THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: From building bodies to building a basketball program

You never know when your next opportunity is going to present itself. 

Austin Paulsen grew up in North Idaho, attending Timberlake High and then Coeur d’Alene High, and had been living in Arizona in recent years. 

Then he and his wife moved back up to Hayden, and Austin said he wanted to get involved in the community in some capacity. 

“It was about that time I received a call from an old coach of mine and respected AD,” Paulsen said. 

It was Tim Cronnelly, longtime athletic director and coach at Timberlake High. 

“Paulsen, have you ever thought about coaching basketball?" Cronnelly said. 

Next thing you know, Paulsen is having a conversation with the athletic director at class 1A Coeur du Christ Academy, Kellen Clemens.  

Next thing you know, Paulsen is the head coach of the Saints boys basketball team, which is in its fourth year as a program, and second as a full member of the Idaho High School Activities Association.   

PAULSEN GREW up in Athol and attended Timberlake in middle school, as well as his freshman year of high school. 

“That is when Cronnelly was AD at Timberlake, and actually coached me during middle school,” Paulsen recalled. “He coached us my freshman year as well at Timberlake.” 

Paulsen then transferred to Coeur d’Alene High as a sophomore, and graduated from there in 2014. 

Paulsen’s coach at Coeur d’Alene back then was Kent Leiss — who, as it turns out, is back at Coeur d’Alene in his first season in his second stint as Vikings coach. 

(As it turns out, Cronnelly, who retired from Timberlake a few years ago, is back coaching, as an assistant to longtime Timberlake girls basketball coach Matt Miller. Because of course.) 

Paulsen played in Leiss’ program for two seasons.

“I think Leiss' love for the game really shines bright,” Paulsen said. “Back then, he was even teaching a sports history class with how much he loved the game. That type of passion toward something stuck with me in the real world when I pursued my own passions.” 

FOR HIS “day job,” Paulsen says he runs a few small businesses, including Austin Paulsen Fitness. 

"After my basketball career in high school I jumped right into falling in love with health/fitness," he said. "I did compete as a bodybuilding athlete for a lot of years."

These days, he focuses more on coaching bodybuilders, as well as "mainstream" athletes (basketball and football players, etc.). Also, Paulsen directs the strength and conditioning program for the Lewis-Clark State women's basketball team. The Warriors' coach, Caelyn Orlandi, played at Coeur d'Alene High when Paulsen was at CHS.

“People who know me are probably most familiar with me coaching nutrition/exercise for athletes,” he said. “I have been doing that for about 10 years now.” 

Now, people are also starting to know Paulsen as a basketball coach 

“In reality, basketball was my very first love that I spent an enormous amount of time pursuing,” he said. 

Leiss said it made him laugh when he saw that Paulsen was now a basketball coach. 

“But he’s a great kid,” Leiss said. "He was a good little backup point guard (at CHS), very short, only 5-7, 5-8, but he was a good little player. I liked Austin. And then he got into bodybuilding  ... “

As from what he learned from playing for Leiss that will help him as a basketball coach ... 

“From a coaching standpoint, attention to detail and raw intensity are a few things that I suspect you will see carry over,” Paulsen said. 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.