PGH High School Coach of the Year: Tara Seifert

They say winning basketball programs are built brick by brick, one step at a time over a long period of time. Day by day, week after week, year after year the foundation for greatness is established. We’re here to say that Tara Seifert is one heck of a bricklayer. That’s why we are pleased to honor the coach of the Chaska Hawks with our Prep Girls Hoops High School Coach of the Year Award. Seifert, who played college basketball at Iowa State, understands what it takes to construct a program while building up the young women who wear the purple and gold of Chaska High School. She proved that during the 2021 high school basketball season by posting a record of 18-0, a run of perfection that resulted in a Class AAAA state championship. The numbers do not lie. After finishing with a record of 13-14 in the 2016-17 campaign, Chaska got off to a very rough start the following season. The Hawks lost eight in a row to open the year and won just twice in their first 15 games. After that things just seemed to click as Tara held firm to her belief that her young team had greatness within. The Hawks went 9-3 the rest of the way that year and the foundation had been laid for what was to follow. The next year (2018-19) Chaska recorded a season mark of 20-8. The year after that they were 24-5. Then this year the Hawks ran the tables at 18-0 and took home all of the hardware. Chaska has lost just once in its past 34 games. Their record over the past three years is 62-13. Over the past five seasons it is  86-43. Chaska’s performance speaks for itself and the team’s dedicated leader. Congratulations Coach Seifert. You are making a difference. RUNNER-UP Tara Starks – Hopkins To whom much is given much is expected. When Coach Starks took over this season from the great Brian Cosgriff she inherited a very talented group of players. What she did as a leader of those young women was exceptional. Tara is committed to her kids and does everything within her power to help them achieve their potential. She was our 2020 AAU Coach of the Year and we are happy to honor her again. HONORABLE MENTIONS Chris Orr of Rosemount is one of the best tacticians in the state of Minnesota. The game plans he put together, and the leadership he showed that helped the kids execute those game plans, was truly exceptional. Conner Goetz of Providence Academy is one of the brightest young people in girls basketball. When it comes to commitment to his role as a coach, to his players, and to the future of the program, nobody is more invested. Willie Taylor of Stillwater is a legend in Minnesota basketball, and has been a winner everywhere he coached. Taylor stepped aside at the end of the season to spend more time with his own daughter but not before leaving an indelible positive impact on the daughters of many others.