After leading the Jefferson High School boys hockey team to a standout 17-6-3 season, head coach Matt Elsen was named the Section 2AA Head Coach of the Year by the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association. The honor is awarded to a coach from each section and comes in Elsen’s fourth year as head coach of the varsity Jaguars team.

“It’s quite the honor. It takes all the coaches, players and community to make this happen,” said Elsen. “My coaches, Tre Douglas, Jake Perpich, and Nolan Sawchuk, all need to be mentioned for being part of the reason I was nominated. They are great coaches and we all work together to make our players’ experiences great.”

Elsen has been with Bloomington Public Schools for nearly 20 years. He teaches physical education at Olson Middle School and has been on the Jefferson hockey coaching staff since 2012.