MSHSNSCA Award Nominees 2010-2011
Section 1
Nomination for “Nordic Coach of the Year”– Rich Heilman Lakeville North High School
Leading by example both on and off the ski trails, Rich has an extraordinary level of energy and passion that he pours into coaching and the sport of nordic. His many years of both competitive and coaching experience make his knowledge of nordic skiing, high school athletes and the development of our sport second to none.
Rich has coached skiing for thirteen years, the past seven of which have been dedicated to the development of a booming program at Lakeville North High School.
On the snow, under the leadership and guidance of Rich, the Lakeville North program has seen a noticeable jump in success since he took over the program. His individual athletes, as well as the boys and girls teams, have been competitive year in and year out at the conference, section and state level. Skiers and coaches in our section and conference have great respect for Rich and his leadership. He leads by example and dedication. He has been instrumental part in getting the newly created South Suburban Conference up and running successfully. Ensuring that meets are run fairly and accurately and being certain that all skiers are recognized for their accomplishments. Off the snow, Rich is able to foster his philosophy of the balance needed for student-athlete success. His section Boys and Girls teams had an impressive combined GPA of over a 4.0. In the community, both students and parents alike respond very positively to his coaching style and philosophy. This is evident in the successful recruitment and retention of new athletes, strong alumni involvement (in coaching and volunteering) and a big, loyal parent-volunteer base. Rich Heilman is highly deserving of The Coach of the Year recognition for his dedication and leadership to the world of nordic skiing.
Erik Nygren,
Head Coach, Lakeville South Boys and Girls Nordic Ski
Section 1: Volunteer of the Year Brad Bullard , Winona Nordic
The title of “Volunteer of the Year” is one that describes Brad Bullard well. Brad has been involved with the Winona Nordic ski program as a volunteer for the past eight years. He first became involved as a support person at practices to help with younger athletes needing a bit more guidance when starting out. He has since become what might be better described as a volunteer coach and team support person. He attends practices on a regular basis three times a week and works with various groups of athletes at all levels of the team. Brad is always the first to say he will take the beginning group and ski with them even though he is a very athletic person himself and would love to get in some harder skiing. Brad has annually used vacation time from work to attend and help run the team winter camp over the holiday break.
In addition to volunteer coaching Brad helps maintain the team equipment regularly switching pole tips from roller skis tips to snow baskets and back. He spends hours helping apply summer storage wax and then scraping it back off again each year. Each time there is a meet the team holds a team waxing session and Brad is there to mentor and assist the athletes in the skill of waxing. When it is a classical race the athletes know they will need to see “Coach Brad” to get some kick wax binder ironed on.
Two years ago Winona had to become a self funded program with district cutbacks and Brad turned his home into fund raiser central. He hosted meetings, helped organize some very successful fund raisers, along with his wife Alicia, including using his garage and kitchen to hand build holiday wreaths with branches from evergreens harvested off his land.
Finally if you ever see Brad at a meet, and he comes to most of them Winona is at, he will behind the lens of a very nice camera. Each season he builds a team slide show put to music as a keepsake for each of the athletes and shows it at the year end banquet and then provides each athlete with a copy.
I would like to respectfully submit Brad Bullard as section 1 “Volunteer of the Year”, and candidate for State Volunteer of the year.
Tom Brandt
Winona/Winona Cotter High School Nordic Ski Coach
Section 2
Tom Rentz
I am writing on behalf of the nomination of Tom Rentz as the 2010-11 MN State HS Nordic Ski Coaches Association “Volunteer of the Year“.
I have known Tom for several years; we first met when I coached his children on the St. Cloud Cathedral Nordic Team. Tom was readily available to support his children and to volunteer for numerous tasks on behalf of the team.
As a member of the Central MN Nordic Ski Club, Tom has been invaluable in providing his time and expertise to St. Cloud area ski trail development and maintenance, including acquisition and utilization of snow making equipment at Riverside Par kin St. Cloud. The efforts of Tom and numerous others results in “first snow” (around Thanksgiving) for St Cloud area high school (Apollo, Cathedral, Tech) and college (St Cloud State University) nordic ski teams. The annual (St. Cloud) Tech Sprints (first week of December) provides early race exposure for over one dozen MN HS nordic ski teams on man-made snow.
Tom is also involved in equipment maintenance, and grooming trails at the Graystone and Riverside trails, for competitive and recreational skiers alike. Finally, Tom volunteers to help set up and manage area ski races for adults, students, and children. Tom has been a positive voice for the ski community in the St Cloud area, and I support his nomination for “Volunteer of the Year“.
