Kretchman Coaching Award
Coach Terry Small has been chosen as the 2007 recipient of the Jim Kretchman Coaching Award. The award is named after long time Northern athlete, educator, coach and administrator Jim Kretchman. The award is given to a coach that best exemplifies his characteristics and dedication to educating student athletes.
Terry Small graduated from Blunt High School in 1962. After playing for Coach Bob Wachs and the Northern State basketball team, he graduated from NSU in 1967. He immediately began working in the Aberdeen public school system, where he coached the Golden Eagles boys' basketball teams from 1967 to 1997, a 30-year span in which he was the head coach for 21 seasons. His teams had a record of 330-140, winning the highly competitive Eastern South Dakota (ESD) title eight times and the State AA boys' title twice. His teams qualified for the state tournament 17 times. Small was also involved in coaching junior high football and track.
Coach Small earned a number of honors: the South Dakota Basketball Coach of the Year in 1988, the South Dakota High School Activities Association Distinguished Service Award in 1998, and was inducted into the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1998. He was inducted into the South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2006.
Terry has retired from teaching in the Aberdeen school system, where he spent 35 years instructing mathematics. He has been married to his wife, Anita, for 40 years. He has two children and four grandchildren.
