Right place, right time to become head coach for Haag

MARION - Jason Haag had offers to lead his own wrestling program, but the Linn-Mar assistant coach turned them down.

Haag, a physical education and health teacher at Starry Elementary in Marion, finally found the head coaching position that compelled him to end his 10-year stint with the Lions.

Marion High School announced Wednesday that Haag has been hired as the Indians new head coach, replacing Bruce Weisinger who resigned at the end of last season. The appointment is still pending School Board approval, according to a press release from Marion Athletics Director Corby Laube.

"I'm pretty excited about it," Haag said. "I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Haag, 36, aspired to lead his own program. He has taught in the Marion Independent School District for 12 years, coaching junior high football for the last 11. A key factor that led to applying after Spring Break was being able to coach and teach in the same school district.

"I've always wanted to be head coach," said Haag, who enjoyed his time as an assistant while Linn-Mar experienced unprecedented success. "I had opportunities elsewhere, but turned them down. ... It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."

He inherits a Class 3A program that competes in the strong Wamac Conference. The Indians have struggled the last couple seasons after moving up from 2A. Numbers have been an issue recently and Marion finished the season with only about 20 wrestlers on the roster. He wants to improve that as well as develop the kids club.

"I'd like to increase the numbers and instill that hard work ethic in them," said Haag, noting that Marion assistant Joe Fotenot would stay on staff. "I look forward to building up the program and seeing what we can do with it."

Haag, a 1993 graduate of Monticello High School, wrestled at the University of Northern Iowa from 1994-98. He served as an assistant at Monticello, becoming an Indians volunteer assistant under Weisinger for two years. Haag then became an assistant for Doug Streicher at Linn-Mar until accepting the Marion position Friday. He helped coach Jay Borschel, Linn-Mar's four-time state champion, and Matt McDonough, a four-time state placewinner and three-time state champ for the Lions. Both won NCAA Division I titles for the University of Iowa. He was a member of the Linn-Mar staff that earned Class 3A Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year in 2002.

He praised Streicher for his work ethic and how smoothly he runs the Lions program from the kids club to the varsity level. He learned a lot from his former boss and hopes to carry some things over to his new post.

"The dedication he puts into it," Haag said. "I've been coaching with him for so long, he's such a good coach, I couldn't narrow it down to one thing.

"My 10 years was unbelievable. I learned so much."

Streicher was just as complimentary to Haag, mentioning his ability to work well with other coaches and relate to the wrestlers. Streicher said he identified Haag's head-coaching potential in his first couple years at Linn-Mar.

"He's got a number of assets," Streicher said. "He's an extremely hard worker and knows the sport. You have to have those two things.

"We're going to miss him. He's a great pick up for Marion."

Weisinger, also a UNI graduate and former Panther wrestler, has coached for 29 years, including three seasons as the Linn-Mar head coach before taking over at Marion. He has coached 30 state qualifiers and 18 medalists, 27 qualifiers and 17 placewinners at Marion. He guided Aaron Conway to the 2003 Class 2A 119-pound state title for Marion and Linn-Mar's Jeff Watts to the 3A heavyweight title in 1991. He made his final decision known about the time of the postseason awards banquet.

"I was thinking about it for quite awhile," Weisinger said. "I didn't do anything until after the season."

Weisinger said he will miss the kids, but he feels good about the accomplishments at Marion. Now, he will have more time to spend with his family, especially around the holidays.

"Thanksgiving and Christmas were never a time of our own," Weisinger said. "We always had to work around wrestling."

Weisinger will continue to teach industrial arts at Marion. He expects to be involved with the program, helping run tournaments and maybe visiting the practice room occasionally.

""I will be around," said Weisinger, adding with a laugh. "Wrestling coaches are hard to kill off."