We are going to start off this week’s Sports Feever Column with a video – make sure you watch it before reading the rest of the column. It is the Minnesota State High School League’s Why We Play. It is a great reminder that the success of high school sports isn’t judged by how many wins you have, how many Division 1 players you have or any other baloney like that. It is about the lessons learned that you will use for the rest of your life.
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I have noticed one thing over the past year when it comes to parents complaining about youth and high school sports. I have been taking mental notes and trying to figure out the kind of people that are the biggest complainers and will share my thoughts/unscientific research on it.
The biggest complainers about youth/high school sports have their oldest/first kid going through sports and it is their first experience with youth sports with a kid involved. Seriously, think about it next time somebody complains. I am estimating that 80 percent of the complainers about programs, coaches, and everything sports comes from a parent/parents with their first kid/athlete going through the “sports gauntlet.” The same 80 percent have NEVER played the game they seem to know so much about.
Is it because we are getting to the millennial thinking?
Is it because they have so much money invested and feel they are “OWED” nothing but the best?
Is it because the parents haven’t figured out that it really DOESN’T matter, in the grand scheme of things, how good your kid’s teams are, how good your kid is, or anything else like that when it comes to sports?
Is it because we have kids playing 40 games a season and can’t figure out why they don’t get better?
After high school, nobody cares how many points you scored, what place your team finished, or anything like that. The ONLY thing that matters in youth and high school sports is the lessons learned. Things like the following –
– Hard work/work ethic
– Teamwork
– Sacrifice/Dedication
– Accountability
– Physical Fitness
– Competitiveness
– Success requires hard work for most
– How to deal with pressure and stress
– Life isn’t always fair (Little johnny’s parents spend less and don’t have him in as much as your kid and little Johnny still plays more than your kid. Genetics are a son of a bitch!)
– Time management
– Focus on what you can control
– Respect
– Learn how to deal with failure
– High school athletes are held to a higher academic/behavior standard than non-athletes.
– and many, many more positive influences.
Do we want to win? OF COURSE!! That is the goal, but not winning a game or a section title doesn’t mean you didn’t have a good year.
Another thing – Coaches aren’t great coaches one year (when the team goes to state) and suck the rest of their careers. There are a lot of GREAT coaches that have never made it to a state tournament. There are some coaches that honestly weren’t very good that have made it to state. You NEED athletes, you need a great group of athletes mixed with luck, and so many other things that go into a trip to state.
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Waseca Police Officer Arik Matson, brother of Crosby-Ironton Activities Director Jared Matson, was critically injured in the line of duty while responding to a call earlier this week. Keep the Matson family in your thoughts and prayers!!
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Warroad and Roseau meet in Boys Hockey tonight for the 175th time!!! Roseau has the advantage with a 102-67-5 record. I am picking Warroad to win 5-3 with Grant Slukynsky getting a hat trick!
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Congratulations to Eric Schmidt on his new job as an assistant football coach at Fresno State. We have heard that there has been a little bit of “pressure” on the UND Football coaching staff so this move doesn’t surprise me and living in Fresno, California can’t be a bad move, especially from Grand Forks! Plus Eric will be coaching in the REAL Division 1 now.
Schmidt just finished his sixth year as an assistant coach at his alma mater the University of North Dakota and will be the defensive line and special teams coach at Fresno State.
Fresno State hired Kalen DeBoer as their head coach in December after serving as their offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018. DeBoer and Schmidt coached together at Southern Illinois under Dale Lennon starting in 2010.
Fresno State is a member of the Mountain West Conference along with Boise State, Air Force, Utah State, Wyoming, Colorado State, New Mexico, Hawaii, San Diego State, Nevada, UNLV and San Jose State.
Eric, a 2001 UND grad, is married to Crookston High School and the University of Minnesota Crookston graduate Tiffany Hasbrouck and they have three children.
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Crookston Pirate Football Coach Scott Butt has rescinded his earlier resignation after tremendous support from current and former players, parents and community members.
The Pirate Football program’s future is bright and they should be very competitive over the next handful of years with good numbers, good athletes, and it sounds like some pretty good-sized kids.
The fifth and sixth graders are in a great league where they play against area towns with great football programs. It is a great experience for the kids.
