Coach nets 600th win

Seubert’s JV squad easily beats Rockets

By Casey Krautkramer

Marathon native Claude Seubert’s 600th coaching win certainly came much easier on Thursday than his 500th coaching victory did six years ago.

He guided Marathon’s boys junior varsity squad to an easy 62-18 home win against Spencer on Thursday. His 500th coaching win occurred in the junior varsity team’s wild 54-53 doubleovertime home victory against Tomahawk on December 28, 2016.

Seubert didn’t put any pressure upon himself to reach 600 coaching wins. He had his usual calm demeanor while sitting on Marathon’s bench against Spencer, coaching this game like he would any other game during the season. He occasionally shared a joke with injured player Jake Lepak, who was sitting next to him on the team bench. Seubert was informed before Thursday’s game that he could achieve his 600th coaching win.

“This game didn’t feel any different from any other game,” he said in the hallway outside the team’s locker room after the win against Spencer. “I prepared the team to play this game like I would prepare it for other games.”

Adam Jacobson, Marathon varsity boys head coach, presented Seubert with the game ball and a plastic bag for him to collect a total of 600 pieces from the Red Raider varsity players and coaches of his favorite gum he chews while coaching, “Extra Long Lasting Winterfresh.”

“After a decorated playing career for Marathon from 1972-1976 where he lost only the first game of his freshman season and then never lost as a player again, including undefeated state championships in 1974-75 and 1975-76, Claude began coaching freshman basketball for varsity head coach Jeff Reiche during the 1984-85 season,” Jacobson announced to the crowd on Thursday between Marathon’s junior varsity and varsity games. “He has been on Marathon’s bench each of the past 39 boys basketball seasons, including six as the freshman coach, one as the varsity coach in 2004-05 and 32 seasons and counting as the junior varsity coach.”

Jacobson said Seubert now has a career coaching record of 600 wins and 151 losses.

“In his 38 years coming into this season, Claude’s teams have an average record of 16 wins and four losses each season,” Jacobson said. “He has also assisted in 670 varsity wins during his 39year coaching career, which puts him on the bench for a remarkable 1,270 Marathon wins. What he failed to identify in the fine print of his contract was the 600win clause that binds him now into a 10-year extension.”

If Seubert was solely a varsity boys basketball head coach, his 600 career coaching wins would place him in the top 10 in Wisconsin varsity boys basketball history. For example, retired Auburndale boys varsity head basketball coach Tim Anderson is seventh in all-time career wins in the state with a 607-280 coaching record in 40 seasons. Seubert explained how he achieved 600 coaching victories.

“Obviously it takes good basketball players, for one thing, and then the people that are around you starting with the guy who got me started in this, Jeff Reiche, and then all the way up the line to Jack Culhane and now Adam Jacobson and the rest of the crew here. If you are around good people then good things happen and it makes life on you a whole lot easier.”