Coach Tara Seifert makes move from Chaska to Cretin-Derham Hall
ST. PAUL, Minn. — It's a new season with new leadership for the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders.
Coach Tara Seifert is well known in the Twin Cities basketball community after coaching at Chaska High School for the last 16 years.
In that time, she took the Hawks to the state tournament three times. And in 2021, they won their first championship.
"It was a tough decision to step down from Chaska," Seifert said. "I will always hold a place in my heart for that program, put a lot of years into it. I feel like I left on a really good note, the program's in a very good place."
She left to take on the coaching job at Cretin because it also came with the title of assistant athletic director, which allows her to work with the students on and off the court year-round.
"Positively impact the student-athletes, and work on leadership with the kids," she said.
As a former Iowa State player herself and more than a decade of coaching, she's bringing her knowledge of the game to this new group of girls. And she's seeing a lot of success, with more wins than losses so far this season.
"It's been a good challenge, the kids have been working hard here, so I'm excited to see our progress from start to finish, and our goal is just taking it one day at a time and hopefully playing our best basketball at the end of the season," she said.
While staying competitive and seeing success is the goal, the purpose is much bigger.
"Really why I do coach, especially girls, is to empower young women," she said.