The biggest components to success for high school football teams – weight room, athletes, weight room, athletes, weight room, athletes. Oh, did I mention the weight room (yes, even if the weight room isn’t that nice!)
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The Warroad Warrior Hockey teams won both the Girls and Boys Hockeytown Holiday Classic Tournaments held over the break. Members of the all-tournament teams are as follows:
GIRLS HOCKEY–
Hannah Corneliusen – Warroad (Tourney MVP)
Geno Hendrickson – Warroad
Sydney Phaneuf – Warroad
Defense Cal Lindquist – Warroad
Defense Maren Friday – Duluth Marshall
Goalie Maureen Dwyer – Duluth Marshall
BOYS HOCKEY
Owen Meeker – Warroad
Anthony Foster – Warroad
Goalie Zach Foster – Warroad
Grant Slukynsky – Warroad (Tourney MVP)
Nathan Gilleshammer – Grafton
Bradyn Dremmel – International Falls
Goalie Cooper Olson – Osseo
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Several UMC Football players (about one-quarter of the team) have found new homes for next season and a handful will be staying in the Northern Sun Conference. I have been able to put together the list below –
Tysen White – Wayne State
Eli Solberg – Bemidji State
Dylan Wheeler – Bemidji State
Ben Branscom – Southwest Minnesota State
Skyler Quinn – Southwest Minnesota State
Ryan Martin – Concordia-St. Paul
Zay MCCray – Upper Iowa
Alex Folz – Eastern New Mexico University
Reece Walno – Chadron State College
Terrance Nicholason – Dakota State University
Gustavo Bonilla – Dakota State University
Kam Clayton – Dakota State University
Will Cross – Lindenwood (Missouri) – He will use his medical redshirt while going to grad school.
Andy Groebner will stay at UMC for the spring semester then transfer (I believe to Jamestown)
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Another Northern Sun Conference school is joining the University of Minnesota Crookston in adding Club Hockey.
Southwest Minnesota State University will field a men’s club hockey team beginning in the 2020-21 academic year.
The Mustangs will join the ranks of approximately 450 collegiate club hockey teams that comprise the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).
Mike Deschneau, Assistant Professor of Special Education, is the faculty advisor for the club. He is also the Director of Football Operations as a member of the Mustang football coaching staff.
The ACHA, a partner with USA Hockey, sanctions three levels of play, and SMSU’s club team will play in Division II. The club hockey team will also seek membership in the Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association (WCCHA), which is comprised of 14 member teams split into two divisions.
It’s anticipated that approximately 17 players will be on the roster for the inaugural season, and will play approximately 15 games. The roster will include approximately 32 players for the 2021-22 season, and the team will play about 25 games.
Deschneau said the team will play newer club programs in its inaugural season, such as UM-Crookston, Dordt and Jamestown, to name a few.
The first-year roster will be comprised of former hockey players who are current SMSU students.
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Section 8A Girls Hockey standings –
The section is all Warroad. The only question we have….who is going to be 2 and 3? I am predicting the seeds will go like this –
Warroad, EGF, TRF, Crookston and Detroit Lakes. We will have a better idea on who is the #2 seed after January 21. EGF beat TRF 3-2 earlier this year so they are #2 as of now. The Section 8a Girls Hockey tournament starts on February 6 when Crookston hosts Detroit Lakes. The semi-finals will be played in Thief River Falls on February 8 and Warroad will win the championship on February 13.
Team – record
1. Warroad 14-3-1
2. East Grand Forks 7-9-0
3. Thief River Falls 7-6-0
4. Crookston 6-11-0
5. Detroit Lakes 3-11-0
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Section 8AA Girls Basketball standings (according to QRF – www.minnesota-scores.net)
The South sub-section has the top team with Fergus Falls. They have had a couple of tough games, but the bulk of their schedule so far has been easy games. Crookston is receiving a benefit by playing a one-win Coon Rapids team. They rocketed ahead of Roseau who lost to Sauk Center (one of the top AA teams in the state), but Crookston played a one-win AAAA Coon Rapids team and jumped 10 points. The QRF is flawed with giving so many points to a bad AAAA school and not enough credit for a close loss to an EXCELLENT AA school, but Crookston isn’t complaining about the QRF right now.
