Thirty-two-year high school coach and Washburn graduate Jeff Stromgren will move to the college ranks as he takes over the Ichabod golf team later this month.

 

Athletic director Loren Ferre’ announced Tuesday that Stromgren, a golf coach at Washburn Rural since 1993, will take over the position as the Ichabod men’s head coach this fall and start August 19.

 

“Washburn is a great place,” said Stromgren, a 1979 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in education. He played basketball and golf for the Ichabods from 1977-79 and was the basketball team MVP in 1978-79. He also earned all-Central States Intercollegiate Conference as a guard that year.

 

“The campus has changed tremendously and has grown in a positive direction under President Jerry Farley. It’s a great place to recruit to.”

 

Stromgren replaces Doug Hamilton, who coached 10 years at Washburn before resigning this summer. Hamilton led Washburn to its first five MIAA titles and to 10 NCAA tournaments. The Ichabods finished second in the league this year and 15th in the nation.

 

Stromgren started his career in 1980 at Meade High School in Meade, Kan., as head boy’s basketball coach and assistant football coach until 1982.  He then coached from 1982 to 1989 at Winfield High School in Winfield, Kan., as head coach of the boy’s and girl’s golf teams and the boy’s basketball team.

 

He moved to Topeka in 1989 and started at Washburn Rural as head boy’s basketball coach until 1994. In 1993 he took over the girl’s golf program and in 1997 he headed the boy’s golf team and he’s held those to positions since then.

 

“College coaching will be similar, just with older and more mature players at a higher level,” Stromgren said. “There will be changes in the way I do things but golf is still the same game no matter what level you play on.”

 

Stromgren has three 6A state titles at Rural (1997, 2005, 2008) and 17 city titles with five in the last five years. His Junior Blues teams have finished in the top five in state 15 times and he has 25 league and 21 regional titles in his career. He was city coach of the year 19 times and state coach of the year in 2005.

 

“We’re very excited to give Jeff a chance to continue the success he’s built at the high school level on the collegiate level at Washburn,” Ferre’ said. “He had a great start as a student and athlete at Washburn and there are many of us who are looking forward to having him back where he started.”

 

Stromgren has coached over 30 players who went on to play college golf including nine who played with NCAA Division I schools. Along with coaching, he has also taught at each of the three high schools he’s worked at. He will continue to teach at Washburn Rural during the 2012-13 season.

 

“I plan to run very organized practices that will involve more than playing,” he said. “We’ll work on different drills and break down shots in different situations. I want the players to be familiarized with every situation so if they get into trouble they’re more comfortable.”

 

Stromgren was born in Emporia, Kan., but grew up in Abilene. He’s a 1975 graduate of Abilene High School and he’s been married 33 years to his wife, Stephanie. They have two grown daughters, Whitney and Adin. Whitney played college golf at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Adin played at Wichita State.

 

Along with his degree from Washburn, he earned an associate’s degree in 1977 at Cowley County Community College and a master’s in education administration in 1988 from Southwestern College.