In 1977, a young high school teacher and his lovely bride moved to Wausau in order to find occupations in a good size city. The teacher became an assistant hockey coach and learned at the side of a coaching and hockey legend.

Thirty-four years later, Pete Susens is poised to become a hockey legend himself, with 499 career high school wins on his resume. Only one other high school coach in Wisconsin has more victories--Madison Memorial's Vic Levine (512 wins).

In typical Pete Susens fashion, he credits his family, administration, and players (among other things) as the reasons for his success.

"You don't build a good program without a combination of good student/athletes, good supportive parents, good student fan support, good assistant coaches and the support of the school administration," notes Susens. "And we have had that at West for a number of years."

Wife Kim shows her support by attending almost every game, home or away.

"My whole family--especially Kim--has been really supportive of the West hockey program and have allowed me to put in the time working at hockey," states Susens.

Son David played for West and graduated in 2002 and is now in his final year of law school in Oregon, while daughter Kristin is a high school biology teacher in Pennsylvania.

Susens was born in Superior "a little over a half-century ago" and has three brothers and three sisters, including a twin sister. He played baseball and hockey in high school, even though he was only 5'2" until his junior year. He went on to play four years of college baseball. 

He also found time to coach in the Superior youth program, working at the squirt and pee wee levels before moving from the area to Wauzeka, WI, where he worked as a business and math teacher, and also was an assistant basketball coach and started the girls' softball program.

After moving to Wausau, he became an assistant hockey coach to Don Bradford, who is a legend in his own right and a member of the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame and a huge reason why the Wausau area youth program is so successful.

"Don was and still is a great help to me," mentions Susens. "There was just one rink in Wausau and we shared ice time and the youth hockey program with both Wausau East and D.C. Everest. The second sheet at Marathon Park in the mid-80s and then Greenheck in the 1990s really expanded opportunities for ice time and hockey growth in the Wausau area."

That growth is a huge reason for the success of all three area teams.

In his 33rd year at the helm of the Warriors, his teams have compiled a record of 499-207-22 and have made ten state tournament appearances, including two runner-up finishes.

"The biggest (thrill) is probably the first time we qualified for state in 1981," says Susens. "It was with the group of guys that had started at West the same time that I had."

Although last year's 5-3 heartbreaking loss to University School was a let-down, Susens was disappointed, but was more disheartened for his players, especially his seniors, players like Derek Knetter, Mitch Borneman, and Chase Garavet.

How would he feel about a state title?

"For any program, it is a great accomplishment and it would be great for the team and the coaching staff."

This year's version of the Wausau West team has the potential to earn that state championship, although teams like Eau Claire Memorial, Superior, and Notre Dame Academy might think otherwise.

For Susens however, the fire still burns in his belly for the sport he loves.

"As long as losing hurts, winning is still fun, and I can add some things to the program, I would like to continue," states Susens. "I do have some great assistants that deserve an opportunity to run the program if they would like to do so."

Assistant coach Steve Brown is in his 22nd year for West. Other assistants are Chris Grosskreutz (8th year) and B.J. Brandt (5th year). All three played under Susens at West.

In his "off time," Susens coaches baseball at West. He also enjoys golfing, fishing, and his latest sport that he and Kim participate in, curling.

How much would it mean to this humble man to win over 500 games?

"It will probably mean a lot more when I look back at the whole career and the whole body of work, but right now it will be just one game in the progress of our season."

The understated coach shrugs off credit for the success, stating, "I really believe that I got to the right place at the right time and it has really been a good fit for both me and West."

And there are a whole lot of people in Wausau and even some around the state that would agree.

(Pete Susens earned his 500th victory with a 5-0 win over Marshfield on January 4, 2011.)