Randy Stange has taken over as the head men’s basketball coach for Sterling College.

Stange was a long time member of the HutchCC community. Stange, who is a Nickerson High School graduate, came to HutchCC as a member of the basketball team. He was a key piece of many successful teams but he was also a dual-sport athlete. Stange was also a Blue Dragon tennis player at the college. After HutchCC, Stange went on to have a successful career at Missouri State.

A coaching career filled with constant success and many stories followed in Stange’s career. After a long assistant coaching stint at multiple Division 1 programs, Stange returned to HutchCC as the men’s basketball coach in 1994.

“My time at Hutchinson is one of the best parts of my career so far,” Stange said.

Stange had a lot of success in his career but also had some regrets.

“My biggest regret when I was there was when I had my best team,” Stange said.

Stange had a really good looking team headed into the 1997-98 season. The Blue Dragons had won Region 6 the season before and Stange had compiled a quality roster for the next season.

Randy Stange, a former Hutchinson Community College student-athlete, coach and administrator, has come out of coaching retirement to coach Sterling College’s men’s basketball team

“My biggest regret in my career was not coaching that team,” Stange said. “That team could have competed for the national championship.”

What people forget about coaching is that they have a whole other side of life: The personal side. His family is what kept Stange from coaching that team.

“When I was coaching at Hutch, I had four kids,” Stange said about his family, “My oldest daughter was 6, and as a coach I missed every birthday party.

“I was never there.”

When the athletic director position at

HutchCC opened up, Stange was open to it but not exactly interested. However, his wife made his mind shift from open, to interested.

“She told me that I have missed every birthday,” Stange said. “That made

See Stange, Page 5