Coach Mike Sertich: My Grandpa

Photo courtesy of Elise Sertich

Mike Sertich, UMD hockey legend, passed away from pancreatic cancer on Aug. 8, 2024. Sertich carried quite a legacy at UMD – coaching from 1982 to 1999 and leading the men’s hockey team to three WCHA championships. Sertich also coached Tommy Kurvers, Bill Watson, and Chris Marinucci to their Hobey Baker Memorial Awards, produced ten Olympians, and 21 NHL players. After UMD, Sertich moved to Michigan Tech, then St. Scholastica, the US National Sled Hockey team and ended his coaching career with local hockey teams around northern MN. 

Honoring ‘Sertie’s’ legendary legacy, he received the Hobey Baker Spirit of Life Award in October of 2023, has been inducted into UMD’s Hockey Hall of Fame and, among other awards, has received the Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award. 

Mike Sertich was also my grandpa.

Growing up with Grandpa meant days spent at Island Lake, cherry-pit spitting contests, and going fishing at “the magic hour.” In my eyes, Grandpa was invincible. Whether it was re-baiting my fishing hook with slimy leeches or fixing the popped inner-tube so my sisters and I could go swimming, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t conquer. 

To summarize “gramps,” which is nearly impossible, I’d use one word: humble. Ironically enough, I knew close to nothing about Grandpa’s coaching legacy. I knew about the awards he received, and the old hockey memorabilia in the basement, but I didn’t know how his skates sliced through the hockey world. 

That’s just the kind of guy Grandpa was, he focused on me and my sisters, or “the girls,” and put his life on pause if we ever had an issue. Grandpa made it seem like we were the only things in the world that mattered. From the smallest inconvenience, such as being pinched by my sister, or the biggest accomplishment, such as making it to state in cross country running, Grandpa was always there. 

On Oct. 5, 2024, the UMD men’s hockey team opened at Amsoil Arena. My family and I were invited to watch the game in the Hall of Fame Suite. This would be our first bulldog game without Gramps sitting next to me.

After hugging other family members and watching the bulldogs warm up, the arena went dark and the announcer guided our eyes to the big screen. A video played about Grandpa’s coaching legacy, and UMD informed us that the players this year would bear a “Sertie” patch on their jerseys, honoring my grandpa. I had no knowledge of the patches, and words failed to express the gratitude I was filled with that night. 

Whether he was a coach or mentor, fishing buddy or neighbor to other people, to me he was Grandpa. Now I can honor him with my UMD attendance, along with the hockey team’s patches for the season.