THREE NEW COACHES JOIN DANA
Bruce Atkinson
Bruce Atkinson took over the Viking volleyball program
this fall. Atkinson came to Dana from Merced College in California,
where he had served as the assistant women’s volleyball coach
since 1999.
During his time at Merced, the volleyball team never
finished lower than fourth in the Central Valley Conference of the
Community College League of California. The conference and league
are known for producing solid student athletes — especially
in volleyball — who go on to great athletic careers at four-year
institutions.
“I’m extremely excited to have Coach Atkinson
direct our volleyball team,” said Jim Krueger ’85, director
of athletics. “To have a coach of his experience join our
program will make a great addition to the athletic department and
keep us competitive in the perennially tough Great Plains Athletic
Conference.”
Atkinson has previously coached at the high school
level and competed for Brigham Young University-Hawaii’s men’s
club volleyball team and in California Beach Volleyball Association
tournaments.
Atkinson said he chose to come to Dana because of
the college’s commitment to building an exceptional team that
will develop into a legacy.
Under Atkinson’s direction, the volleyball team
won their first match in the Gardner-Hawks Center, something they
had missed out on last year. Spectators also remarked on improved
strategy and skill sets.
Nik Barjaktarevic
Dana’s women’s soccer program plans to
keep its successful dominance streak alive with new head coach Nik
Barjaktarevic.
“Nik is a great fit for Dana College,”
Krueger said. “His knowledge of soccer and the GPAC, and his
enthusiasm enable him to continue a successful women’s soccer
program at Dana.”
Barjaktarevic came to Dana after serving as a graduate
assistant men’s soccer coach at Hastings College. During his
time there, the Broncos were 45-4-1, clinched the Great Plains Athletic
Conference (GPAC) title twice, and finished No. 18 and No. 3 in
the NAIA overall rankings. He also served as Hastings High School’s
head boys’ soccer coach, leading the Tigers to their first
winning season in school history.
Before Hastings, Barjaktarevic was a defensive standout
for Union University in Tennessee. He was named Best Defensive Player
and led the NAIA’s third-ranked defense in 2000, his first
season. Originally from Belgrade in Serbia and Montenegro (part
of the former Yugoslavia), Barjaktarevic was a member of several
premier soccer teams before coming to the United States to continue
his education.
This fall, the Dana women’s soccer team was
once again successful, earning a No. 4 seed in the GPAC tournament.
Although that game was lost in a double-overtime penalty shootout,
Dana ended with a respectable 8-9-2 season record.
Warren Kuhl
Warren Kuhl of Woodbine, Iowa, assumed responsibility
this fall for guiding Dana's first women's golf team in their inaugural
season.
“We are very fortunate to have Warren bring
his experience as a successful coach in both Nebraska and Iowa to
Dana’s golf program,” Krueger said. “By getting
such an outstanding candidate to start up the program we feel we
are starting a great tradition at Dana.”
Kuhl brings 30 years of high school coaching to Dana,
his first collegiate position. He led the Maple Valley High School
girls’ golf team to a fifth place finish in the 1998 Iowa
state championships. In 1986 he coached the Madison High School
football team to a third place finish in the Nebraska state championships.
“I think that most people who coach in high
school think of moving up,” Kuhl said. “I’m excited
about starting a new program at Dana.”
Kuhl said he was attracted to Dana’s small college environment,
where student athletes are encouraged to grow in both their athleticism
and in the classroom, without requiring them to give up all their
other interests in life.
Although Dana’s first season was tough, GPAC
All-Conference Team members and freshmen Brooke McCabe and Karla
Harshbarger show that Dana golf has a great future ahead of it.
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