It's an exciting moment for Josh Tripp.
The former Parkland Ranger and Swan Valley Stampeder led the U-18 Rangers to a 9-5 record to start this season and now, he's heading back to his old team.
The Stampeders announced that Tripp will take over as head coach for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Josh spent last season as an assistant coach for the Stampeders and was in his first year as an AAA head coach until this promotion came along.
Shawn Sarkonak wanted to thank Josh for his time with the program.
"We're going to miss Josh. What he, Tom, and Matt have been able to do with the team so far is nothing short of amazing," said Sarkonak. "We can't say enough about Josh, he did an incredible job with this team and we thank him for everything he did."
The Stampeders approached Josh to gauge his interest in filling the role of head coach and while it's a unique situation, Sarkonak is thrilled to know that Josh is getting a chance at the next level.
"The Parkland Ranger program is not only looked at as a high-performance development opportunity for athletes, we also look at us as a program to develop coaches," continued Sarkonak. "We are not a board that will step in the way of a coach advancing to the next level. We wish him the best of luck and we know he will go on to do great things with the Stampeders."
Tom White will step in as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Matt Kustra will remain on board and the team is looking for another assistant coach.
"We have had talks with both Tom and Matt and they both feel that the system in place will stay the same, they don't feel the need to change anything," ended Sarkonak. "They're looking forward to the season moving ahead and staying competitive."
The Rangers are in fifth place, just three points back of first.
We have reached out to Tom White and Josh Tripp and will have more on this story.
