EAST METRO WAVE - Key Persons
Coach McPherson coached 9 seasons of youth traveling basketball in the Cottage Grove Athletic Association where he won two State Championships. His relationship building with players is his greatest attribute along with his love of basketball.
When Coach Brant first started playing basketball he was the last player to make it on the 9th grade B team. Through hard work and dedication he was an All-Conference player at Tartan High School. He started his college career at Vermilion Community College where he averaged 20.7 points per game, 22nd in the nation among NJCAA Division III players. I finished my playing Career at a Division II Fresno Pacific.
Coach Schueller played basketball from the youth level all the way through varsity at Park High School, graduating in 2008. He has coached several years in youth basketball and AAU. His passion and energy for basketball is contagious when he coaches.
Coach Blumberg was a three-year starter and two-time all-conference player at White Bear Lake High School before playing junior college basketball at Normandale Community College. He began coaching youth basketball in 1999 and has coached at virtually every level since, mainly at the 6th-8th grade level.
Coach Prose has been coaching for over 20 years. He spent 12 years as the Girl's Varsity Assistant Coach at Park High and 3 years as the Girl's Varsity Head Coach at Mahtomedi. He led his teams to 2 conference championships and was back to back Section Coach of the Year.
Coach Pokela has been a Head Coach for Middle School aged boys and girls since 2013. He has coached teams for Cottage Grove Athletic Association and has been with East Metro Wave since we started in 2018. His motto is, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."
Coach Juba has been involved in teaching and coaching for 35 years at Park High School at the varsity level. He coached multi-sport athletes in basketball, soccer, golf and track for a total of 104 seasons. He began and directed the Park Boys' Summer Basketball Clinic for 32 years coaching all ages. He was inducted into the Park High School Hall of Fame in 2015.
Coach Getzlaff has 20+ years of coaching basketball. He as been the a head coach at South St. Paul High School, an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Concordia University, St. Paul for 5 years. Currently, he is the head boys basketball coach at Woodbury High School. He as been named SEC Coach of the Year 3 times and Section 4AAAA Coach of the Year 4 times.
Coach Blumberg picked up her first basketball at a young age and has been playing ever since. She is a 4 time letter winner in high school. She still enjoys watching, playing and coaching basketball. Her ability to listen, lead and encourage gives her the opportunity to successfully coach young girls.
Coach Austin played 3 years at Mississippi State in the early 2000s where he was 2nd team All-SEC during the 2001-02 season and 1st team All-SEC the following season. He was drafted 36th overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. He has coached a variety of youth, high school, and AAU teams over the years.
Coach Gremmels is son of a college coach, and grew up around the gym. As a player I was a three-year varsity starter, captain, and all conference award winner. He has been coaching various levels of youth and high school teams since 2012. His coaching style includes an emphasis on skills, effort, attitude, and being a great teammate.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Coach for the University of Wisconsin River Falls
Coach Walton has been an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin River Falls men's basketball program since 2010. Prior to that, he was the head boys basketball coach at Park High School for 14 seasons. In 2004 he was named the Section 3A Coach of the Year. He lettered in Football and Basketball while at Winona State.