Here is what I am seeing right now. In the North, it will be Crookston, Hawley or Roseau in the top spot. I am thinking it could be Crookston. The Pirates have a pretty solid schedule the rest of the way with only one team (TRF) that isn’t close to .500 or better. They have games with Roseau, Hawley, Pelican Rapids, Ada-Borup, Perham, BGMR, DGF, Virginia (9-3), Cass Lake-Bena, and BGMR to name a few. That is a pretty solid schedule after a light December. Roseau is always going to be tough and Hawley is in the driver seat with a win over Crookston. Hawley also has a solid schedule the rest of the way and it could lean towards some bonus points with games against Moorhead and Fergus Falls.
My prediction in the North – (IF Crookston can figure out a consistent offense against a quality team and box out) – Crookston, Hawley, Roseau, EGF (will be at full strength by the end of the month), DGF, Park Rapids, and the rest.
South – Fergus Falls could lose half of their games and still be the top seed. Pelican Rapids might be the second-best team in the section right now. I think Frazee is #3 with Perham and Menahga right behind.
There is plenty of time to make some movement in the standings and the rest of the month will be important for all the teams with a lot of big games.
The section QRF is below –
North – Team, record (QRF)
1. Hawley 7-2 (81.9)
2. Crookston 10-2 (70.7)
3. Roseau 9-3 (61.5)
4. East Grand Forks 4-6 (39.4)
5. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 3-8 (31.6)
6. Park Rapids 4-9 (31.3)
7. Thief River Falls 1-12 (21.1)
8. Warroad 0-12 (13.9)
9. Bagley 0-10 (12.6)
South – Team, record (QRF)
1. Fergus Falls 11-1 (141.9 – #1 in state)
2. Pelican Rapids 11-0 (88.4)
3. Perham 8-4 (80.7)
4. Frazee 8-3 (63.1)
5. Menahga 8-5 (60.3)
6. Breckenridge 6-6 (58.7)
7. Barnesville 7-5 (55.9)
8. Wadena-Deer Creek 5-5 (44.4)
9. Staples-Motley 2-5 (40.1)
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Section 8A Girls Basketball standings (according to QRF – www.minnesota-scores.net)
I am taking back my comment that Section 8A is wide open. It has narrowed down a bit, but a bunch of teams still have a good shot.
Right now, Sacred Heart is my top team in the Section. They beat Red Lake Falls and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo by 20 or more points and are playing great basketball right now. They are hitting mid-season stride and remember two of the girls that are starting didn’t play last year. So they have a lot of room for continued improvement. I think there are several other teams that are in the mix for the top team, including Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Red Lake County Central, BGMR, and Fosston right now. There are several teams on the fringe – Stephen-Argyle, Red Lake Falls, Cass Lake-Bena, Blackduck.
The Section qrf standings are below –
West – Team, record (QRF)
1. Warren-A-O 8-2 (74.7)
2. Sacred Heart 10-2 (62.4)
3. Red Lake Co. Central 9-1 (58.6)
4. BGMR 10-3 (52.0)
5. Stephen-Argyle 6-5 (41.0)
6. Red Lake Falls 6-5 (40.2)
7. Northern Freeze 3-8 (27.1)
8. Kittson County Central 5-7 (25.2)
9. Fertile-Beltrami 2-8 (21.5)
10. Climax-Fisher 2-9 (16.3)
East – Team, record (QRF)
1. Fosston 7-2 (51.8)
2. Cass Lake-Bena 7-3 (49.8)
3. Clearbrook-Gonvick 5-5 (40.2)
4. Blackduck 9-4 (38.9)
5. Goodridge/Grygla 4-6 (36.4)
6. Red Lake 3-7 (33.9)
7. Lake of the Woods 4-8 (28.0)
8. Kelliher/Northome 5-7 (26.0)
9. Win-E-Mac 2-8 (24.1)
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Former Augustana Viking baseball player, Bryce Berg has been hired by the Minnesota Twins to be a minor league hitting coach.
