“Zimney Headed for the Hall”

“Coaching track at Grand Forks Red River High School again?

Being selected for induction into a national coaches hall of fame?

Bob Zimney didn’t see either as likely a year ago. But now the longtime Roughriders coach has a check mark on both.

The 63-year-old, after retiring last spring from the head Red River boys track coaching position he’d held for 37 years, is back as a volunteer assistant. And in late June, he’ll head to Louisville, Ky., where he’ll be inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

“Coaching again at Red River, that was an unexpected turn of events,” Zimney said. “Going into the national hall of fame, that was really a big surprise. I’d have to go with that one as the bigger surprise of the two. When I got an email notifying me of it, I was caught completely unaware.”

Zimney and longtime Linton-H-M-B football and wrestling coach Dan Imdieke will be the two inductees from North Dakota this year into the national hall.

Zimney had an impressive resume at Red River. His Roughrider teams won state team titles in 1983 and 1992 and placed second at state three times. His athletes won 55 individual state titles and 10 state relay championships. Zimney was a four-time Class A coach of the year award winner and was a five-time finalist for national boys track coach of the year.

As Zimney’s coaching career was winding down, he thought there was a chance he would get into the state coaches association’s hall of fame, something that happened in 2012.

“But the national hall? No, that was never on my radar,” Zimney said. “When I think of some of the other North Dakota coaches who are in that, people like Sid Cichy, Ed Beyer, Gelaine Orvik, guys like that, I don’t see myself as anywhere near what they accomplished. It’s quite humbling.

“It’s a reflection of coaching many years in a great school and a great community. There are a lot of things that have to fall into place to stay with it for that long—good athletes, some very knowledgeable and dedicated assistant coaches.

“Guys like Tim Delmore, Pat Peake, Tim Tandeski, Lee Baker, who were all with the program for 20-plus years, that makes it easy for a head coach when you have assistant coaches like that who are so passionate about what they do with the program.”

Now Zimney is in an assistant’s role, coaching the boys and girls hurdlers for the Red River teams.

When he resigned last spring, Zimney said the plan was that he and his wife, Nancy, were going to move to Sioux Falls, S.D. Their Grand Forks house was for sale last summer.

But late last summer, Grand Forks Central High School had an unexpected teacher opening in its math department. Nancy Zimney was asked to fill the position and she accepted. That put the couple’s departure from Grand Forks on hold for a year.

“Nancy is very loyal to Central,” Bob Zimney said. “She enjoyed her years teaching there.”

That led to Jeff Bakke, Zimney’s replacement as head coach and a former hurdler for the Roughriders, asking his mentor if he would help.

Zimney is enjoying the opportunity to coach while not having to deal with the details that go with being a head coach.

“When is the parents’ meeting? When is the team picture? Making deadlines for different things, taking care of entering track meets—I don’t have to deal with all of that now,” Zimney said. “The details could get tedious at times, although I did enjoy all aspects of the job. But some parts of the job you miss less than others.

“My mind isn’t on track 98 percent of my waking hours any more, like it was when I was head coach. The other two percent of the time, it was on food. Now I just go to practice and coach the hurdlers. It’s a lot more relaxing.”

Coaching the hurdlers has been Zimney’s specialty for the past 25-plus years, he estimates. Several of his state champions during Zimney’s head coaching years were hurdlers.

At the season-opening Cobber Indoor meet last week, Red River’s Mo Kamara, a state runner-up in the 110 hurdles last season, won the 55 hurdles. He was followed by, in order, Peter Wysocki, Tyler Enerson, Parker Wenzel, Alex Holmes and Carlos Horcacitas as Red River had the top six finishers in the race in the 10-team meet.

“We’re off to a good start,” Zimney said.”