John’s Journal: Alexander Hamilton, Football And Marching Band

 

Alexander Hamilton never gave a thought to football or high school marching bands, since neither was even a thing when the founding father came out on the short end of a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804.

But Hamilton gets a share of the credit for what is happening with the Farmington High School football team and marching band this fall. The two groups – 60 varsity football players and 140 musicians – have formed a close relationship with an assist from good ol’ A dot Ham.

Bradley Mariska, one of the school’s band directors, and Jon Pieper, the Tigers’ co-head football coach along with Rick Sutton, have been working together to create a class based on the life of Hamilton and the Broadway musical about him. Mariska will handle the musical aspects of the class and Pieper, a social studies teacher, will focus on history. 

In spending time together working on the course (which begins this fall), the two educators have become close. Pieper alerted Mariska recently about an issue his football players were having: They were terrible at singing the school song. It’s a skill they could certainly use when home games end; the tradition at Farmington is the football team stands in front of the student section, the band encircles them, and everyone sings the school song together.

Mariska said, “He sent me a text asking if I could come to practice; ‘These guys can’t sing the school song worth a crap.’ ”

Pieper told Mariska, “I want them to actually sing along, know the words. I’ve been trying to teach them. It’s not working. They can’t sing.”

Mariska stood in front of the team, played a recording of the school song, and magic happened. The energetic Mariska got the kids started on the right note, clapped out the tempo, made sure they knew the lyrics … and they picked it right up. In fact, when they finished a top-notch version of the song, they hooped and hollered, celebrating as if they had just pulled out a last-second victory.

A few days later, Pieper had another idea. The football team would be finished on their practice field at 8 p.m., with the band on the stadium field until 9. Pieper said, “What if we came as a team and watched? The football team can learn from another organization that works hard and puts a lot into it.”

The football players sat in the bleachers at Tiger Stadium as the band worked on their field show, which requires incredible attention to detail, timing, teamwork and footwork, not to mention musicianship.

“They were super engaged, cheering for the band,” Mariska said of the football players.

As the players, fresh off mastering the school song, watched the band, they asked Pieper if they could sing the school song.

“The kids really got into it,” he said. “They asked, ‘Can we sing them the school song so we can show them how much we've improved?’ And that was the cool part about it. You can forget that so many of these kids are friends with each other. It was really kind of a cool moment, as an educator.”

Mariska said, “We played for them, they sang along and we had a really fun time together. It was one of those moments that make high school and high school sports so memorable and meaningful.”

During this process, everyone realized that the varsity football players had never witnessed the band perform at halftime, because the team is away from the field at that time.

“We've never actually been able to see their halftime show,” said senior football player Rod Finley. “This was the first time in four years that we've actually been able to see what they do for us. We love our community and our marching band.”

Senior football player Zach Cochnauer said, “We always talk about attention to detail and they just have so many moving pieces, I don't think I could ever do that in my life, it is so cool. They know every spot on the field and how they move, it's just incredible.”

Members of the band are equally excited about how things have evolved.

“I was talking to a football player today, and he was saying all the players have so much more respect for the band program,” said senior percussionist Paul Radke. “They don't really see our show, so them coming and seeing it even during rehearsal made us feel good, made us feel appreciated.”

Senior Mac Kenzie Frame, who plays the bass clarinet, said, “The relationship has been really interesting this year and it's grown a lot. It shows the support our programs have for each other. In the past years it's been a little bit like that, but this year, with the football team coming to practice and watching us, it really shows support and makes us feel more included and welcomed as a program. We're just able to be together and form more relationships and support each other even more.”

The band was not able to play at games last year due to Covid restrictions. Clarinet player Stephanie De La O, now a junior, is also a cheerleader who attended home games in 2020 and noticed the difference without the band (she plans to rotate between band and cheerleading each quarter of football games).

“Farmington is a really big community and everyone comes together when it comes to football games,” she said. “Without the band it would be kind of boring.”

This all started with Alexander Hamilton, an inventive new high school class and the desire to see the football players sing the school song with pride.  

“It just kind of came up that we would like them to sing the song where it doesn't look like a middle school dance and is so awkward,” Pieper said. “We just kind of expanded from there, talking about how much crossover we have in the building with not just the cocurricular stuff that we do, but how we should use each other more as educators in different capacities.”

