How a 'simple text' brought Travis Peterson back into coaching as he takes over BHS girls program

Jun. 1—BEMIDJI — In 2020, Travis Peterson felt like his time as a head coach was enough.

After five years at the helm of the Bemidji High School boys basketball team, the head coach decided to resign, looking to focus on family.

Former BHS girls head coach Steve Schreiber asked Peterson to join his staff as an assistant, but he wasn’t sold on it. In fact, he considered walking away from coaching entirely.

That was until he got a fateful text from one of his former players.

“I haven’t told this story to very many people,” Peterson said to the Pioneer. “… It was just a very simple text message, where he thanked me for believing in him when he didn’t believe in himself. That made my decision pretty easy. That was my sign to stick with coaching, and hopefully connect with another kid, and maybe make a difference.”

Peterson stuck around as an assistant after Schreiber resigned and Darin Schultz took over as head coach in 2022. There was less responsibility as an assistant, but he could still be around the game and make a difference.

This most recent season, however, was different.

Schultz had to take an extended time away from the Jacks deal with a personal family matter during the season. Peterson took on the interim head coach role in the meantime, giving him his first taste of head coaching in five years. For his efforts, he was named the assistant coach of the year by BHS.

After Schultz resigned at the end of the season, Peterson was the no-brainer hire for the position. He doesn’t take the decision lightly.

“I think that our head coaches have a lot of responsibility at Bemidji High School, and I’ve been there before,” he said. “It’s kind of a year-round thing. So I’m well aware of the things that come with it, but I’m excited about it.”

Before Peterson resigned as boys head coach in 2020, he turned the program around.

Over five seasons, he secured a 91-43 record and led the Lumberjacks to their first state tournament berth in over 30 years.

When Peterson handed the reins to Steve Thompson, the current boys basketball head coach, he knew the program would be in good hands. The two developed a close relationship, feeling like they were co-head coaches.

Peterson couldn’t fully step away once he resigned. Coaching is in his blood, which is one of the reasons why he couldn’t turn down becoming an assistant. Once Schultz took over the girls program in 2022, the two had seamless chemistry and a good working relationship, especially when it came to practices and game plans.

That dynamic came to fruition daily and was on display when Schultz had to step away.

“Obviously, not having your leader there, it’s a different situation, but the girls adapted just fine,” Peterson said. “They probably adapt better than we do, but with as prepared as (Schultz) was, it made it very easy.

“It was hard for him to leave … (but) I think he felt good about that. I think as closely as we worked, he felt comfortable being away, as hard as it was, that we were going to be OK. And we were.”

Schultz presented the assistant coach of the year award to Peterson at the BHS Hall of Fame Banquet last month.

The honor is not lost on him. During his time with the boys program, Peterson was the one who nominated Thompson in the award’s inaugural year, an honor Thompson wound up winning. Getting the honor from the school and his peers was a privilege, he said.

“I’ve never looked at myself as a head coach being above my assistants,” Peterson added. “I felt like, as an assistant, I felt very valued by the coaches that I’ve worked under.”

For Thompson, he’s excited that Peterson is back on the sidelines. The two plan to collaborate and share ideas for both programs, much like when they were coaching together.

“Having coached with him in the past, I know firsthand the passion, commitment and energy he brings every day,” Thompson said. “The program is in very good hands.”

Peterson knows the challenges that face BHS in the 2026-27 season. The Jacks lost seven seniors from last season, so younger, inexperienced players will have to step up.

The identity of Bemidji basketball under Schultz had been strong defense, and Peterson looks to continue that in his upcoming tenure. The way he looks at it, defense is half the game, and he’ll treat it like so in practices, he said.

With that being said, not everything is going to be the same. Peterson will bring his own knowledge and touches to this season’s squad to make them the best they can be.

“I think we’re going to have to make some adjustments with a younger group this year,” he said. “I think our defense will shift a little bit. I think we’re going to probably try to ramp up the pressure and probably gamble a little more than we have in the last few years with pressing defenses.

“And I think to score with our younger group, we’re going to have to get up in the passing lanes, try to get some deflections and steals, get some runouts in transition and score some layups to be able to score enough points to compete. So some old stuff and some new stuff.”