Storm's coach ponders retirement

ARGYLE, MINN. - Mark Kroulik was enjoying the dinner special at the Farmer Dell Steakhouse and Lounge -- ribs and all the trimmings for $7.50 -- when an innocuous question was raised: How long will you coach?

Kroulik, 55, is in his 12th year as a head coach. His career record is 138-10, which is an average of more than 12 victories a year for a team that plays only seven or eight regular-season games. His Stephen-Argyle team is Minnesota's Nine-man football powerhouse, so a question about retirement seemed a little silly.

But his answer was serious. This could be Kroulik's final season.

"Coaching is very energizing, but it's also very consuming," he said. "I won't decide until next year, and next year starts Jan. 1."

Kroulik comes from a coaching family. His brother Ivan, 57, is the head coach at Kasson-Mantorville. His son Casey, 30, is the head coach at Clearbrook-Gonvick, and his son Matthew, 27, is an assistant at Moose Lake-Willow River.

"I want to see my sons coach. I want to be able to play more golf," Kroulik said, sitting next to his wife, Beth. "My wife has never been to the State Fair. You can't do those kinds of things when you're a football coach."

Kroulik takes no credit for Stephen-Argyle's success.

"He's the first one to credit everyone else," assistant coach Bryce Lingen said.

"I've had a lot of great experiences in coaching," Kroulik said. "The best of the best was coaching my sons.

"I do a good job of delegating. And pretty soon I can stumble out and nobody will notice I was here."

JOHN MILLEA