The Iowa Football Coaches Association inducted former Hinton co-head coaches Bruce Held and Steve Diediker at their banquet on Saturday in Altoona.
Bruce Held graduated from Hinton High School and never left the area outside of his college years. Steve Diediker moved to Hinton from his native Nebraska with his wife. Thankfully for his wife’s career path, Diediker ended up in Hinton.
Diediker says once he was here, it was hard to leave after falling in love with the community.
Their coaching path got started as assistants with the Hinton football program under John Maiers for four years. Once Maiers left, Held says the search for his replacement was short.
The dilemma came from who would be whose assistant coach. Neither guy wanted to be over the other in the future years of the program. Held says a simple suggestion by the Athletic Director at the time set them up for success.
The matchup was perfect for two guys who specialized on the opposite sides of the ball. Having played offense in college, Held would take over those duties with Diediker preferring the defensive side. Diediker says both men knew the other would get the job done on their end because of how they were both raised.
The partnership was perfect as each did their job and did not try to upscale the other. Diediker says as they grew closer as families, he and Held grew closer in their working relationship.
When Held and Diediker took over the program in 1983, it was in shambles. The 1982 team went 0-9 and morale within and excitement for the program was low. The 1983 team went 6-3 winning the War Eagle Conference earning the program’s second conference title. Held says he and Diediker needed a plan going into the season, and the kids bought into it.
The program reached its pinnacle in 2012 when they made it all the way to the UNI-Dome and finished as Class A State Runner-up. That team got off to a rocky start going 2-2. One of those first losses was to Akron-Westfield where the Blackhawks had a 28-14 lead entering the fourth quarter and was outscored 27-7 in the fourth to lose the game. After that loss, Held says the team straightened out and was determined as ever to get to their goal.
The Blackhawks were under the direction of Coaches Held and Diediker for 36 years. In that span, the duo won 205 games, went to 15 state playoffs, and was state runner-ups in 2012. Coach Diediker says the key to their longevity together was neither guy having too big of a head.
The induction was eye-opening for Coach Held who was shocked at the amount of people who came up to him on Saturday who knew him and Diediker and revered them for their work at Hinton.
Diediker says joining a club of some of the best coaches this state has seen is very humbling.
In the end, people will forget practices, plays, games, and even seasons on the football field. Both gentlemen were teachers in the school district giving them the opportunity to touch the lives of kids on and off the field. Held says getting to have the opportunity to positively impact a kid to allow them to succeed in the future is the most rewarding part of the job.
Diediker echoes the sentiment from Held. He says when players come back to Hinton and tell him about all the great things they have done makes all those nights and seasons away from family all worthwhile.
Both men are still heavily involved in the Hinton School District despite being “retired.” Held still drives bus on a regular basis for the school district. Diediker coaches boys track and field, assists current football head coach Kadrian Hardersen from time to time, and substitute teaches when needed.
You can listen to our full interview with Bruce Held with the player below.
You can listen to our full interview with Steve Diediker with the player below.