A dot Ham, your obedient servant, would certainly approve.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

John’s Journal: Opening Days Are Great Days

Between games on Thursday night, while music was playing and fun was raging, Chanhassen volleyball coach Teryn Glenn turned around in her seat on the Storm bench. Her husband and kids, ages 2 and 5, were sitting a couple rows back. The coach smiled and waved.

It was a special moment – one of many, all over the state – as the 2021-22 high school sports and activities year began rolling in Minnesota. Thursday was the first day of competitions in volleyball, soccer, cross-country and girls swimming and diving. Girls tennis matches began a week earlier and the first football games were played a day later.

--In Perham on Saturday, more than 650 runners competed in the Brave Like Gabe Invitational cross-country event.

--Before introducing the lineups for the volleyball match between Shakopee and Chanhassen, longtime Chanhassen PA pro Denny Laufenberger said, "Folks, it is great to be back in the gym!" The crowd erupted in cheers.

--Just prior to kickoff on Friday night, with Delano and Chisago Lakes opening the football season in Lindstrom, Chisago Lakes coach Bill Weiss gave the Wildcats one final inspirational message as they stood shoulder to shoulder in five tight rows behind an end zone, swaying back and forth in unison.

“We’ve busted our tails for weeks, for months, for these moments!,” Weiss told them. “Cherish them! Take advantage of them! Let’s get after it with everything we’ve got! Let’s do this! Right here! Right now!”

The players sprinted onto the field as the crowd cheered. Yes, the magical sound of large crowds has returned … even though that may feel a little strange after the spectator limits that were in place during the 2020-21 season.

“It took some getting used to, having people here and the nerves and the atmosphere,” Shakopee volleyball coach Matt Busch said after his Sabers defeated Chanhassen 3-0. “It was an awesome atmosphere.”

Glenn said that as the national anthem was played prior to the match, “I was thinking, ‘We're back, we're here, we're doing this.’ And I got a little emotional, especially after where we've been. I love being here with them.”

At Chisago Lakes, the football atmosphere was as perfect as can be. The Chisago Lakes marching band, wearing dazzling new uniforms, came onto the field in two rows as the percussion section marked their steps. The cheerleaders and Wildcat mascot – with one proud student inside the costume – and a large, enthusiastic student section were in game shape from the get-go. The dance team and a band of little girls performed at halftime. Everyone smiled.

The football game itself was a work of art. The home team opened the scoring on the first of four TD runs by Ashton Pearson and the Delano Tigers tied it up when a pass by Wildcats quarterback Nick Wasko was intercepted by ninth-grader Jack Scanlon and returned 39 yards for a TD. As Wasko returned to the sideline, he saw a scribe scribbling in a notebook and said in jest, “Don’t write that down.”

The Wildcats played just one game last season, losing to Cambridge-Isanti when a two-point conversion attempt was stopped short. They were in a similar position this time, scoring to trail 27-26 with 3:40 left in the game. They went for two, ran the same play they did against C-I, and the Tigers stopped them short.

Chisago Lakes still had a chance, needing a defensive stop to get the ball back. That looked for all the world as if it would happen when Delano lined up in punt formation from its own 40-yard line with 2:46 to go. Trickeration ensured, and a pass gained first-down yardage. A running play, a quarterback keeper and a kneel-down ended the game and put the cap on an amazing evening.

The absolute, unadulterated normalcy continued Saturday morning as football teams all over the state – all but the 10 who played Zero Week games on Friday – gathered in groups to hold scrimmages. In Lake City, the Tigers hosted teams from Lewiston-Altura, Randolph, Red Wing, Wabasha-Kellogg and Zumbrota-Mazeppa on the vast expanse of lush practice grass around their stadium.

Parents and grandparents sat on lawn chairs, coaches called plays and shouted encouragement. Trains rolled by, some carrying freight and some carrying humans on an Amtrak adventure. One coach, slightly disheartened at a youngster who was learning to read what was happening, said, “Read this right or I’m sending you to the library.”

Afterward, finishing a morning of working out the kinks under game situations, a coach said to his players, “We made it. Nobody got hurt, we got it on film. Did you have fun?” The kids responded with a sweaty, tired, happy chorus of affirmatives.

Fun. A very simple word, a very important fact.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

John’s Journal: As A New Season Begins, Little Things Are Big

LINDSTROM -- As the Chisago Lakes football team prepares for a new season, one small moment at Monday’s practice – a very brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene – encapsulated everything that Minnesota high school athletes and teams have gone through since Covid-19 began its long, slow bat flip and home run trot around the planet.

