There will be a new girls’ basketball coach this season at Rushford-Peterson but it’s a long time Rushford-Peterson coach that will be taking over. Terry Pelzl takes over the girls’ program from Dave Lind, who was the coach for the past two years. Pelzl is no stranger to Rushford-Peterson fans though. Pelzl has been the assistant coach for the Rushford-Peterson boys’ basketball program for the past 23 years. Pelzl says he decided to take over the girls’ program because he got asked by a few different people.  Some of his old players who now have daughters in school asked if he would be interested in doing it.  He also got asked by current players and coaches if he would do it.

Pelzl has been a head coach at the varsity level but a long time ago. He was the boys’ head coach at Peterson in 1989 and was also an assistant coach at Peterson when they took third in state in 1986. In 1990 Rushford and Peterson joined together and Pelzl was named the assistant coach to Rushford coach Tom Vix. Since 1990 Pelzl has been right next to Vix on the bench for eleven state tournament appearances and two state championships. Pelzl missed one state tournament when he left the program for two years to watch his daughter play for the R-P girls’ team.

Pelzl takes over a program that went 11-17 last year and is a combined 20-35 in the last two years. The Trojans did go to the state tournament in 2006 and 2007 and three years ago they were 18-11.