Ryan Ladika/MDN Creighton Bachmeier addresses his team during Minot High’s Sept. 28 practice at Duane Carlson Stadium.

Less than a week after Minot High School announced the departure of volleyball head coach Sherry Carlson, the school is now officially in the market for a new boys’ soccer head coach as well.

Minot High Athletic Director Mitch Lunde released a brief statement via Twitter Monday morning announcing that Creighton Bachmeier had “announced his resignation effective immediately for personal reasons.” The school does not currently have a replacement in place.

“It just got to a point where you kind of reflect. I’ve pretty much been doing this for about a decade, nine years and eight years as a head coach,” Bachmeier said Monday afternoon. “You start to think, what do you want the next decade to look like.”

Bachmeier joined the program in 2013 as a 23-year-old assistant to Cody Saunders and took over as head coach in 2014 following Saunders’ resignation on the heels of an 8-4-5 record.

The Magi earned the first of five top-three finishes in the Western Dakota Association in 2014, including two first-place finishes and the first WDA Tournament title in program history in 2021.

The team also set the conference record for most regular-season victories against WDA opponents during the 2021 season with 12 to accompany a 15-3-1 overall record.

“There was no real decision until when the season got done; I wanted to make sure it wasn’t an emotional decision because I care so deeply about the program and what we’ve accomplished,” Bachmeier continued. “And yes, there’s probably some stuff left undone, but that’s always going to be the case I feel like no matter what you do in sports and coaching, there’s always a little bit more.”

The Magicians won their first nine matches of the 2021 regular season and suffered only one defeat entering their WDA Tournament Championship match against Bismarck High, a contest Minot won by a 3-2 final score in Mandan.

The Magi’s hopes for the second state championship in program history, and first since 2006, were dashed when the team suffered consecutive shutout losses to Fargo Shanley and Bismarck Century in the state tournament held in Jamestown Oct. 7-8.

“It was after some time talking to my wife and just being around my kids more after the season and knowing that it’s happening very quickly and I’m missing all those moments,” Bachmeier added. “It’s one of those things where I’ve always treated my players as my own kids and I’ve spent a lot of time and I want to build relationships with them, but I also know I have two other little ones at home that I need to make sure that I do the exact same thing.”

Bachmeier plans to remain involved with the Minot High girls’ soccer team in his current role as an assistant coach and did not rule out an eventual return to the boys’ program “one way or the other.”

“I will remember the most about where this program started and where we ended in my tenure here,” he said. “Being kind of middle of the pack in the WDA to now vying for WDA titles every year, and we’ve won three of the last eight and we finally won the WDA tournament. I’m just so thankful and happy with all the people who have put their time and their sacrifice into it, I think that’s what I can be most proud of.”