Ready to take over as head coach of DWU football, Alex Kretzschmar was formerly a volunteer.

A native of Wisconsin, he is excited to lead the Tiger football program.

MITCHELL — Alex Kretzschmar finds it hard to believe he is the head football coach at Dakota Wesleyan.

After all, Kretzschmar called Ross Cimpl just three years ago to offer his assistance as a volunteer staff member for the Tigers.

The Wisconsin native finally got the head coaching position he had long desired on Monday morning when Cimpl told Kretzschmar that, following 12 years as DWU’s head coach, he was taking a promotion to become the Tigers’ new athletic director and that he was appointing Kretzschmar to replace him.

DWU football coach Kretzschmar, who was formally introduced on Tuesday afternoon, remarked, “It’s still a little surreal.” “When I get up in the morning and go about my day, I’ll realize that I’m no longer just the offensive coordinator.”

After serving as an assistant coach for 12 seasons at several colleges around the nation, including the past two at DWU, Kretzschmar claims that the university did not plan on promoting him to head coach. It was intended for Cimpl to serve as athletic director temporarily before returning to coaching after Jon Hart, the athletic director, resigned for a new role at the University of Sioux Falls at the end of the previous year. But in the last several weeks, Cimpl has been contacting Kretzschmar about maybe taking over as coach.

“Hey, this could go this way, it’s nothing for sure, I don’t want to get your hopes up or anything like that,” Ross stated in a conversation Kretzschmar had had with him one or two before. “I know you have dreams of maybe becoming a head coach someday. Would this be something you’d be interested in?’ he once asked me. And I responded, “Yes, without a doubt,” but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to stop coaching just yet.

It was full steam ahead once Cimpl, who declined to comment for this article before it was published, notified Kretzschmar of his elevation. Throughout the week, Kretzschmar has met with school authorities, his current players, and recruits from the 2024 class who were recently signed by the Tigers.

The move is anticipated to go smoothly because Kretzschmar was promoted from within and Cimpl is still on campus. Respecting what Cimpl has created, Kretzschmar has no intention of changing the program’s core principles. But now it’s his team to lead.

“My name is on it,” he declared. “And in order for me to be authentic to the players and people on campus in the community, I have to put my own spin on it, because then that’s what makes it mine.”

Getting to DWU

After working as a Division III assistant for six years, traveling from the Quad Cities, Iowa, to Waterville, Maine, Kretzschmar was able to establish himself in Madison when he was hired as Dakota State’s offensive coordinator.

He first got to know Dr. Katrina Almeida in the fall of 2018 when she was beginning her career as a surgeon at Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell, having recently completed her residency. In 2019, they began dating, and soon after, they moved in together.

Because Kretzschmar lived in Mitchell and commuted to Madison every day to coach football, a dynamic was established. He departed Dakota State following the 2020 campaign and contacted Cimpl on the possibility of working as DWU’s assistant coach.

He volunteered for the program in the spring and summer, focusing on the defensive end of the ball, until he was given the chance to coach wide receivers at Valley City State in North Dakota. Following nine months of a distant relationship with his future wife, Almeida, Kretzschmar received an offer to work full-time with DWU as their special teams coordinator.

“It’s not offensive, I know that.” “But at least you’d get to move back and sleep in your bed on a normal basis again,” Kretzschmar remembers Cimpl saying to him.

Kretzschmar grabbed the chance and has been a Dakota Wesleyan student ever since. As offensive coordinator last season, he went back to his old haunts and helped the Tigers finish above.500 for the first time since 2017. The Tigers’ offense, led by All-American running back Jamin Arend, averaged 341.4 yards and 22.8 points per contest.

‘He is just really selfless’

Because of Kretzschmar’s commitment to coaching, the last ten years have seemed to fly by.

“To think that I’ve been coaching for more than ten years now has been strange.” I think I’m still learning about this industry,” he remarked. “The work has been quite demanding, and it will remain so in the future. However, I constantly tell people that coaching college football is akin to an addiction.

Like everyone else in the field, Kretzschmar is fixated with the act of winning and how it happens. He thinks he’s got what it takes to “find an edge” on Saturdays.

In addition to wanting to see his players reach their greatest potential both on and off the field, he likes being a part of a team. People close to him claim that his behavior supports his desires.

When Kretzschmar was the wide receivers/quarterbacks coach at Colby College (Maine) from 2015 to 2018, Jonathan Michaeles, the head coach, said of Kretzschmar, “He’s got a great work ethic, which I think anybody who’s going to move forward in coaching has to have.” But Alex’s genuineness has always struck me as something special about him. He is perfectly encapsulated in what he says and how he expresses it. That is greatly appreciated and respected by his teammates. He genuinely just gives freely of his time and attention to athletes and coworkers alike.

Despite his self-description as passionate, Kretzschmar doesn’t have a tendency to scream or shout. He deals with his players more methodically; he isn’t scared to chastise them when necessary, but he handles those situations coolly.

Above all, his mission has been to optimize the student athlete experience, starting with his playing days at St. Norbert College (Wis.) and continuing through his many coaching appointments at the Division III or NAIA level.

And he intends to pursue that goal in Mitchell.

“Our goal is to provide these guys with an opportunity to learn and position them for success, whether it be in the classroom, community, or on the field after graduation,” Kretzschmar stated. It truly is the purest form of playing the game for its own sake.