Philip Deger, Assistant Coach
St Cloud Tech HS Nordic Ski Team
Section 4
COACH OF THE YEAR SECTION 4
Torry Kraftson, Stillwater – submitted by Kris Hansen, Stillwater
Torry Kraftson has been the boys’ varsity coach at Stillwater for the past 4 years. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach for our team. Torry is a past MN State high school champion and a former All-American skier for the University of Utah. Although Torry is officially the boys varsity coach at Stillwater, we have a large team (> 130 skiers) and Torry works effectively across the full team, engaging with our newer junior high skiers as well as with the more seasoned varsity athletes. He coaches both boys and girls and is well liked and well respected by the St. Croix Valley skiing community.
Torry brings an innovative energy to the team, thinking up news ways to keep the workouts fresh and fun for the kids while still extracting the required effort. His workouts and his attitude reflect Torry’s love of skiing and his understanding of what’s required to ski at the highest levels. These workouts often come with high overhead for the coach, but Torry takes this on enthusiastically. This year, the Stillwater boys placed 2nd at the Mesabi Invitational and first at ABC Relays. They captured the SEC Championship for the first time in five years. Under Torry’s leadership, this has been a very successful year for the Stillwater boys.
In addition to the “on ski” skills Torry teaches, he values and coaches good sportsmanship and good citizenship. Torry himself is a great example of these values at work….in addition to his responsibilities on the high school team, Torry is an active volunteer with MYSL. Utilizing the same balance of hard work and play that work so well on our team, Torry spends his Sunday afternoons teaching young children the very basic skills of skiing.
For his contributions to youth Nordic skiing in general, and to Stillwater Nordic specifically, Torry Kraftson is a excellent candidate for Coach of the Year.
ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR SECTION 4
Doug White, Roseville – submitted by Fred Kueffer, Roseville
I would like to nominate Doug White as Assistant Nordic Ski Coach of the Year. For the past twelve years, Doug has helped coach the highly successful Roseville Area High School Nordic Ski Team. He started coaching when his daughter was on the team, and has been an integral part of the coaching staff ever since. Doug has many strengths that have been tremendously helpful to Roseville’s ski team. He is very knowledgeable in the wax room, helping kids apply wax and getting skis ready to be “fast” for races and practices. Doug records times at all the races, and often has split times and results before the “official” results come out. The skiers always gravitate towards him to find out how they did. Doug is an experienced skier and quite fit (he biked across the United States this summer!). Instruction is another strong point, especially teaching the fundamentals of skiing, to the new or younger skiers. Doug has been involved in the Minnesota Youth Ski League for many years where countless youth skiers have benefited from his help. He relates well to all ages and all levels of skiers.
Doug has been a big part of Roseville’s success over the years and is very deserving of being selected as Assistant Coach of the Year.
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR SECTION 4
Bob Hagstrom, Stillwater
Bob Hagstrom has been volunteering on behalf of the Stillwater Nordic ski team for a quarter of a century. Bob became active with our team following the graduation of his youngest daughter in 1985, never missing a season since then. Few people engaged in high school skiing haven’t seen Bob in his red Stillwater snowsuit in the Start/Finish area of any race attended by our school, greeting athletes, coaches and officials, helping with any last minute set-up chores. Bob offers blankets, collects warm-up jackets, provides a calming hand to nervous racers and a congratulatory hug to finishers. Bob is in attendance at practice every day, keeping our enthusiastic team of 140 athletes on task and organized, collecting stray equipment and sheparding confused junior skiers on to the practice bus. His smile and open, gentle manner make him an approachable, welcoming resource to even the shyest skiers.
In addition to all his on snow time, Bob maintains The Wax Shed behind his home. At least 2 times per week during the high school season, Bob lights the wood stove in the Wax Shed and hosts an army of Stillwater skiers and coaches within its walls. This cozy workshop, walls papered with race bibs, photos and art work celebrating Nordic skiing, provides our athletes with a place to learn about and care for their equipment and to appreciate the multi-generational history of Nordic skiing in Minnesota.
Bob makes a special effort to bring foreign exchange students onto our team. He meets with exchange students early in the fall to encourage their participation on our team and works with other s to outfit each of these students with winter clothes, skis, boots and poles so they can try skiing, many of them, for the first time. Over the years, these foreign students have made rich contributions to the personality and accomplishments of our team.
So great are Bob’s contributions, it is impossible to imagine the Stillwater Nordic Ski Team without him. He embodies the hard work, the sense of community and the leadership that we strive to teach our athletes. The Stillwater Nordic Ski Team is blessed to have such a knowledgeable, generous, and caring volunteer at the core of our team.