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The best-attended Minnesota high school event this sports season so far has been a regular-season basketball game. Minnehaha Academy beat Sierra Canyon (California) 78-58 in front of 17,378 at Target Center on Saturday night. The game was a huge draw because Minnehaha has won of the best athletes in Minnesota high school sports history, Jalen Suggs (a four-star football recruit and five-star basketball recruit who is going to Gonzaga) and about five to six other possible D-1 players (including Master P‘s son) and Sierra Canyon has Bronny James (Lebron James‘ kid) and Zaire Wade (Duane Wade‘s son).
I watched the game on ESPN 3 and it was fun to watch. It was a little disappointing because the “nationally ranked” California team wasn’t as good as advertised.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston softball program announced the addition of Katie Humhej (RHP, 5-10, Surrey, British Columbia/LIU Post) for the 2020 recruiting class. Humhej spent three seasons at Long Island University Post prior to the program’s decision to merge sports program from LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn into one campus. Humhej gives the Golden Eagles a proven arm to add to their class as she helped the Pioneers to a No. 8 national ranking in 2019 with 26 wins in the circle. Humhej, a native of British Columbia, also has experience competing for the Czech Republic national team. The Golden Eagles have now signed a recruit from British Columbia, one from Colorado, two from California, and one from Kansas for the 2020 signing class.
Humhej posted a 26-7 mark as a junior for LIU Post in 2019. She pitched 214 innings with a 2.06 ERA and notched 115 strikeouts to just 31 walks. Humhej held opponents to just a .249 batting average as a junior. She helped the Pioneers to a 51-13 mark in their last season of play before combining with the Division I programs at LIU Brooklyn. Humhej helped LIU Post to a NCAA Division II College World Series appearance in 2019. The Pioneers finished the 2019 season ranked eighth in the NFCA poll guided by Humhej. As a sophomore, she went 19-11 with a 2.31 ERA in 184.2 innings pitched with seven shutouts, 133 strikeouts and just 33 walks. She helped LIU Post to a 38-19 mark as a sophomore. As a freshman, Humhej posted a 10-8 record in the circle with a 3.69 ERA in 140.1 innings pitched. She tallied 90 strikeouts to 39 walks during her freshman campaign. Humhej helped the Pioneers to 27 wins during her freshman season. She was a 2018 All-ECC First Team pick. Humhej was a D2CCA Second Team All-East Region selection in 2018 and 2019. She was the ECC Pitcher of the Year in 2018 and 2019. Humhej also earned All-ECC First Team accolades as a senior in 2019. She has picked up multiple Pitcher of the Week awards in her career. “Katie will be a great addition for us in the circle,” said UMC Head Coach Travis Owen. “She competed against some of our top conference teams last year in the D2 playoffs with her prior school, LIU Post, and has the maturity, work ethic and focus to continue improving.”
Humhej is the daughter of Deanna and Jerry Humhej. Humhej plans to major in exercise science and wellness at Minnesota Crookston. Her cousin Kristina Karpun played softball at IPFW. She is a dual citizen of Canada and the Czech Republic and has competed for the Czech Republic National Team since the summer of 2017. Humhej graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from LIU Post. She was inducted into the ODK National Leadership Honors Society in 2019. Humhej has competed at two European Championships, a Junior World Championship, the USA International Cup, Canada Cup, Japan Cup, and the Africa/Europe Olympic qualifier.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s basketball team announced the signing of Jes Mertens (Fr., G, Devils Lake, N.D./Devils Lake H.S.) to a National Letter of Intent.
Mertens was named to the North Dakota Class A All-State Second Team as a junior, where she was joined by former and future teammate Mattea Vetsch. The Firebirds made it to the 2019 Class A Girls Basketball Championship Game, where they lost to Bismarck Century. Mertens is a two-time All-Eastern Dakota Conference selection for basketball, and a three-time All-Conference pick for cross country.
Mertens comes from a basketball family. Including her connection to Nordick, her brother Nathan Mertens played from 2013-17 at Minot State University and ranks fifth all-time in scoring for the Beavers. Her brother Jake Mertens is currently a sophomore for Minnesota State University Moorhead. Her brother B.J. Mertens played men’s basketball at the University of Jamestown from 2008-12. Her sister Steph Mertens played basketball at Lake Region State College.
