By Bruce Karnick

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Two coaches for fall sports stepped down at the end of their seasons, both positions have been filled.

Girls Soccer

When Raiders Girls Soccer Head Coach Scott Meier stepped down after the fall season ended in Rosemount, Athletic Director Trent Hanson began the search for Meier’s replacement quickly. That search ended with the hiring of Paul Armstrong on January 11, 2022.

According to the release made by the high school, Armstrong’s peers have described him as, “a coach who has incredible passion for the game. He is positive, genuine, and relatable. He has strong technical training and a variety of successful experiences. While he has high standards, Paul knows there are bigger things than soccer. He is committed to developing great people who also grow as soccer players.”

His most recent experience is as the Head Coach of St. Paul Academy and Summit School. There he coached the Spartans to a 14-2-1 overall record in 2021 and a 5-1-1 record in the Independent Metro Athletic Conference, a conference that includes Breck, Minnehaha Academy, Blake and Providence Academy. The Spartans scored an average of 2.2 goals per game and allowed an average of .65 goals per game, shutting out opponents in nine of their 17 games last season where they won the conference championship.

Along with the conference championship in 2021, Armstrong was named the Section 3A Coach of the Year and was one of only six coaches in Minnesota to be nominated as an All-American Coach. Prior to his role at SPA, Armstrong was an assistant coach at The Blake School where he was part of five additional conference titles and multiple top-3 finishes in the state tournament. He also coaches a 16-U premier team for the Minneapolis United Soccer Club. Armstrong is a Keliix Intra winter trainer and has experience as a Goalkeeper Director. In college, he was also a player himself for Luther College where he was a keeper from 2008-2011.

Catching up with some of the Raider soccer players at a recent hockey game, they were excited to meet and work with their new coach next season. Their first impressions were around his strong resume of success against some of the best teams in the state. In their eyes, they hope it is a great opportunity for next year’s success.

Cross Country

The final season of longtime coach John Dewall brought the end of a dynasty. Dewall he is leaving behind some huge shoes to fill in all three sports seasons. Cross Country is the fall sport that has officially been vacated by Dewall and now filled an announcement that came out in a press release on Monday afternoon.

“Hastings High School is proud to announce that Joe Rabaey has been hired as Head Cross Country Coach. Joe is a 2013 graduate of Hastings High School, where he competed in cross country, Nordic skiing and track and field. He was also a three-sport athlete in college at St. John’s University, where competed in cross country, Nordic skiing, and indoor and outdoor track and field. Joe graduated from St. John’s in 2017 and is currently a graduate student at the University of Minnesota in the Ecology department. Joe has served as an assistant coach with the HHS Nordic ski team the past three years; one year as a volunteer and two years as an assistant coach.”

Joe is described by peers as a coach who is, ‘awesome with others. He’s had great experiences in three sports at both the high school and college level. He is totally dedicated to working with all kids, and athletes love running/skiing for him.’ Joe will transition into the HHS role in February and looks forward to connecting with the cross country community soon.

Joe Rabaey