March 25, 2008
(release courtesy of Larry Happel, Central College sports information director)

PELLA, IOWA . . . High school coaching veteran Jerry Nikkel has been named head women’s basketball coach at Central College after four seasons as an assistant.

Nikkel, a Central College graduate, racked up a 439-190 record in 29 years as a high school boys’ basketball coach before joining the Dutch staff in 2005. He replaces Natalie Nakic, who resigned after three seasons.

Before returning to Central, Nikkel was the boys’ basketball coach at Marshalltown High School for 10 years, guiding the Bobcats to four state tournament appearances and placing third in 1999. He spent 20 years at Pella Christian High School, winning state championships with the Eagles in 1990, 1992 and 1993.

He was also a head girls’ softball coach for 19 years, leading Pella Christian to state tourney berths in 1989 and 1990, coaching 10 seasons at Marshalltown, and becoming as head softball coach at Knoxville High School in 2007. He’s posted a 475-352 career mark.

“It’s a pleasure for us to have Jerry Nikkel involved in our program,” Central athletic director Al Dorenkamp said. “’He’s a veteran coach who has a strong relationship with the players in our program. He understands recruiting and has worked very hard in that area. I think he’s going to bring some stability to our program as the team seeks to improve. We’re thankful that he’s willing to step up in this time of transition and we hope we can surround him with a coaching staff that will help our program move forward.”

Nikkel wants his players to develop as students as well as players.

“I’m concerned about them as student-athletes,” Nikkel said. “We want them to become young women who are going to be successful in their future careers. Basketball is just a small part of that experience.”

He said his immediate focus is on the players in the program.

“I plan to meet with them to discuss their future in our basketball program” he said. “And then I’ll meet with them individually to discuss their individual roles in helping our basketball program become a winning program.”

He will also continue recruiting extensively.

“We’ve got to get out there and work hard,” he said. “We have to be able to sell what we’re doing.”

On the court, Nikkel is pushing offense.

“Number one, we’ve got to be able to score more points,” he said. “We have to become offensive-minded and find ways to score. The kids have to be excited about what they’re doing and usually offense is the most exciting part of the game. If we do that well, then the other parts of the game will follow.”

Nikkel is confident the Dutch will succeed.

“I’ve had a lot of years of experience in doing things on the floor I thought were correct,” he said. “We’re going to look at building a strong offensive team, a real competitive defensive team and a team that has fun playing together.”

Central won the 1993 NCAA Division III championship, has earned five NCAA tournament berths and won or shared six Iowa Conference titles.

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