The Wildcats wrapped up the day’s drills with 40-yard sprints. Starting at one goal line on their grass practice field, they ran out to the 40-yard line, then back, then out and back again in three groups. Head coach Bill Weiss offered a reminder as one of the groups prepared to run: “Behind the line, not on it! Little things matter, guys!”

They absolutely do. Little things like the simple act of playing a football game. The Wildcats experienced that just once last fall. That’s correct: The Chisago Lakes football team played all of one game, with Covid driving a stake through the rest of their 2020 schedule. (Rush City is the only other team that played just one game in 2020, while Wabasha-Kellogg played no games a year ago.)

The Wildcats are getting a head start on the 2021 season, with the opener – in the form of a Zero Week game – coming up Friday night when the Delano Tigers make the 65-mile drive to Lindstrom to play on the Cats’ turf field. That is one of five Zero Week games this year, providing opportunities to teams that otherwise would not be able to schedule the usual eight regular-season games. (Friday’s other games are Coon Rapids at Brainerd, Sartell at St. Cloud Tech, Hutchinson at St. Cloud Apollo, and Rocori at Becker.)

After winning the Section 7 championship in 2019 and advancing to the state playoffs for the first time in 18 years, the Wildcats were hoping for another stellar season a year ago. Those dreams were dashed by Covid, of course, and as with most teams in all autumn sports, everything seemed to change by the hour.

“Last fall, I think for a lot of coaches it was probably the most difficult time ever,” said Weiss, who is beginning his 25^th year as the Wildcats head coach. “You were on, you were off. For us it that was yo-yo. You didn’t know if your scheduled opponent was going to be who you were playing.

“As humans we adapt to situations, but football coaches can be so dialed in on that specific opponent. I think it changed a lot of the ways we now prepare and how we practice.”

Their lone game was a 35-34 home loss on Halloween to Cambridge-Isanti, with the Wildcats coming up short on a two-point conversion as the game ended. Cambridge-Isanti played seven games in 2020, finishing 3-4.

Looking back on that all-but-lost season, the current Wildcats feel terrible for the 2020 seniors while knowing how fortunate they are to be back.

“I'm grateful to be out here on the practice field,” said 2021 senior captain Conner Wheeler. “But last year it was sad seeing all my buddies and my friends not being able to play. It was very disappointing.”

Fellow captain Braedon Carr said, “Last season was crazy and I wish I could have played more games with those guys. I was close with a lot of them. They were really good players and now some of the younger guys coming up don't have as much experience as some of the people that were here last year. I'm hoping that we can all catch up and get ready.”

Counting your blessings is always valuable, and Weiss said there is a new sense of taking nothing for granted.

“You become much more appreciative of what you did have,” he said. “It sounds silly, because we only had one game, a one-point game against Cambridge-Isanti, and we went for two at the end and didn’t make it. It was only one day but we played football. There’s a greater appreciation.”

There certainly was much to appreciate Monday as the Wildcats began to focus on Delano (which finished 1-3 last year). They spent time focused on kickoff coverage and kickoff returns, for instance, with one side wearing red cloth helmet covers to make sure everyone knew who was who.

The coaches, wearing the practice-field suntans that football coaches wear so well, used plastic whistles and fingers-to-the-mouth whistles to direct drills. “We’re not walkin’!” Weiss hollered as groups shifted from station to station. “Let’s move!”

Across a road from the practice field came the sounds of heavy equipment doing prep work for what will become 32 townhomes on the edge of the Chisago Lakes Golf Course. The squeaks from land-moving gear contrasted with squeaks from an adult osprey watching the scene from atop a light tower at Pat Collins Field, the baseball venue next to the football practice field; the osprey also kept an eye on a large nest on the neighboring tower. It’s not rare to find sticks and even fish on the ground under the nest.

Even with 25 years as a head coach under his belt, Weiss can be considered a young pup when Delano comes to town. That’s because Merrill Pavlovich is kicking off his 46^th season as head coach of the Tigers. Holding the job since 1976, his 313-151 record stands fifth all-time behind Verndale’s Mike Mahlen (408 wins), Brainerd’s Ron Stolski (389), Becker’s Dwight Lundeen (371) and Eden Prairie’s Mike Grant (358). Stolski is the only retired coach in that group, and the next 19 coaches behind Pavlovich on the all-time win list are also retired. Among active coaches, Marshall’s Terry Bahlmann is next behind Pavlovich with 256 wins.

