"I played through college and then started coaching," Strot said. "I coach, my brother coaches a junior team in Florida and my dad has coached at every level - youth, high school, juniors, college. So hockey has always been part of my life and my family's life."
Now 47, Strot is in charge of the Aberdeen Wings, one of 24 teams in the North American Hockey League. Strot was promoted from assistant to interim head coach after the Wings fired Pete Sauer earlier this week.
As a former NAHL head coach of the Coulee Region Chill, Strot said Aberdeen always has had a great reputation since the Wings came into the league in 2010.
"When I was at Coulee, our players' favorite place to play was Aberdeen," Strot said. "And it was totally because of the fan base. The fans here really get into their Wings and they support them unbelievably. The fans make Aberdeen a great place to play hockey. You see people wearing Wings stuff all the time."
Strot is excited to try to help this current batch of Wings' players improve. The team has a lot of first-year junior-league players.
"It takes first-year players some time to come along, and we are starting to see that," Strot said. "We have some good team speed and some good skills. But we need to be more physical, and obviously, we need to get some more scoring."
The Wings have gotten off to a rough start this season, with eight wins in 27 games. Aberdeen has scored 66 goals, and allowed 98. The Wings are at the bottom of the six-team Central Division, and will need a solid run in the second half of the season to make the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Strot will make his debut this weekend at the Odde Ice Center in Aberdeen as his Wings play the Austin (Minn.) Bruins Friday and Saturday at 7:15 p.m. both nights.
"Right now, I am more concerned about getting our guys going and changing a few things like controlling the puck more and being more physical," Strot said. "Those are some of the things we need to work on to make a difference. So I more worried about the things we need to do as a team than Austin right now."
Strot is grateful to the team owners, the Greg Odde family, in giving him this opportunity to lead the Wings. "They treat the players right and try to get them everything they need. They certainly have treated me well since I have been here."
Strot also is excited about the team's new locker room and training facility that is being attached to the south side of the building. Work recently began on that addition, which is expected to be ready for next season. "That is going to be huge for this organization," he said. "When players come in and see not only the crowds we get, and then the new, first-class facilities, that is going to be exciting to them."
Through the rest of this season, two people will assist Strot. Rob Anderson works with the goalies, and Strot's father Dan will help his son as well. Dan Strot of Champlain, Minn., has been serving as a scout for the Wings this season.
NAHL/Central Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Austin 28 19 5 4 42 102 78
Bismarck 29 15 12 2 32 78 74
Brookings 27 15 11 1 31 78 73
Minot 28 13 13 2 28 80 88
Coulee Region 27 8 14 5 21 73 92
Aberdeen 27 8 17 2 18 66 98
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.
Dec. 20
Minot at Coulee Region
Dec. 21
Austin at Aberdeen, 7:15 p.m. Odde Ice Arena
Minot at Brookings
Dec. 22
Austin at Aberdeen, 7:15 p.m. Odde Ice Arena
Bismarck at Coulee Region
Dec. 28
Aberdeen at Austin, 7:05 p.m., Riverside Arena
Coulee Region at Bismarck
Brookings at Minot
Dec. 29
Aberdeen at Austin, 7:05 p.m., Riverside Arena
Coulee Region at Bismarck
Brookings at Minot
Dec. 31
Aberdeen at Brookings, 7 p.m., Larson Ice Center (Red Arena)
Minot at Bismarck
Coulee Region at Austin
Meet Garrett Strot
Job: Interim head coach of the Aberdeen Wings.
Age: 47.
His son: Jesse (25) of San Deigo, Calif.
Raised: Twin Cities.
As a hockey player: Osseo High School (a suburb northwest of Minneapolis) and Bethel College in St. Paul.
As a hockey coach: 18 years at Osseo High School (14 as head coach) and now in his sixth year of coaching in the juniors (four as head coach of the NAHL franchise that changed locations and names from the North Iowa Outlaws to the Coulee Region Chill).