Neil Dolan steps down at Wabasso

Dolan

WABASSO — After his first year coaching the Wabasso girls basketball program in the 1997-98 season, Neil Dolan’s historic run as head coach for the Rabbits has come to an end.

Dolan made the decision to step down as the girls basketball head coach following this past season. The Rabbits finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 7-20 record.

The Wabasso girls basketball program has experienced some tough times over the past five seasons with a losing record, but Dolan continued to enjoy spending his time teaching and coaching players on and off the court through all the ups and downs.

In 23 seasons as head coach at Wabasso, Dolan ends his run as the school’s longest-tenured girls basketball head coach. He finishes with a 392-206 overall record.

Dolan said his decision to step down was far from easy, but a combination of things led him to making the decision.

“My long-term assistant Stan Rohlik resigned at the beginning of the year and we had been together for about 20 years and that started getting me thinking, certainly,” Dolan said. “But I had my son [Moses] and my daughter [Grace] help me coach this year and that was a great experience. I guess at the end of the season, a lot of things came together and I started thinking that maybe it was the time after 23 years, it was time to hang it up. It wasn’t easy, it certainly isn’t easy, still don’t know if it was the right decision that I’ve made, but here I am.”

Dolan coached several different teams to seven conference championships during his run, including five solo conference titles.

The Rabbits had a share of the conference crown in Dolan’s second season in 1998-99 and won the title again solo in 2003-04, the same year the Rabbits won the Class A State Championship with a 59-48 win over Underwood at Target Center. Wabasso won the conference again in three consecutive seasons from 2012-14, won a share of the conference title in the 2017-18 season and won it again solo in the 2018-19 season.

Dolan did step down earlier for four seasons after the Rabbits won the state title in 2004, returning to the program for the 2008-09 season up until stepping down again in 2024.

Dolan had three big reasons for stepping down to begin with after the state title win: His wife gave birth to triplets.

Dolan, who now has eight children total, said that taking a step back from coaching during that time was important, but he was happy to return to coach.

Even with the numerous wins to his name, winning wasn’t what Dolan preached to his players. He admittedly hated losing, but he always wanted his players putting three other things first.

“It’s faith, family, school, then sport,” Dolan said. “We’ve always gone by that, I’ve always coached by that and I’ve always lived by that. And part of that, that’s why I coach. Coaching isn’t all about wins and losses, it never is. That’s why the last four or five seasons have not been a loss to me, because it’s not about the wins and losses, it’s about teaching the kids about their faith, family is important to them, school is important to them and then the sport is important.”

In many ways, teaching his players how to be better people came above teaching them how to be better basketball players.

“If you don’t have the skill set necessarily to be a great basketball player, big deal,” Dolan said. “It’s about if you have the skill set to be a great person and a great person who succeeds in life. That’s what coaching’s about, that’s what people need to understand. That’s what high school basketball’s about, especially in small schools.

“It’s about teaching our young ladies and young men that it’s about building confidence in yourself and it’s about, who do you want to become? It’s about, how can I get from point A to point B and be successful? Then, if we win? Awesome. And those wins will come, they will come eventually.”

Dedicating time and making sacrifices goes with being a coach and Dolan knows this well as he’s missed countless games his kids have played in while coaching for Wabasso.

Dolan made that sacrifice, however, and his family supported him during his coaching journey.

“I’ve had the Guetters, I’ve had the Altermatts, I’ve had the Rothmeiers, I’ve coached families of girls that have changed my life,” Dolan said. “The Rothmeiers changed my life, the Guetters changed my life. Those girls are fantastic kids. I would not change seeing my kids’ 300, 400 games for that in a minute. I know my girls, meaning Morgan Frank and Madison Guetter and Chelsey Guetter, I know they appreciated that and they understood that.”

Dolan’s kids all went to school at Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, but they were happy to wear Wabasso merchandise and cheer the Rabbits on in support of their dad. Dolan also said he’d sometimes wear a TMB shirt to practices at Wabasso, which his players always respected.

“I’d come to practice and I’d wear that [TMB] t-shirt and they would support me 100%,” he said. “So I think of them as my kids and I always will. I’ve had hundreds of daughters that I’ve coached throughout the years and I’ve got five daughters that I have as my own.”

Wabasso Activities Director Joe Kemp called Dolan a coaching pillar at Wabasso that changed girls basketball.

“He just was so good with kids, I think he built such a strong relationship with our girls that they were able to match his competitiveness,” Kemp said. “He was a very fiery individual and he just built this great relationship with our kids. … What he did in the mid 90s to early 2000s, I think he kind of changed girls basketball in the area and maybe many parts of the state with his full-court pressure and his fast-break style. I think teams had to adjust to what Neil did and what he brought to the game.”

Dolan thanked his wife for understanding his passion in coaching and taking extra care of their children over his 23 years coaching at Wabasso. He also said he had great respect for his fellow coaches in the Tomahawk, coaches like Bruce Woitas, Mike Kelly, Paul Arnoldi, Becky Busse and Rich Busse.

Dolan said he’s been blessed to coach all of the players he has at Wabasso and that at 60 years old now, he still feels young and is leaving the coaching door open down the road.

“I’m so grateful for every opportunity, every kid that I’ve had to coach, they’re like my daughters,” Dolan said. “I’m blessed with them. But I don’t know. Am I done? I don’t know, but we’ll find out.”