If all goes well, Chisago Lakes, Delano and every other team in every sport in Minnesota will play their full regular-season schedules and venture into the postseason.

Captain Nick Wasko said memories of getting to state two years ago provide a spark as the new season begins.

“We (three captains) started in our sophomore year and we went to state, so we had really big expectations for last year,” Nick said. “So for us to be back on this field, it's the last season that we have. We want to get back to that point. But all these (younger) guys, they don't know what that feeling is like, they don't know what it's like to be on that team that goes all the way through that section championship and win those playoff games. Our job as captains is to get them in that mindset.”

That’s part of the plan. And in the grand scheme of things, the simple act of being with your teammates, running sprints and keeping your toes behind the line is as good as it gets.

“We told the kids that any day we can get together and play football,” Weiss said, “is a good day.”

Indeed. The little things mean a lot.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

 

John’s Journal: The Olympic Impact On Minnesota Gymnastics

When Minnesota’s Suni Lee won the all-around gold medal in the Olympic women’s gymnastics competition, it provided a spark to not only her sport but also her family’s Hmong community. The 18-year-old was among the biggest stars of the Tokyo Games, also bringing home a silver in the team competition and a bronze on the uneven bars.

The USA gymnastics team, which also included Isanti native and team silver medalist Grace McCallum, was a focal point of Minnesota high school gymnastics coaches and athletes as they watched the Olympics.  

“We had a team watch party at Chanhassen High School to see the team finals on a big screen,” said Storm coach Chris Lacy. “Eighteen gymnasts from our team were there.” (Photos accompanying this story are from the 2021 MSHSL gymnastics state meet.) 

Hopkins coach Meghan Johnson, who traveled to St. Louis to watch the Olympic trials, said the performances of Lee and McCallum “will only make Minnesota gymnastics even stronger, but more likely at the club and lower youth levels. There seems to be an Olympic lift that a lot of clubs see in the months and years following an Olympic year, so that always helps high school gymnastics in the years to come.”

Simley High School gymnastics coach Deana Walsh said, “Every aspect of gymnastics is affected” by the Olympic results. “Minnesota is a hot spot for gymnastics whether it be at the club, high school, collegiate, or Olympic level. We all work together to see the potential in our gymnasts. We are a small, intertwined gymnastics community.”

The Lee family’s commitment to her gymnastics career – her father built a beam in the backyard when Suni was young, for example – along with the large Hmong community in Minnesota showing strong support, is an important part of the story. The Hmong, a distinct ethnic group with ancient roots in China, began coming to Minnesota in the 1970s as refugees from war that ravaged their homelands in Laos. The Twin Cities is home to one of the largest concentration of Hmong in America.

Among that community is Koua Yang, activities director at St. Paul Como Park High School. He was 4½ years old when he came here with his family 40 years ago.

Yang was vacationing in the Black Hills of South Dakota during the Olympic gymnastics competition but found a way to watch Lee and rest of the athletes.

“I had to find a good signal to see it happen. That’s how important it was to me,” he said. “I see her story as one that many people can tie into. I’m the only Hmong AD in the state. She’s the only Hmong person at that elite level. It’s incredible. We’re all so proud of her. It’s amazing.”

Lee is the first Asian-American to win the all-around gymnastics gold medal and the first Hmong Olympian in U.S. history.

Although the situation is evolving, Hmong families have traditionally stressed education and working in the home over school activities for their daughters.

“That has changed as the Hmong people assimilate here,” said Yang. “With the next generations, families such as mine, that’s not quite as big a factor. But there are still some traditional families. (Girls are) not quite encouraged to come out, as the boys are. A lot of it has to do with domestic duties. That speaks a lot for our Hmong females; they’re great students, they join sports, then they go home and often cook and clean, and take care of younger siblings. It’s a huge testament to their work ethic and perseverance.”

Lee and McCallum are the latest in a line of high-level Minnesota gymnasts. Maggie Nichols of Little Canada was an NCAA champion at Oklahoma in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“Suni is the new face of USA gymnastics and will undoubtedly help promote the sport because of her personality,” said Lacy. “She is humble, polite, family focused, and an incredible role model for all athletes. She's young enough to consider the 2024 Olympics in Paris, yet she's already stated she's excited to compete for Auburn. College gymnastics has been taken to the next level in large part, because of another Minnesotan, Maggie Nichols. The next three years are going to be exciting!”