Section 5
Coach Of the Year
Chris Torvi (Ironadale)
Mike Smith and I (Co-Head Coaches of Mounds View Nordic) would like to nominate Chris Torvi, the Head Coach of Irondale’s Nordic Team. In recent years, Coach Torvi has built a remarkable 3k trail system behind Irondale High School. Furthermore, he has garnered the support of many volunteers and continues to build the Irondale nordic program. He is a great neighbor to the Mounds View Mustangs. This has been no small feat, requiring many hours of cutting back over-growth and smoothing the system in the off-season, plus countless hours of early morning and late night grooming to keep the trails beautiful.
Chris is also very helpful to other coaches and skiers, offering to help out new skiers and coaches alike. One of the ways he does this is by being a member of the Victor C Dunder committee, helping to provide equipment to needy skiers. In addition, Chris elevates skiing in the area by putting on a classic meet on the trail system at Irondale. For coaches, Chris spends many hours doing all the scoring for the TCNS ski conference meets. He devised a googledoc for the conference and all coaches send their team results to him. He then does the scoring. Great for the Other coaches but we often get a file with the results posted after midnight that he has had to tabulate. We sleep while he is doing this! Chris’ skiers are lucky to have this charismatic dynamo as their coach!
Assistant Coach of the year Marsh Jones (Irondale)
I would like to nominate Marsh Jones for Assistant coach of the year. Marsh Jones has been an assistant coach with Irondale for 9 years. He started as a volunteer and has really helped develop Irondale into
a high quality program. Marsh helps with every aspect of the program. From helping to coordinate our trail work days to grooming our ski trail at school. He has a great talent for coaching technique and teaching beginning through advanced wax techniques. Marsh also has a real heart for kids. Every season he is making sure that all skiers are feeling welcomed and a part of the team. When there is an equipment need for someone on the team, he is often working behind the scenes to make sure that a pair of skis, poles or boots end up where they are needed. In addition to his ski coaching, Marsh has introduced canoe and kayak racing as an offseason training program for many of our skiers. He is one of the founders of the Rice Creek Boat Club. The Boat Club includes many skiers from several area teams and has had some great results, sending several paddles to a national boating event this past fall.
Chris Torvi
Irondale Nordic
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR:
Kerry Bogenreif (Champlin Park)
I would like to Nominate Kerry (Bogie) Bogenreif from Champlin Park for Volunteer of the year.
Kerry, known by friends, students, and skiers as Bogie, student-coached with Denny Nelson and Dave Snesrud at Coon Rapids High school while she completed her degree at Hamline. She would go to her classes, student teach at White Bear Lake and then drive over to CR to coach! She also worked at St. Joseph’s Home in St. Paul and would often put in a full shift there and then come to coach.
After her student-coaching stint, she liked what Coon Rapids was doing with their program so she continued as a volunteer for about eight more years. She never got a dime in compensation for all her hard work at Coon Rapids
She rarely missed a practice, a bus trip to The Ridge or a meet in all of that time. Kids recognized her tremendous fund of information on training, waxing, technique, (particularly classical), and racing tactics. They would come up to the front of the bus all the time and pepper her with questions on all of those subjects, plus many more. Most of all, the kids saw her love of and commitment to skiing.
Bogie then came to Champlin Park where she is now a Phy Ed teacher. She then became the assistant Nordic coach at Champlin Park and continued on teaching kids her knowledge and love for the sport of Nordic skiing. She was the assistant coach for 5 years at Champlin Park before taking some time off of coaching. She is now back with the Champlin Park Nordic program as a Volunteer coach. And same as when she was coaching at Coon Rapids, she is a dedicated coach, sharing the joy of skiing with everyone she meets. Many skiers will also know Bogie out on the trail during a race as she cheers the skiers on with her train whistle. We are very grateful to have her helping out at Champlin Park High School.
Bogie’s experiences: She was an accomplished skier in high school. She had a top 40 finish at the Birkie and won the Paul Bunyan Axe at the Finlandia three years in a row. She was the 1995 Mora Vasaloppet winner, and also had a 2nd and several top ten finishes in the at Mora. She has also completed the Minnesota Border to Border Triathlon twice. This is the premier endurance event in Minnesota. She’s also done that 100 mile mountain bike race in Colorado. Her most recent adventure she is taking on is participating in the Canadian Ski Marathon where she will ski 167.3km in two days. This year will be her third time doing the CSM. Bogie will be going for the “Gold” award where participants will carry all there belongings including food, and sleep equipment with them over the course, and sleep outside during the two day event. These are just the highlights, believe me.
