Christensen takes helm as BV’s interim head football coach

It’s a job that no one wanted to have.

And it’s not because of what the position entails. Instead, it’s filling the shoes of the man whose been at the helm of the Brandon Valley Lynx football program since 2005, which is why it’s the job that no one wanted to have.

Two weeks after the Lynx won the 11AAA state title last November, longtime head coach Chad Garrow was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor. Since that time, BV administrators have held out hope that the veteran coach would return to the sidelines. But the backlash of the tumor will not allow him to do so.

In late June, BV defensive coordinator Matt Christensen was selected to lead the Lynx as its interim head coach.

BV activities director Bill Freking said Christensen has worked tirelessly in finding new ways to promote the program.

“He’s been doing anything he can to find ways to get camps to our kids. He has a lot of innovative ideas of things he’d like to try, and as we get bigger, sometimes that small town feel gets less and less, and Matt has the vision of keeping it Brandon Valley the way we remember Brandon Valley when it was smaller. He still has that drive to go meet with people at different buildings to recruit kids. He’s always been a passionate man for football and he always has had that drive to get kids out and be proactive with kids,” Freking said.

The position was posted internally, and drew two applicants. Freking said the decision was a tough one to make.

“It came down to those two guys and we went back and forth and back and forth, and it could’ve been either one,” Freking said. “But Matt has put in a lot of time, a lot of effort into our program and we’re always hoping to grow our coaches in different ways, so I think this is a wonderful opportunity for him to develop and move into a role that I think he’s been searching for. It’s not something he wanted to happen now, obviously. He’s going to work with taking a really bad situation and making the best of it for all the coaches and kids and families that have known and loved Coach Garrow for many, many years. We hope this is just a one-year deal. It’s an interim process and Matt is probably the one person that hopes for it more than anyone else. He wants Coach Garrow back in those shoes.”

Christensen started with Lynx football as a volunteer coach in 2003, overseeing the linebackers. Two years later, Garrow called on him to step into the defensive coordinator role. 

“I was a young guy,” Christensen reflects, “but he said, ‘You care a lot and you’re going to learn a lot. You can call the defense.’ I’ve taken a lot of advice from him and input from him over the years and just learned a ton from him. He’s taken me to all kinds of clinics and coaching conventions where you can learn and learn and learn and take notes. I also met with a lot of the college staffs in the area, including Kelly Scholten at Augustana, a former Brandon Valley player and coach himself.”

Christensen’s long-time history and dedication to the program is ultimately what led him to apply for the interim head coach position.

“I really care about the program. I know a lot about it and I want to challenge myself in new ways and challenge the kids,” Christensen said. “I’m going to work to carry on Chad Garrow’s vision and torch and mission and hope for a miracle – medical and divine – because they can happen. It’s a tough battle for him but we’re praying and hoping for the best for him. I’ve learned a lot from him, I respect him a ton and love him a lot, so he’s going to be on our minds and in our hearts the whole time.”

As part of Garrow’s crew of coaches, the Lynx have accumulated three state runner-up honors (11AA in 2012, 11AAA in 2016 and 2019) and two 11AAA state titles (2018 and 2020).

The bulk of Christensen’s football coaching career has been at Brandon Valley. For one season (2002), he was the assistant varsity coach at Parker-Hurley, where the Pheasants won their first conference title since 1968.

“We really got the towns fired up,” Christensen recalls. “Parker and Hurley were cooping at the time and in 34 years they hadn’t seen a conference title and they were really excited about all that. I loved it there, but noticed that Brandon Valley had an opportunity and I had to jump on it.”

While Garrow largely focused on the offense, Christensen said he will continue to oversee the defense and linebackers. Starting this season, assistant coach Mike Zerr will call the offense.

“After coaching defense so long in his life, he (Garrow) transitioned into being more of the offense and let me be a leader in the defensive area,” Christensen said. “He’s so good at letting leaders develop and trusting our staff and trusting our guys. He’s set high expectations without really talking about it a lot. He expects a lot and everybody tries to invest the most and do what they can for him and for the program and for the kids.”

With a vacancy on the coaching staff, Christensen said interviews are currently underway.

“We’ve got a great staff and an awesome group of guys,” he said.

Along with Zerr, the Lynx coaching staff includes Tim Sylliaasen, Jason Bisbee, Dylina Briest, Kent Anderson, Justin Mashlan, Matt Mueller, Joe Krivarchka and volunteers Jeremy Risty, Darieon Smith and Mark Stadem.

Christensen attributes the tenured staff to “loyalty and trust in each other.” 

“Continuity is wonderful. Things get done that you don’t have to even talk about it,” he said.

The coaches are also well-respected by the guys who suit up for Friday night lights season in and season out.

“We get invited to their weddings down the road, which is just such a big deal that we’ve mattered in their lives and we try to give them lifts when they need it, try to be the coach that some of us needed when we were 15 and 16, and I’m trying to be that guy for them. We celebrate all of their accomplishments and challenge them and everybody pulls the same direction. Brandon Valley Schools are that way. Families care. The community cares. The teachers, coaches care and everybody just pours time in. You stay when you feel valued and have a voice and feel like you matter, and our staff has always done that,” he said.

With high expectations for the Lynx to be one of the top tier teams each season, Christensen pledges to continue to challenge the team in new ways.

“(We can) never settle for anything, never make excuses, we have to focus on solutions, focus on highlighting each other’s abilities and talents and roles on the team. When you do that, you can maximize their effort and they’ll invest, they’ll pour their time and energy and effort into their own football growth when you do that for them,” he said. 

Christensen plans to build off of the success the Lynx football program has realized. 

“There’s not a lot of changes that need to happen,” he said. “Our schedule has always been excellent. He’s always given us a voice in our schedule and so change isn’t good if it’s just to change something for change sake; that’s not the right reason to do anything.”

Although Garrow has to step aside, Christensen said he want to involve Garrow in the season as much as possible. 

“We’ll want to get his input as much as we can, show him some film, maybe get a thumbs up, thumbs down from him on things as much as he feels up to. The scheme and procedure would be minimal, but they would be with all the student-athlete’s best interest in mind,” he said. 

In recent weeks, Garrow made an appearance at the Legends football camp.

“He gave me a real firm handshake and kind of a ‘mentor look’ with me,” Christensen said. “When I got ‘Assistant Coach of the Year’ in 2017, he paid me the ultimate compliment. He goes, ‘It’s about time.’ He’s always spare with his compliments and his positive feedback, but when it comes, it’s sincere, it makes a big impact. He was never negative with any feedback. He was honest and clear and I hope he can trust me to keep the program going. I shed a lot of tears about the situation of pride in him and hope for him as well, and we’ve talked about him as a team with the players, and we’re going to keep doing so.”