Mike Erickson, entering his second year as head coach of the Skylights, has ushered in a bright new era for the women's basketball program.  For the Skylights, the future begins now!

     Erickson, a native of Vida, MT, begins the rebuilding process around some of the most talented recruits in the history of the program.  Coach Erickson is dedicated to rebuilding the program with a solid foundation of Montana student-athletes, and the quality of his recruiting class speaks volumes.  "Getting athletes who have played against or with each other is a major factor in developing team chemistry, and chemistry is the key ingredient to team success," Erickson said.

     Erickson is a graduate of Circle High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education/Health at Eastern Montana College.  Coach Erickson taught physical education and weight lifting at Wolf Point High School.  He coached the Wolves to two consecutive State Tournament Berths, finishing second in the 2001 Montana State Class B tournament.  Erickson accumulated a record of 54 wins and 12 losses during his stay at Wolf Point and was nominated as Coach of the Year in 2001.

     After his success at the high school level, Erickson moved on to join the MSU-Northern men's basketball program as an assistant coach for the 2001-02 season.  Close to the end of that same year, he was asked to take on the position of interim head women's coach and he readily accepted the challenge. 
  

 His impact was immediate and the team gelled under his positive approach to leadership.  Due to his success as interim coach, Mike was offered the head coaching position for the 2002-03 campaign.     

Erickson brings an up-tempo style of play to the floor.  His willingness to extend the court defensively produces a lot of excitement during Skylight games.  To Erickson, defense is the most important, and most often overlooked, aspect of the game.  He said, "The intensity we generate by our defense will hopefully roll over to the offensive end of the court."  The Skylights will primarily run a man-to-man defense, but will also throw various full-court and half-court zone traps at their opponents.  Coach Erickson believes there is life off the court, and that is why life skills are so important to him as he coaches.  "it is important to me to have my players excel in the classroom as well as on the basketball court.  It is a only through hard work that we can experience success."  Preparing the ladies with a strong work ethic, self-discipline, leadership, and responsibility are some of the qualities Erickson tries to instill in his student-athletes.Erickson is confident the Skylights are on the verge of re-establishing the legend that is the Skylights program.  He commented, "We have to install the tradition before we can regain it, and I plan on doing just that."  Coach's loyalty to Montana and the Skylight tradition will be vital factors in the program's success.

Mike and his wife Janet are the proud parents of a two-year old daughter named Journey (a future Skylight).  Mike is presently working toward his master's degree in sports administration and Janet will be graduating from Northern's nursing program this spring.

Mike's Coaching Philosophy

    During his two years at Circle, the team compiled 40 wins,12 losses and their first state tournament appearance in Class C.

    Warren is in his second year of assisting the Skylights program after a year as a volunteer assistant for the Lights in 2001-02.  He is finishing a Bachelor's degree in Health Promotion and intends on continuing his education towards a Masters Degree.

Assistant Coach

Warren Quick

    Warren and his wife, Jami, have a six-month old daughter, Abby. The family is happy to be a part of MSU-N and Skylight basketball.

Miranda Valley
Student Assistant Coach

Tamecia Watkins
Student Assistant