Former Moorhead coach, teacher Cory Herrmann ‘super eager’ to lead Sheyenne’s activities department

WEST FARGO — West Fargo Sheyenne didn’t have to look far to find its new activities director.

Cory Herrmann, who most recently served as a physical education teacher and weightlifting coach at Moorhead High School, will be trading in his teaching and coaching hat for an administrative role on the other side of the river.

Herrmann was named the new activities director at Sheyenne, the school announced last week. He takes over for Greg Limke, who resigned from the role after a year to return to the classroom.

“I’m super eager to get started,” said Herrmann, who immediately assumed the position. “It’s a very exciting moment.”

Herrmann walked into his new office at Sheyenne on Monday. The last time he roamed the school’s halls, the building was new with a lot of unknowns. Ross Richards, Sheyenne’s first activities director, was the AD of the then-brand new high school at the time.

Eight years later, Herrmann picked up the building keys to become the school’s third activities director.

“There are a lot of different things that are established already. That’s one of the things that really excited me about the position,” said Herrmann, who spent seven school years at Moorhead. “There’s a lot of proven success. I’m just looking to really build the relationships with all the coaches and get a very positive culture going.”

Herrmann took a physical education teaching job with West Fargo Public Schools in 2010 after nearly a decade as an educator in Milwaukee. He taught at Liberty Middle School for a few years before accepting a position in the same subject at Moorhead High School in 2014, where he remained until he was named Sheyenne’s new AD.

He began his career in education in 2001 as a fitness center director for South Milwaukee Public Schools. He transitioned to the classroom in 2004 and taught physical education with the Milwaukee school district, where he eventually became the PE and health coordinator.

“Probably the most difficult thing from being over at Moorhead for the last eight years is, I just don’t want to end a meeting or anything like that and say ‘Go Spuds,’” Herrmann joked. “You’re so conditioned to that.”

Herrmann was an assistant coach with the Spuds football team for five years and started Moorhead’s weightlifting club in 2016, which sent five lifters to USA Weightlifting’s National Junior and Youth Championships last month. He was also the school’s head strength and conditioning coach.

Prior to moving to the area, Herrmann was both a head and assistant football coach in Milwaukee, as well as a strength coach.

While Herrmann said he’s excited for the new opportunity, it won’t be easy to put his history with the Spuds in the rearview. When WFPS tweeted the hiring announcement last week, a number of coaches and Spuds team Twitter accounts responded, expressing gratitude and admiration for the former Spuds coach and teacher.

“It was difficult to leave the role in Moorhead. It’s such a tight-knit group,” he said. “During the (job) interview I kind of got choked up because they asked me what one of the most difficult parts of the job would be, and it hit me. I didn’t even have to think about it. It’s going to be telling the kids that I’m leaving.”

Herrmann told his Moorhead athletes Monday, though most of them already knew. It won’t be easy to leave his coaching posts, either, which Herrmann admitted he’ll miss. But he’ll be taking a page from his coaching playbook in his approach to AD.

“Am I going to be going through the ups and downs and making the play calls and things on the sidelines? No, I won’t be,” he said. “But in this role, I can still have those different interactions with the students.”

Herrmann, who is working to complete his specialist degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State Moorhead, holds a master’s degree in e-learning technology administration from Northern State and a bachelor’s degree in exercise sports science from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He was selected from a pool of highly qualified candidates to lead Sheyenne's activities department, according to the July 7 release.

“Mr. Herrmann demonstrates the qualities needed to be a successful activities director at Sheyenne High School,” Sheyenne principal Ryan Salisbury said in the release. “His educational background and unique experiences in teaching, coaching, and event management are sure to bring a valuable new perspective to the management of our growing Mustang activities department.”

Herrmann will be trading in his orange and black for blue and orange, but that won’t be a big adjustment. His family lives in West Fargo, and he has three sons who attend three different schools within the district. His wife is also a kindergarten teacher at West Fargo’s Brooks Harbor Elementary School.

“My middle son is into music and theater. He’s not the sports nut that his older brother is. So through my two boys, we’ll be going to all the different activities,” Herrmann said. “We’re super excited about it as a family. It’s going to be a great thing.”