Coach Krantz retires after 30 years

By KYLIE RICHTER

Lake County Leader

After two years as the head coach of the varsity girls’ basketball team in Polson, Jay Krantz has decided to step down.

“After over thirty years of coaching, it is time to make a change,” Krantz said, “I’ve spent a lot of years doing this, and it takes up a ton of time. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I have been fortunate to coach for as long as I have.”

Those many years started back in 1980, when Krantz took his first coaching job in Noxon.  He started out as the boys’ assistant coach and head track coach, then transitioned to a year as the head girls’ coach before being both the girls and boys varsity head coach for a couple of years. After those two years, Krantz dropped down to strictly boys’ varsity. 

In his nine years as head coach in Noxon, Krantz helmed some great teams, including the 1992-93 team, who lost to Highwood in the semifinals of the state tournament. “We had some great kids, and had a period where we won five or six conference championships and made a few state appearances.”

After 16 years at Noxon, Krantz and his family spent a year in his hometown of Ronan before ending up in Polson in 1998.

During his 17 years in Polson, Krantz has coached freshman football, varsity boys’ basketball, and has been both the assistant and head girls basketball coach. He has also been the Tech Education teacher throughout the years.

Krantz said his first coaching experience was during his high school years when a group of kids had lunchtime coaching duties for the younger kids. He enjoyed it and said having good experiences with his own coaches made him want to pursue it as a job. “I was part of the 1974 state champion football team, but basketball was my favorite. I had some good experiences with some good coaches,” Krantz said.

Krantz said his favorite part of coaching is getting lost in the game. “All your worries go away during games and you focus on what is at hand,” he said.

One of his other favorite parts is the personal side of it. “I’ve met some great kids over the years, and you get to know them and learn things you wouldn’t have otherwise. You travel around meeting coaches, parents and fans. There are some really great people in this area.”

After hanging up the whistle, Krantz said he has a few other things he would like to do. “I have a grandson and would really like to spend some more time with my family. Maybe do some more hunting and travel to watch a few college basketball games.” However, the community of Polson won’t have to look very far to find Krantz. He said he plans to continue teaching Tech Education and watching high school sports. “I’m going to continue to follow along with some of the kids, and I am going to miss coaching, but now I’ll just be a cheerleader in the stands.”