Lee’s family lives in St. Paul and this spring she graduated from South St. Paul High School. She’s now a student and gymnast at Auburn University in Alabama.

“Suni is an unbelievable story,” Walsh said. “Her story, coupled with her father's setbacks being a paraplegic, just shows how a great attitude about life can positively influence someone's goals. Suni is from South St. Paul which is the town north of us in Inver Grove Heights, so I feel like there will be an abundance of support for her and the sport of gymnastics. I personally am so proud of her Hmong heritage and how she represents herself, other Hmongs, gymnasts in general. We all can learn from her humbleness.”

 --MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org 

John’s Journal: Finding A Home On The Road

The volleyball players from St. Charles High School were counting down the days until the first practice of the 2021 season. As the moment grew closer they counted down the hours until Monday morning, when they would step on the court and get the season rolling.

On Friday, however, a curveball was sent their way. Their school buildings are undergoing construction and renovation projects, and school officials learned Friday that there was no place in town to hold volleyball practice. The high school gym is a mess right now, which was no surprise. Because of that, the gym at the elementary school was the planned-for practice site, but painting work there that was scheduled to be completed before Monday will not be finished until (hopefully) later this week.

One option was to hold practice outdoors at four sand volleyball courts in town. Volleyball coach Tracie Schaber has a connection with the person in charge of those courts … her husband Rick is the city’s parks and recreation director. But a better option was right down the road, less than 10 miles to the west on Highway 14 at Dover-Eyota High School in Eyota.

St. Charles activities director Scott McCready and his counterpart at Dover-Eyota, John Ostrowski, are close, longtime friends. So when McCready called Ostrowski on Friday, he couldn’t even finish his question before Ostrowski said, “What time do you want to practice? We’ll make it work.”

The Dover-Eyota Eagles volleyball team had practice scheduled in the afternoon all week, and the St. Charles Saints had planned to work out in their elementary gym starting at 8 a.m. So the schedules worked out perfectly, and it didn’t take long to get a bus lined up to get the Saints’ varsity to Eyota and back every morning this week. The Saints seventh/eighth-grade and ninth-grade teams are alternating practice times at the elementary cafeteria in St. Charles, so every team has a home.

After last year, when Covid-19 disrupted everything associated with school and activities, the coaches, players and administrators at St. Charles and Dover-Eyota are accustomed to being flexible.

“We were looking forward to some semblance of normalcy, but our coaches and students are used to things getting thrown at you,” Tracie Schaber said. “It’s out of our hands, and you’ve got to do what you need to do to make it work. The kids want to play.”

Monday morning’s scene inside the Eyota gym was a bit odd, with the Saints practicing underneath artwork of a giant screaming eagle – a Dover-Eyota Eagle -- on the wall. Both schools are members of the Three Rivers Conference; they are scheduled to meet Sept. 9 at St. Charles, but there is some uncertainty about when the Saints’ high school gym will be ready.

The gym floor at Dover-Eyota was resurfaced last week, and Monday was the first day anyone was allowed to be on it. Ostrowski told McCready that he and assistant volleyball coach Michelle Anderson (also a school administrative assistant) would set up the nets on the Eagles’ three courts Monday morning, asking, “Would you mind if your team came in at 9?’ ”

McCready laughed and said, “If you tell us to come in at 9 p.m., we’d be there.”

“It’s such a fabulous partnership, we’re good neighbors,” McCready said.

In the past, the two schools have had cooperative agreements in track and cross-country, so the administrators have worked closely together many times. When Dover-Eyota had a transportation issue, for example, St. Charles sent over a bus to get Eagles athletes where they needed to be.

“Scott and I have kind of scratched each other’s back many times over the years,” Ostrowski said. “Our relationship is kind of special in that we’re there for each other a lot.”

Many of the St. Charles volleyball players were used to riding a bus, having returned Sunday morning on a 20-hour charter bus excursion from a school trip to Washington, D.C. That makes the ride to Eyota seem like nothing, even if holding the first practice of the season in a conference rival’s gym was not quite normal.

“It's a whole new feel,” said junior captain Lauryn Delger. “It's definitely bigger, which is nice. We didn’t expect to be in our actual high school gym because of the construction, but we did expect to be in the elementary gym at least. So it was definitely unexpected that we're here.”