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JOKES
A woman goes to the Doctor, worried about her husband’s temper.
The doctor asks, “So what seems to be the problem?”
The woman says, “Doctor, I don’t know what to do. Every day my husband seems to lose his temper for no reason at all. It’s starting to scare me.”
The Doctor tells her, “I think I have just the cure for that. When it seems your husband is getting angry, just take a glass of water and start swishing it in your mouth. Just swish, and swish, but don’t swallow it until he leaves the room or decides to go to bed.”
Two weeks later, the woman returns, looking fresh and reborn. The woman says, “Doctor, that was a brilliant idea! Every time my husband started to lose it, I swished with water. I swished and swished, and he calmed right down! How does a glass of water do that?!”
The Doctor informs her, “The water itself does nothing. It’s having to keep your mouth shut that does the trick.”
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The only thing creepier than seeing a guy in a Speedo is seeing a guy in a Speedo staring back at you.
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10 Thoughts –
Number 10
Life is sexually transmitted.
Number 9
Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
Number 8
Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny.
Number 7
Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks.
Number 6
Some people are like a Slinky…..not really good for anything, but you still can’t help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
Number 5
Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
Number 4
All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
Number 3
Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents?
Number 2
In the 60s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT…
America knows exactly where one cow with the mad-cow disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America, but they haven’t got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe the USA should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.
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How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com
Paul Bittner is playing for the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket. Paul didn’t score in a 3-2 overtime win over Milwaukee on Friday. In the game, Paul received 20 minutes in penalties, including five for fighting and a game misconduct. Paul had an assist and two shots on goal in a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday.
Cleveland will travel to Binghamton on Friday, Hershey on Saturday, Lehigh Valley on Sunday, and back to Binghamton on Wednesday.
Thea Oman, a freshman, is swimming at St. Ben’s. St. Ben’s is off until January 17 when they travel to Gustavus.
Brady Heppner, is a Senior, playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville. Brady had an assist in a 4-2 loss to #8 Hobart on Saturday and one assist and four penalty minutes in a 5-4 overtime win over Nichols College. St. Johns will travel to UW-Superior on Friday and Northland on Saturday.
Nick Garmen, is a freshman playing basketball and tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris. Nick didn’t play in a 81-74 victory at Presentation on Saturday and he didn’t play in a 96-86 loss to Bethany Lutheran College on Wednesday. Morris will host St. Scholastica on Saturday and travel to Northwestern (St. Paul) on Wednesday.
Aleece Durbin, is a Sophomore on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Brita Fagerlund, is a Junior on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team.
Ben Trostad is a sophomore member of the University of Minnesota Crookston golf team. The Golden Eagles will be off until the spring.
Isaac Westlake, is a Senior on the Winona State Warrior Men’s Golf team. Winona State will be off until the spring.
Elise Tangquist, is a Junior golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. Northwestern will be off until the spring.
Mason LaPlante, a freshman, is playing soccer at the University of Jamestown.
Rachel Hefta, a freshman, is playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Cade Salentine is a redshirt Freshman playing football at the University of North Dakota.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach and assistant volleyball coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the Head Pirate Girls and Boys Tennis coach and Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Mitch Bakken is the head Pirate Baseball coach.
Brock Hanson is the Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Kevin Weber is a Pirate Boys Basketball volunteer assistant coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is an Assistant Wrestling Coach
Nate Merten is an Assistant Wrestling Coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching –
Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle School.
Justin Johnson is an assistant softball coach at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Josh Edlund is an assistant football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach in Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is Head Wrestling coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson, is Head Volleyball coach at Little Falls High School.
Katy Westrom, is Head Girls Tennis Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
Matt Harris, is a Director of Athletics at the British International School of Houston.
Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.
Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of Wyoming
Mike Hastings is the Minnesota State Mankato Men’s head Hockey coach
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Thief River Falls High School
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football and volleyball and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for the Bison media relations
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College
Chris Myrold is a Tennis Pro on Nevis Island in the West Indies
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and also a grad of West Point and is currently is serving in the U.S. Army.
Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.
Philip Kujawa class of 2004 from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
Scott Riopelle is head of Crookston Parks and Recreation
Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome
That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com
