The story
below, which was posted on June 3, is No. 7 on my personal Top 10 John’s
Journal stories from the 2022-23 school year. In a long journalism career, I’ve
strongly believed that the simple act of showing up, whether you have a story
idea or not in advance of an event, can lead to wonderful things.
That was the
case with this story from the 2023 MSHSL adapted softball state tournament. After
one of the championship games, something special happened, something that I had
never seen before. I’ll never forget it.
My friend Jared Rubado, the talented and hard-working sports
editor of the Bemidji Pioneer, writes an occasional feature titled “The best
thing I saw last week.” Jared likes to pull back from the obvious things, like
who won and who lost, and focus on the small but important moments that can
make school activities so special. (You can read his latest such piece
here: rb.gy/8cgax )
The best thing I saw Saturday, and one of the best things I have
ever seen in several decades of sports coverage from the youth level to the
pros, took place during the MSHSL adapted softball state tournament at
Chanhassen High School.
There are two divisions in adapted softball: CI (cognitively
impaired) and PI (physically impaired). In Saturday’s championship games,
Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville defeated Dakota United 7-5 in 11 innings to win
the CI title, and Dakota United topped Robbinsdale/Hopkins/Mound Westonka 13-6
for the PI crown.
The best thing I saw took place immediately after the PI awards
ceremony. These ceremonies follow exactly the same pattern as all MSHSL state
championships; an all-tournament team is announced, the second-place team members
and coaches receive their medals and trophy, and championship medals are placed
around the necks of the winning team members, who then take possession of the
first-place trophy.
And then come photos. Lots of photos. Parents, friends and others
pull out their phones as the teams gather together for a formal photograph with
their new hardware.
The Dakota United Hawks players and coaches posed on the court
inside the beautiful Chanhassen gymnasium as the cameras began snapping. As
they got into place, I noticed someone moving into position to take a photo; he
stood out because he wore a red second-place ribbon around his neck.
It was Marcus Onsum, the longtime coach of the
Robbinsdale/Hopkins/Mound Westonka Robins. I absolutely cannot remember ever
seeing this happen before … the head coach of the losing team shooting photos
of the winning team.
A few minutes later, Marcus was in the school cafeteria spending
time with his players and their families. The mood was light and relaxed, with
no downcast attitudes, no regrets and absolutely nothing negative.
I asked him about the photos, and his response said everything.
“I just want to kind of commemorate the spirit of the state
championship game,” he said. “That Dakota United team is a heck of a team. I've
coached a lot of really good teams myself and played against some really good
teams, and that team's every bit as good as any one of them.”
Marcus is president of the Minnesota Adapted Coaches Association
and Dakota United coach Brett Kosidowski is vice-president, according to the
group’s website.
“Brett and his coaching staff, they're just such a personable
group of guys,” Onsum said. “I love competing against them, I love working with
them and their kids are awesome. We’re fierce competitors in the field, but their
kids will stop every one of ours in the hallway and say hi, and it's just like
it really truly represents the spirit of competition and adapted sports.”
Onsum played basketball at Robbinsdale Armstrong before graduating
in 1994. He has siblings with muscular dystrophy who played for the Robins
adapted teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Marcus said, “When I graduated from high school, our program
founder, Lloyd Olson, approached me and said, ‘You know what? You get these
kids, you get what we're doing. Come coach with me.’ And so I coached with him
for a year as an assistant and then they brought in another head coach. We were
co-head coaches for a while and then in 2000 I took over.”
Saturday’s tournament ended Onsum’s 29th year of coaching
adapted athletes. Like everyone involved in adapted sports – the MSHSL also
sponsors adapted bowling, floor hockey and soccer – he knows that what truly
matters goes well beyond the scoreboard.
“I keep coming back because one, these kids are amazing,” he said.
“And growing up with siblings that benefited from adapted sports, I see
firsthand the reason why we offer them. I know the benefits of it and I can't
walk away from that. I want to make sure that every kid out there continues to
get the same opportunity that my own brother and sister and hundreds of other
kids have had.”
Those words? They’re the best thing.
--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
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