Captain Emma Welliver (pictured, right, with Lauryn), the only senior on the varsity roster along with 16 juniors and six sophomores, said, “We’re making the best out of it, trying to prepare for volleyball season. Even if it's not our gym, we’re trying to play our best.”

The Saints played just a handful of matches last fall before Covid stopped everything, and hopes are high for a full season this fall. The St. Charles softball team had an exceptional season last spring, finishing 24-5 and advancing to the Class 2A state championship game, where the Saints fell to LeSueur-Henderson.

Welliver and Delger, also softball players, hope that experience provides a boost to the volleyball team.

“It kind of makes you want to strive to get far, get there, get that energy, because it's so different than the regular season or just regular playoffs,” Lauryn said of the state softball tournament.

Emma added, “I think it definitely makes you realize how lucky we were for softball and how much hard work it took and then you're like, ‘I want to put that on the volleyball court and do great things.’ ”

No matter where that court is located.

(Pictured here is the St. Charles High School gym.)

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

One Team Campaign Shows Unity Across All Levels Of Minnesota Football

 

Eagan, Minn. (August 13, 2021) – As the 2021 football season prepares to kick off for Minnesota high schools, colleges and the NFL, the difficulties of the 2020 season makes players, coaches, parents and fans appreciative of a normal return to the field. As a way to commemorate how far we have come as a community, the Minnesota State High School League, Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Minnesota Vikings collaborated to create a helmet sticker that can be worn by football players, at every level, throughout the state.

The logo features an outline of the state of Minnesota, the “One Team” slogan and the laces of a football that connect the two. Decals have been sent to every high school team in the state as well as all college teams, a total of 366 high schools and 32 collegiate teams. The Vikings will wear the helmet decals in the August 14 preseason game vs. Denver at U.S. Bank Stadium. Lapel pins for coaches and staff have also been distributed.

Teams are invited to share photos and other content displaying their involvement in the One Team program throughout the year by using the hashtag #OneTeamMN on all personal and team social media platforms. Posts using this hashtag will be randomly selected throughout the season to receive a contribution to the school’s football program.

John’s Journal: A Coach, A Mom And A Kidney

The whole thing, the whole unbelievable and wholly and very possibly Holy endeavor – a straight-up miracle, perhaps – began simply enough, with a high school soccer coach looking for video of a goal scored by a member of her team.

It ended with the coach donating a vital organ to the mother of three of her players.

This is a good time to share this story, as a new year of Minnesota high school activities opens Monday with the start of fall sports practices. Keith Cornell, activities director at St. Michael-Albertville, phrased it perfectly when he said, “This just shows once again that there is so much more to education-based activities than going out and playing games.”

The story began after a late-September soccer game in 2020. Senior Rheana Zerna scored an improbable goal from midfield as she and her St. Michael-Albertville teammates forged a 1-1 tie at Eden Prairie. Her coach, Megan Johnson, knew that Rheana’s father, Julius, often shot video of the games and she asked Rheana if her dad had taped the big goal. Rheana responded that Megan should become Facebook friends with her mom, Cleofe, because the video was posted on Cleofe’s Facebook page.

“That’s not something I usually do, but I wanted to see the goal,” Megan said.

The two indeed became friends on Facebook, where Cleofe (pronounced Cleo-fay) posted an important message in February: she was suffering from kidney failure and was asking friends to spread the word that she was seeking a donor. After a lengthy battle with kidney disease, her kidneys were functioning at 11 percent of normal capacity. Cleofe, 49, was looking at a future filled with kidney dialysis if no donor could be found.

Her Facebook post read in part, “I realize that as much as I want to fight the good fight on my own, it’s no longer realistic without the help of others. I am currently on the Mayo Clinic kidney transplant waiting list for a non-living donor, but the wait is long, it takes roughly 4-7 years.

“My goal is to have a kidney transplant and not go through dialysis. For the sake of my loving family, particularly my awesome husband of 24 years and our 3 wonderful daughters, I am reaching out for your help.

“I don’t make these requests lightheartedly. I simply just want to extend my life here on earth. I want to grow old with my loving husband and see my wonderful children grow, finish college, get a job, and as they promise they will send me and my husband on vacations. That will be a day to look forward too! And of course, I want to see my future adorable grandchildren.”