Nominated by:
Denny Nelson – Assistant Coach at Coon Rapids High School
Charlie Rietschel – Champlin Park High School
Section 6
From Andy Turnbull at Edina a nomination for Assistant Coach of the Year section 6:
I would like to nominate Paul Gage Edina HS for assistant of the year. Not only does he work full time, run the Hyland MYSL program, parent 3 active kids and he coaches a high school team. The teaching protocol he brings from the Minnesota Youth Ski League means that our beginning skiers start out right and his waxing skills have earned the nick name Dr Wax. I certainly couldn’t do what I do without his assistance.
Andy Turnbull
From Kate Ellis at South West a nomination for Volunteer of the Year:
Matt Callahan – Volunteer coach nominee Section 6
Matt Callahan has been a volunteer coach for the last 2 years at Minneapolis Southwest in the boys and girls Nordic program.He has one daughter still listed on our roster, but she skis infrequently and never races. Matt is at every practice, unless his teaching schedule at St. John’s University prevents him from being there (which is rarely), and attends every meet and camp that we run, including a week long camp up at Giant’s Ridge. He takes on any task we ask of him, and does it with a smile, from skiing with and teaching technique to brand new skiers, to setting cones for a race course. Matt refuses to be compensated for his substantial time commitment. His dedication to our skiers has been instrumental in teaching them the lifelong love of the sport as well as contributing to the success of our program. He is a coach’s dream come true and the skiers love him.
Section 7
Coach of the Year Dawn Miller Duluth Denfeld and Central
Over the last six years Dawn has been involved with the Central Nordic Ski team and now two years with skiers from Duluth Denfeld High School. She began as a volunteer, became an Assistant Coach, and for the last three seasons has been Head Coach. Dawn is truly an ambassador for Duluth’s skiing Community and her dedication to kids is exemplary.
The Duluth Central/Denfeld Nordic Ski Team is transitioning into one school with kids spread across town. Dawn has made herself available through great amounts of communication and time to recruit new skiers to this small team. Over the last two seasons we have integrated kids from both schools to help ease the transition of one of them closing. She has navigated ways in which to make skiing on this team as easy as possible such as providing a complete loaner program that includes skis, poles, boots and all waxing equipment; identifying and nominating kids for ski equipment awards at local shops; and fund raising. She has also sought out private donations.
Dawn has helped provide an environment in which kids feel so comfortable with each other that they refer to our team as a ski family. Not only are these kids becoming stronger skiers, they are becoming stronger people under her guidance. It has been a privilege to work with her providing direction for this family.
Nominated by Shawn Miller-Duluth Central/Denfeld Assistant Nordic Ski Coach
Bio for Dave Kask, Duluth East Section 7 Assistant Coach of the Year
Dave Kask was a valuable contributor to the Duluth East Team even before he was officially an Assistant Coach as he was awarded the Most Valuable Wax Volunteer for the 1999-2000 season.
Dave has been the Assistant Coach at Duluth East for 9 years. He helps with all aspects of the team from waxing to helping develop the training plans to race entries as well as grooming courses for races and practices. All this is in addition to being out on the ski trails every day working with the skiers.
Dave does more than just work with Duluth East skiers. Every year he helps organize a West Yellowstone trip for the East skiers. This trip always includes skiers from this northern area and around the state. Dave wants the Duluth East skiers to be fast but he also believes that all kids deserve to have great skiing opportunities like the West Yellowstone experience.
Dave also developed the “Arrowhead Cup” for Section 7. After every race he calculates “World Cup” type points for each skier in the race. He keeps a running total for all the Section 7 skiers and sends it to the coaches each week. At the end of the season the top 10 skiers receive trophies.
Dave has spent many, many hours and too much of his money outfitting a trailer to be used for waxing. The main use of this trailer is to get the waxing out of the Snowflake ski chalet so the air quality is better for the skiers. The wax is put on in the trailer by adults and then just scrapped and brushed by the team skiers inside the Snowflake wax room. This has greatly improved conditions for the skiers. It also added 4 additional wax stations so waxing up to 120 pairs of skis goes a little faster.
Dave is very dedicated to his ski team and tries to find ways to make the Nordic Ski racing experience better each year.
Bio for Greg Minerich, Volunteer of the Year Section 7
Greg Minerich lives in Bend, Oregon but spends his winters in Duluth. For the past five years Greg has been a daily volunteer for the Duluth East X-C ski team.
Every day at practice Greg helps wherever needed. If we are glide waxing skis he arrives early and sets up all the wax benches. He gets the irons and wax out, sharpens the scrapers and helps iron on the wax. He stays until the very end of the waxing session and then helps clean up. This can be a very long evening as our maximum is 120 pairs of skis to be waxed. On our classic days, Greg is in the wax room helping new skiers wax their skis.
