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Soccer is now his favorite sport, but in high school he played only football, and says he just loves coaching
By Arnie Leshin
Usually, there are coaches who coach because they have a son or a daughter on the roster. And more times than not, they leave after their family members graduate. Short stay, but the satisfaction of being on the sidelines as a coach, not a spectator.
There are exceptions and Desert Academy’s Rob Lochner is one of them. He coached swimming for three years, and his daughter, Hannah, was goodenough to set most of the school’s records. But the years have gone by, Hannah graduated in 2013, her dad’s last year as swim coach.
She swam the 100 butterfly, the 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. She has since graduated from New York University, and her dad is still coaching, but his players drink water, not swim in it.
He traded the indoor sport for the outdoor sport, and he began this season as his 14th year as head coach of the Wildcats’ boy’s soccer team. Despite losing 5-3 at Pojoaque Valley’s Chris Peterson Memorial Complex, he’s just happy with his 17-man roster that lists four juniors, two seniors, two juniors, three freshmen, and two 8th graders.
“I just love to coach,” Lochner says, “no classes to teach, just soccer. I’ve got a good group of kids to work with, and even start an 8th grader at center back.”
And soccer has replaced swimming as his number one favorite sport.
The youngster, Jonatan Kaare-Rassmussen, is a familiar name at Desert. Both his older brothers, Jonas and Jakob, have been running with the track and field and cross country teams since their freshmen year. They have been versatile through the years, and Jonatan happened to compete in four sports in middle school, and holds several school records.
But Lochner can’t brag about his past as a swimmer of soccer player, for in his high school days in California, he played only football.
“I played four years as a defensive tackle and offense guard,” he says, “and enjoyed all those years.”
But without a family member to coach, he is happy to say he has now coached three generations of Kaare-Rasmussen and of senior Sebastian Pearson-Kramer, whose older sister, Isabel, was one of the state’s top sprinters and also excelled in field events her last two seasons.
Against the Elks, Pearson-Kramer scored twice and junior midfielder Adam Abusang tallied the other. Pearson-Kramer, senior Cole Sullivan, and junior Ryan Harvey are the tri-captains. Another skilled player is freshman midfielder Josh Hauer. Handling the goalkeeping will be Harvey and junior Milan Brkic.
Saturday afternoon at Alto Park, Desert will play host to St. Michael’s. On Sept.14-15, it will also host the annual Wildcat Invitational.
And as Lochner starts yet another campaign on the sidelines, he is proud of Hannah’s accomplishments.
She graduated from NYU with a post-graduate degree in Nutrition and Global, and at Portland University in Oregon, her schooling led her to now being a registered dietitian. She has also worked in Portland summer camps and perhaps even follows her dad’s soccer program.