The post included a link to Mayo Clinic’s Transplant Center and a questionnaire for prospective donors. Megan clicked the link, kicking off an unlikely journey tying her for a lifetime with the mother of three of her soccer players: Jucel Zerna graduated from St. Michael-Albertville in 2018 and played soccer at Augsburg before graduating this spring; Rheana graduated this year and is now playing soccer at St. Cloud State; and Juliana is a soccer player who will be in 10^th grade when school resumes.

Megan, 41, is a third-grade teacher who has coached the Knights for 17 years. Her husband Jerremiah is a sixth-grade teacher and head coach of the Knights boys hockey team. Like Cleofe and Julius, they have three children.

"My wife is a person who exemplifies all the great things about education and activities," Jerremiah said. "She cares so much about her athletes. Every year she’s s emotional when the season ends because of how much she cares about them."

Shortly after filling out the online donation questionnaire, Megan received a phone call from Mayo Clinic. That was followed by more phone calls and a day filled with video visits. In the meantime, Cleofe had learned from Mayo that they were in discussions with a potential donor, but she didn’t know it was her daughters’ soccer coach.   

Cleofe posted the news of a possible donor on Facebook. When Megan saw the post, she thought, “ ‘Oh my gosh, that’s me!’ It started to get real.”

In mid-March – still unbeknownst to Cleofe -- Megan spent two days at Mayo Clinic in Rochester undergoing what she called “virtually every kind of test you can imagine.”

Finally, in May, Megan got a phone call with the news that she was a match. Cleofe still wasn’t aware of Megan’s role. So the coach texted Rheana and asked for Cleofe’s cell phone number. She sent a text to Cleofe, asking if she could stop by the Zerna’s home after school.

“The text from coach Megan said, ‘I have something to give you,’ Cleofe said. “I thought it was something to do with soccer. She came over and had a red gift basket with a letter sticking out.

“I started reading the letter and said, ‘Oh my gosh! You’re my match!’ ”

The two moms hugged each other and wept.

“I was told it would take time to find a donor, it was one in a million,” Cleofe said. “And my gosh, my one in a million is right here, coaching my girls! I had goosebumps.”

The kidney donor and recipient met in Rochester the day before their dual surgeries on July 9. Megan and Jerremiah had dinner with Cleofe and Julius, learning that the Zernas had come from the Philippines; Cleofe was 16 at that time. She has worked as a registered nurse at North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale for 22 years, but her kidney issues had been taking a toll and Julius, who works as a mechanical engineer, had been driving her to and from work.

“A lot of people didn’t know I had a failing kidney,” Cleofe said. “I looked healthy. But I felt tired all the time, easily fatigued. I’d work eight hours and couldn’t even drive home.”

According to the National Kidney Foundation, approximately 100,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant, with 6,442 patients receiving a living kidney in 2018.

During the surgical procedures, one of Megan’s kidneys was removed and then received by Cleofe in a four-hour operation. It sounds odd, but the result is Megan has one kidney and Cleofe has three; it’s common for surgeons to leave a failing kidney in place if there are no complications.

Megan stayed in the hospital for two days before returning home. Cleofe was only hospitalized for three days, but she remained in Rochester for several weeks for tests and lab work in order to make sure her new kidney and anti-rejection medications were working properly.

Cleofe came home for good a few days ago, and everything is wonderful. The Zernas visited the Johnsons on Wednesday, and everyone shed tears of love and gratitude on their one-month transplant anniversary.

“I’m just really blessed and lucky,” Cleofe said. “I believe that God will not give me a mountain that I cannot climb. I believe he will provide at the right time, and he sure did.”

Soccer practice will begin Monday. Megan will be on the field with her team even though she remains under some post-surgery restrictions, including no lifting of heavy objects.

“I’m feeling really good,” she said. “I spent the first two weeks pretty much on the couch or in bed. I kept increasing my walking every day and I feel like I’m ready for next week.”

The news was shared far and wide with another post on Cleofe’s Facebook page. On April 28, she wrote in part, “God answers prayers to those who ask and believe. THANK YOU GOD. To those who’ve been following my progress in regards to my kidneys, meet my living DONOR, Megan Johnson, my girls High School Soccer Coach.

“Coach Megan came this evening and told me the greatest news that my family and I have been praying for: she’s my match! My living Donor! Coach, What a Blessing you are to me and my family!!!! We were both in tears as I was reading her letter, and as she informed me on how she made the decision to fill out the application: all the circumstances that lead to it.