Greg goes to every race to help in any way he can, waxing skis, putting capes on skiers or helping new skiers get to their start on time.
Greg is a kind, quiet person that the coaches and skiers rely on and love to have around.
We are lucky to have Greg back helping the team this winter. Last summer he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. After surgery, chemo and in the process of a long recovery Greg transferred his care to doctors in Duluth. Greg did this so he could spend the winter helping the team. After our ski team banquet, Greg will be heading back to Bend Oregon.
We will be looking forward to Greg’s help again next winter.
Section 8
He’s a big coach in a small town school running a big time ski program.
Terry Wasland started the Little Falls Nordic Ski program 16 years ago. The program, like the coach, has consistently demonstrated perseverance, athleticism, and sportsmanship. Not long ago, faced with the elimination of nordic skiing due to district budget challenges, Terry lead a parent, student, and community effort to raise funds to be self supporting and continue competing. The story mirrors his personal comeback from a serious heart attack suffered while skiing, another challenge overcome with personal faith and perseverance.
Terry now leads a program once again supported by his district. He skis the same trails as his athletes and leads them as he always has, by example in character as well as technique. Despite its name and small student population, the “Little” Falls program is big. Terry’s team is now at its largest size ever (62 kids), the biggest in the section. His girl’s team has won the section for the 6th straight year and a conference title for the 5th straight year. The boys won the conference for 2011 and claimed their second straight section title this year. No stranger to the State Meet in recent years, Little Falls’ success is a testimony to the quality of the program. Just as significantly, this year his girls, like many of his teams in the past, also won the conference sportsmanship award. Terry leads teams who not only win, but win with grace. He and his athletes are always supportive of every team and skier on the snow.
As a longtime coach, Terry is a familiar face and a reliable “go to” guy for help. He is always willing to work extra to help another coach, or assist in any capacity at a meet whether it is home or away. A recent example is found as he spent his “spare time” assisting at another section meet besides his own.
Not long retired from counseling in the Little Falls school district, Terry continues to pursue his passion: working with kids and making something special happen for them during our favorite winter months. He is an advocate for the sport, he gets the best from his kids, and he earns their respect as well as the respect of his fellow coaches. His fellow section coaches fully support his candidacy for MSHSCA Nordic Coach of the Year Award for 2011.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Hanson and Mary Claire Ryan, Co-head coaches Brainerd Nordic / representing Section 8
Section 8 Assistant Coach of the Year—Jeremy Rapp Alexandria HS
I am very pleased to write this letter of recommendation for Jeremy Rapp, assistant coach, Alexandria. Jeremy approaches his job of assistant coach of our Nordic Ski team with a passion for the sport that is very obvious. Jeremy has an uncanny work ethic and has been instrumental in the lives of the Alexandria athletes with hopes of their success.
Jeremy’s passion has also impacted me over the course of this season. I am new to the sport and Jeremy has gone above and beyond the call of duty time and time again to ensure that my transition into the sport was smooth and successful. Technique guru, wax technician, and groomer extraordinaire are a few of the duties Jeremy has assumed this season! I cannot think of another coach, besides Jeremy Rapp, who is more deserving of the Assistant Coach of the Year Award.
Sincerely,
Luke A. Erickson
Head Coach, Alexandria Boys and Girls Nordic Cross Country Ski
Section 8 Volunteer of the Year—Karen Skoyles
Karen Skoyles has been a noticeable figure at the ski meets, not only because of her white snow pants with the large blue star on the butt, but because of her photographs. Karen, being the mother of two Detroit Lakes skiers, has taken the hobby of photography to a new level over the past several seasons. Through her years of involvement with the Detroit Lakes ski team she has contributed 1,000s of photos to Skinnyski. Her photo sets include skiers from all age levels and teams. She usually makes the trek out on the ski trails and sets up her position along the trail before the first race and camps out many times until the last skiers pass. After the races she heads home to sort through the hundreds or even thousands of photos from the day and submits the ones that pass her test to Skinnyski. Many times her photos are ready and submitted before the results are posted. I know that the skiers like to see the photos of themselves after each race. Not only do the kids like them, but it also gives parents the opportunity to see their child in action when they are unable to attend the races. On several occasions she has commented that she has not captured photos of her own children since she was too busy cheering as they passed. Karen in her thoughtful manner has sent photosets of skiers from other schools to their respective coaches so they could share in her expertise. Section 8 would like to Nominate Karen Skoyles for Volunteer of the Year for all of her work and dedication in making sure each skier has the opportunity see themselves in action on Skinnyski.
