Thoughts from alumni and past
and present coaches......
July, 2004
It might be difficult for some people to understand how a person in his
forties can recite an exact sequence of plays that took place on a high
school football field in northern Minnesota over twenty five years
ago. This same person may have a hard time remembering the
password to his computer at work, but he will never forget how he and
his teammates fought together in the cold and the rain and the wind
toward a common goal. A wide-eyed fifteen year old, slipping a
maroon jersey over his pads before his first varsity game may also not
quite understand this, but give him some time and he will. And it
won’t matter if this fifteen year old plays in two games or two dozen,
the memories – both good and bad – will be with him forever.
At THHS, football memories run rampant. There were the great
teams: The 7-1 1958 season resulting in the first Seaway title;
the 8-0 team in 1961; the dominating undefeated season of ’68; the big,
powerful teams from the mid-70’s and their awesome defense; the late
70’s and the State playoffs; the very competitive teams of the early
90’s…..
Great teams aside, the memories remain for all of us that donned the
maroon and white: Running hills, two-a-day practices, the tip
drill, studying the playbook, salt pills, ankle wraps, smelly bus
rides, watching film, Thursday night practices, the cold wind off the
lake, the blocking sleds, the Blaster, the fifty series, the coaches,
the players, the fans, the rivalries…
As a result of the Agate football reunion last fall, many friendships
among former players and coaches have been rekindled. Coaches
Halsted, Nyberg and Graupman deserve credit for this. When asked
for his thoughts/feelings about being a football coach at THHS, Tim
Graupman forwarded this well thought out note:
I arrived at THHS in 1976, at the
changing of the guard, Geno, Big Jim, and Nat had retired and a new
staff was assembled. We were a young staff, Tyce, Nyberg, and me
assisting Chuck. Tyce, Bob and I felt some pressure as former
players and parents had a tendency to compare us to the previous regime
that had very impressive credentials. I think that external pressure
helped us become a close staff. We did a lot of things together
as a group, we watched Monday Night Football together, after Thursday’s
night practice we would go eat together, every Friday after the game
we’d go to Chuck’s or Tyce’s house and “debrief.” The women would be
upstairs and the men downstairs and we’d go over every play and every
call, we’d discuss all phases of the game, and ways to do things
better. Fred Kallio would show up, and we’d go over the scouting report
for next week’s opponent for the first time, and sometimes we’d go over
it a second time if Fred didn’t bring too many beers. The night would
be officially over after Chuck made his basted eggs for all. Today,
even more than the games, I remember the people and the camaraderie.
The laughter, the good and bad times we shared it all as a staff. It
was a fun group of guys and when Big Jim Keeler, Geno, Jim Udovich,
Kevin and Scott joined us it was going to be a fun event with steaks,
saunas, and BS featured prominently.
To this day, I still count
Bob, Chuck and Udo among my best friends. We stay in close touch and
get together 3-4 times a year. We’ve been there for each other during
all of life’s ups and downs. I credit Chuck with teaching me a lot
about what it takes to be successful not only in football, but in life.
The dignity of hard-work, the commitment you need to make to be
successful, setting high-standards for yourself and others, and
treating everyone as an equal from the star to the last man on the
roster. I think Chuck had/still has a fatherly influence on all of us
on that staff. Chuck is a very compassionate person and he cares about
deeply about people. I know some Agate football players who may
question me on that, but Chuck has always had a soft spot for the
underdog. When he left coaching Chuck spent a lot of time organizing
programs for kids who had chemical or alcohol problems and he took time
to get to know each of those students personally, and to let them know
he was there for them. Most of these kids were non-athletes, “burn-out”
types who probably disliked jocks; but for Chuck it was a way to make a
difference in a kid's life.
We had a great run at THHS, I
was there from 1976-80, and I can’t recall the exact winning
percentages but it had to be an 80%+ win-ratio. I remember some
excellent football games, the Hermantown games because they were always
close, the Grand Marais games-always tough, tough football in cold and
rain, a B game in Superior that we won on the last play of the game,
beating Eveleth in the last minute on a Dan to Ted hook-up, and of
course the not so enjoyable, St. Francis, Cloquet and Park Rapids
games. I remember players, Boyd Hanson, simply the best high school
football player I’ve seen, Nelly and Torgy our brawlin, bookend OLB’s,
Newby on the 24 counter, Bob Ross on the 96, The Keeler and Norlander
boys, Chuck Koss, Spike, leaders like Ron Barthell, Steve Vollmer,
Larry and Tom Smith, Mike Cardinal, Brian Entzion, Luther Swenson, Todd
Wizner, and Ken Cavallin. Of course there was Rick Ray and his bad
jokes, smiling Mike Fabini, the “disappearance” of Nordskog and Moline,
the quiet Brent Lamo, the pranks of Foo, Peachy and Bucko. Sadly, yet
with good memories, Brad Widen, Big John Mahady, Lyle Udenberg and of
course Bob Alseth.
Beyond the players, I remember
specific people and a highly-energized, community spirit. I remember
the generosity of Mike Harvey, the bus loads of fans going to all the
away games, after season banquets and dinners and Lee Oling speaking,
Jackie Halsted’s Agate wall, all the parents who were very supportive
of our staff, and very involved in Agate football, it was a fun group
of people! I recall all the various merchants i.e. Vets, Legion,
Moose who contributed money so we could get new jerseys, or have a nice
dinner on the road or buy us some equipment. It really was a total team
effort and I remember a vibrancy and sense of pride around it, the town
was jumping and people were energized; success will do that for a
community and I hope that community spirit/pride can be resurrected
when the program gets turned around, as it looks like it will.
I’m always amazed that I was
only in Two Harbors for five years, and left 24 years ago! I’m
amazed at the impact the people I met there have had and continue to
have on my life. I find it instructive on the importance of winning,
and the positive, indelible impact, success can have on individual
people and entire communities. But more importantly, it is a story
about being emotionally committed to something, wanting to help others,
and finding out that by-products of that process are good times,
memories, and life-long friends.
Nobody would be asking me to write
down some of my memories of THHS football, if we’d have been below
.500. The one thing all coaches know, talent makes you look pretty
smart. As a staff we were blessed with bright, talented players who
were willing to pay the price to be good. As my father, a
lifetime coach, used to say, “You can’t make candy out of cat shit!”
Thanks for so many good memories.
Tim Graupman – July, 2004
In closing, best of luck to the modern day Agates in the upcoming 2004
season. May you all have as many fond memories of high school
football that many THHS alumni and former/current coaches have.
Larry Sorensen (Class of '82)
Tom Nelson (Class of '90 and current Head Coach)
If you played or coached football at THHS, we would love to hear from
you. Pass along your thoughts, memories, old stories, etc and we
can post them here for others to enjoy. Please e-mail us
at: thhsagates@yahoo.com.
Thanks!
Back to Agate
Football Homepage