“As Coach said, ‘It was meant to be.’ It was just the two of us in our kitchen crying and hugging each other. Julius and the kids were not home at that time, and they were sooooo happy to hear the good news.”

“The whole experience was really emotional and incredible,” Megan said. “For me, everything fell into place like it was meant to be, it was supposed to happen.

“I never thought twice. Jerr said, ‘Are you really doing this?’ And I never thought about not doing it. We’ve both shed a ton of tears, lots of emotion.”

It’s going to be a great year.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org

John’s Journal: Hopkins Celebrates Its Olympians

 

Windows were open at the home of Hopkins High School boys track and field coach Nick Lovas early Wednesday morning as he watched the men’s 200-meter final at the Tokyo Olympics.

 “If my neighbors ask what all the yelling was about, I’ll tell them,” he said with a laugh a few hours later.

Two former Hopkins track athletes competed at the Games. Joe Klecker, a 2015 graduate and nine-time All-American at the University of Colorado, finished 16^th in the 10,000 meters last week. Wednesday morning’s big show – and the cause of supportive vocalization back home in Minnesota -- was the men’s 200, featuring 2019 grad Joe Fahnbulleh.

Fahnbulleh finished fifth in his first Olympic experience, capping an amazing, rapid rise from Minnesota high school star to international figure.

After the semifinal round, Lovas and Fahnbulleh talked via FaceTime.

“He really seemed grounded,” Lovas said. “He seemed at a place where he was appreciating the moment of being at the Olympics and also realizing that there’s kind of a new normal in his life. I could sense that Joe was recognizing there’s a new normal of being a world-class-caliber athlete and not just a Division I All-American.

“He was very humble. He told me he was going to leave Tokyo happy with a top five finish, which was his goal. Of course everybody would love to win a medal and have that be part of the story. But as a 19-year-old, that chapter might be in the middle of the book and we’re just at the start.”

Fahnbulleh was named the 2019 National Senior Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association (he also captained his high school cross-country team). He holds Minnesota high school state records in the 100 and 200 meters and was a member of 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams that also hold state records. Now at the University of Florida, he was the NCAA outdoor champion in the 200 meters this spring.

Fahnbulleh competed at the Olympics for Liberia, where his parents lived before coming to America. He has never been to Liberia, and his trip to Tokyo is his first time outside the United States.

I watched Fahnbulleh compete many times while he was in high school. I’ll always remember the first time we chatted, as well as his final high school appearance.

Our first interview took place on the infield turf at Hopkins as a cold spring fell rain and we stood under my umbrella during a break in practice. It may have been the first time he was interviewed by a journalist, but he was personable, friendly and open. I had a hard time getting him to talk about himself, because he wanted to talk about his teammates, coaches and school. He never stopped smiling.

His high school career ended with the 2019 state championships at Hamline University. Following his final race, I asked him about wearing the jersey with the Hopkins "H” for the last time. He looked down at his chest and touched the H.

“The H on my chest? It means a lot,” he said. “It will be forever ingrained in me. Because this is where I made my mark, this is where my journey began as an athlete. Hopkins gave me the most opportunities ever. Hopkins has been behind me 100 percent.

“You take away me being a good athlete, as a person Hopkins has always been there. Coach Lovas, (principal) Doug Bullinger, it means a lot. And it means a lot because I came here with my boys. My boys were the ones that pushed me here. Without them I wouldn’t be the person I am today. That means a lot.”

Wednesday morning, after watching Joe race at the Olympics, Lovas struggled to describe what he was feeling about Klecker and Fahnbulleh.

“I’m not sure I can even put it into words yet,” he said. “To be able to use words to explain how proud I am, and how proud we all are; the words would be lacking the emotion of the smile and the hug and the high five that we all shared during their careers. It certainly has been special.”

An extra-special part of the story is the relationship Lovas’ three sons -- age 6, 8 and 10 – have with the Hopkins Olympians.

“I will never forget it, my family will never forget it,” he said. “My boys know both Joes and both Joes know my boys. They have access to those friendships and I think that’s what means the most to me.

“Their character and how they have used their character with everybody around them; it’s the best thing about being a coach, how your athletes surround the young people in the community as role models. And when your own kids are involved, it’s so meaningful.”

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org