ALEXANDRIA, S.D. — Hanson High School girls basketball head coach Jim Bridge has never been a person to make a big deal about celebrating a major accomplishment of his own.

He might have to make an exception Friday night.

Bridge became the all-time winningest head coach in South Dakota girls basketball history as the Beavers cruised to a 74-25 victory at Hanson High School over visiting Bridgewater-Emery.

The victory marked the 630th of his coaching career and, much like the selfless nature his team has played with all season long en route to an 11-1 start, he chose to focus on the players and the relationships he’s built over the years.

“The number is a number, it’s just a number,” Bridge said. “But the kids that you get to work with, the relationships (you form), you can’t beat that. That’s priceless.”

Bridge is one of only two head coaches in the history of South Dakota girls basketball to have amassed 600 or more victories. Legendary girls head coach Dawn Seiler won 629 games in her 36 years coaching McIntosh and Aberdeen Central, a mark Bridge tied with Hanson’s victory over Sanborn Central/Woonsocket on Jan. 23.

Reflecting on all the great coaches in girls basketball history, like Seiler and Rob Van Laecken of Parkston, Bridge thought he would have reached the all-time mark sooner than Friday night. During rough stretches, Bridge admits he is his biggest critic, which serves as motivation to keep going throughout his 38 seasons.

“If anybody’s going to be hard on me, it’s gonna be me,” he said. “I never felt I was good enough, I always thought I should’ve done better, and I knew I should do better.

“When I first started, we won four games my first year. Second year, we won five. Somebody told me we’ve been averaging 17 wins a year, so I’m proud of that.”

The record has changed hands between the state’s coaching greats in Van Laecken, Seiler and now Bridge. Ironically, Van Laecken’s Parkston squad beat Bridge’s Beavers in 2011 when Van Laecken hit career win No. 551, which matched former Sioux Falls Roosevelt coach Fred Tibbetts. Van Laecken won 593 games and retired in 2014 and Seiler set the new record in 2019 before retiring in 2021 at 629 wins.

Bridge’s coaching career began at the former Springfield High School a year after he graduated from Wagner. He served as an assistant coach under Burnell Glazer at Armour, where he taught while finishing his teaching degree at Northern State, honing his craft. He began coaching at Hanson in 1985. In addition to coaching the Hanson girls, Bridge also serves as the district’s superintendent and athletic director.

For the current Beavers players, they’re appreciative of his vast knowledge of what he brings to the court during practices and games days, as well as his love for the game of basketball.

“He really cares about his team,” senior Cadence Jarding said. “He really knows the game. So it helps us be a better team because he really knows a lot about the sport.”

“It’s been really fun playing for him,” junior Kylie Haiar said. “He helps us work together and play as a team.”

Through it all, Bridge has remained focused on making a difference in all the kids’ lives, and will continue to beyond this season. But he did make a few admissions about his time as a coach.

“There were a lot of national anthems and bus rides,” he said. “A truck-load of practices and a lot of heartaches. The wins are great, the losses are what you remember. The losses are painful because, ultimately, you want (to win) for them.”

Blake Durham is a Sports Reporter for the Mitchell Republic, having joined in October of 2023. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in December of 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications. Durham can be found covering a variety of prep and collegiate sports in the area.