FREMONT, Neb. -- Kelly Flynn’s second stint as a girls basketball coach has come to an end.
Flynn said Sunday that he will step down from his coaching and teaching duties at Fremont at the end of the school year. He took over the Tiger program in 2018 after leading South Sioux City to 11 state championships.
The coach said it wasn’t an easy decision, but he wanted to spend more time with his six sports-loving grandchildren.
“I had to miss a lot of their games,” he said. “It’s tough to step away but I have a lot of faith in my assistants, and they’re all coming back.”
Flynn, who turned 65 in February, became the sixth girls coach in Nebraska to reach the 600-win mark this season. He finished with 606 victories — 32 behind career wins leader John Larsen.
A member of the Nebraska Sports High School Hall of Fame, Flynn won 508 games at South Sioux City. He was named The World-Herald’s girls coach of the year in 1997 and was honored as the national coach of the year in 2012 by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.
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In his five seasons at Fremont, he guided the Tigers to 98 wins and the school’s first Class A championship in 2022. He was named the Omaha World-Herald’s coach of the year for a second time after that 27-2 season.
After the graduation of All-Nebraska guard Taylor McCabe, Fremont went 9-13 this year.
“It was a tough season because we were so young with three sophomore starters,” Flynn said. “We didn’t win as many games as we would have liked but it was a great group of kids and parents.”
Flynn said he and his wife Barb have no plans to leave Fremont. He said he still hopes to stay active in the sport, perhaps helping with open gyms or scouting.
“I think I have a lot of different options helping here in Fremont or other nearby towns,” he said. “I’m not the type to just sit around.”
Flynn added that he was heading to the gym Sunday to shoot hoops with one of his grandsons.
“I’m definitely going to ramp down the coaching and teaching,” he said. “And ramp up the time with my grandkids.”
