Wurst named as volleyball coach, Hocking takes over football team

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A pair of familiar faces will be stepping into some new roles at New York Mills School this fall. 

Harley Wurst will be taking over as the new head volleyball coach after longtime coach Tammy Olson stepped down from the position last year, while Zach Hocking will be roaming the sidelines as the new head football coach after another longtime coach Matt Radniecki retired after spending parts of three decades at the helm.

As they learn the ropes of their new roles within the NY Mills School District, both head coaches said they are looking forward to getting the seasons underway. One thing both new head coaches have in common is they are just a handful of years removed from playing high school sports themselves, something they said could actually work in their favor as they can relate to today’s student-athletes in a different way.

Hocking is entering his fourth year with the NY Mills football program after coaching both the offensive and defensive lines last year. Originally from Park Rapids Area High School, Hocking said he was encouraged to apply for the head coaching job by former coach and activities director Matt Radniecki when he stepped down from both positions last year.

“I knew I wanted to help coach football,” said Hocking of joining the NY Mills staff. “I didn’t know I wanted to be a head coach until Matt told me he was stepping down and told me I would be a good candidate.”

Since taking over the role as head coach, Hocking said he has put a focus on creating a new culture within the program and making sure the student-athletes understand the way he wants things to be done on and off the field. He is also putting an emphasis on focusing on doing the little things on the field.

For Wurst, the journey of becoming head coach is sort of a full circle opportunity. After playing high school volleyball for Olson, the 2019 NY Mills High School graduate joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach shortly after graduating high school and has been involved in the program ever since. She is one of a handful of former NY Mills Eagle players who are currently involved with the volleyball program today. 

“The opportunity was there so I thought I would try it,” said Wurst, who was also a member of the 2018 state tournament volleyball team. “I knew Tammy was going to resign and having been in the program I felt I was right for the job.”

Having helped with the volleyball program at a number of different levels through the years, Wurst said she is looking forward to being with the more senior high level athletes this fall. She said she really enjoys working with the older athletes as coaches are able to spend less time breaking down basic points about the sport and can spend more time working on the finer aspects of the game.

The NY Mills volleyball team opened their season on Tuesday night in Frazee, while the football team will open their season on Thursday night at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa.