Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History

Chris Lonke has coached hockey for the past 23 years.   Chris has been involved at so many levels and at such a great depth that it is sometimes hard to keep track of all his accomplishments.

Chris got his start in his hometown of Proctor coaching the Pee Wee A and Bantam A while attending college. He attended school during the day and coached hockey at night and on weekends.  During his five years there, he coached three future Division I players and three additional Division III players.  After graduating from college Lonke relocated to the Twin Cities and, in 2001, became the head high school coach at Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights.  During his six-year tenure there he led the Spartans to championship game of the 2003 High School Class A State Tournament where they lost to Warroad.

Lonke resigned his position at Simley to take an assistant coaching position at Hamline University under head coach Scott Bell.  During his one season with Hamline, they won they MIAC Conference Championship, their first title in 60 years.  In 2008, Lonke was hired as the New Prague HS coach where he has remained for the past seven seasons.  In 2014 he led the Trojans to their first state tournament appearance, where they finished in third place in Class A.

Coach Lonke has also been very instrumental in developing younger players.  While coaching as Simley HS, Chris was very involved in the Inver Grove Heights youth program, running clinics and providing guidance.  After resigning from Simley, Coach Lonke became the Director of Youth Hockey for the Minneapolis Washburn Association, a position he held for five years.  In this capacity Chris managed the day-to-day operations of the entire youth hockey association.  He is now working with the New Prague and Rosemount youth associations where he helps coach his son Jack.

Coach Lonke is the lead instructor in Minnesota for the American Development Model.  This program is designed to provide optimal age-appropriate training to youth hockey players, giving them the best possible chance of reaching their potential. Lonke trains other coaches in the proper implementation of the program by conducting classroom and on-ice clinics.

Coach Lonke is also very involved in the Minnesota High Performance program and has coached at the USA Hockey National Select Camps in New York.  He has also taught Physical Education and Health while coaching for the past 18 years.  Lonke has been named high school section coach of the year 3 different times in his career and was named the John Maricucci Class A Head Coach of the Year in 2003.  He and his family live in Rosemount.

“Working with young hockey players and youth coaches is a passion of mine,” Lonke said. “They are the future of this great game, and we need to make sure we develop young players that love the game of hockey, but play multiple sports and have, at the same time, balanced lives.”

Chris attended the University of Wisconsin-Superior graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education in 1997.  He added a Masters in Activities and Athletic Administration from the University of St. Thomas in 2007.