After winning state title, how do you repeat? Four coaches on the challenge

Fear of complacency, being a target for every opponent and keeping it fun are some of the challenges faced by coaches whose teams won state titles and are trying to do it again this fall.

By Kevin Bertels Star Tribune

August 24, 2022 — 6:27am

We hear getting there is easier than staying there. We hear that from coaches who got there.

And why wouldn't coaches who led high school state champions insist to their players — and to reporters, and to parents, and to fans — that we'll have to work even harder to keep the trophy than we worked to win it?

Is it a cliche if it works? More to the point: Is it cliched because it works?

Four coaches who won state championships last fall weighed in on the challenge of defending those championships successfully even as many of the athletes involved are on college campuses somewhere, still basking in high school success but not a bit involved in the effort to repeat it.

Wayzata volleyball

The details: Wayzata went 34-0 in winning the Class 4A title last fall. Four of the team's top five hitters plus the starting libero graduated. Four of them are on NCAA Division I rosters this season.

The mind-set: "There's the feeling of that target on your back," coach Scott Jackson said. "My comment is that is so good for you."

Sport-specific: Jackson practically apologized for his approach, because it's so steeped in take-it-one-day-at-a-time. No apology is necessary when a 54-match winning streak is supporting evidence. Wayzata last lost in 2019.

"It's coach-speak, but we're process-oriented," he said. "We had goals every day this week and tried to get 1 percent better every day. That concept has worked for us even before the great run we're on now."

Jackson pointed out the experience of his athletes, many of whom compete year-round because of club volleyball. It means he's perfecting something more subtle when other coaches are perfecting technique. For example: "We're intentional with the chemistry aspects," he said. "How well can we teach them to communicate?"

Minnetonka girls' tennis

The details: The Skippers won the Class 2A team title in 2021, rallying behind a "Do it for Dave" mantra after the sudden death of longtime coach Dave Stearns in the offseason. Sarah Shahbaz, the singles champion in Minnetonka's class, is back for her senior year. So is Karina Elvestrom, who teamed with sister Annika for a state doubles championship.

The mind-set: "Every point counts," coach Brent Lundell said.

Sport-specific: Edina had won 23 of the previous 24 big-class state titles. We'll check back in a quarter-century to see if Minnetonka made a run at that. Lundell sees some pieces in place, the sorts of pieces that lead to championships in bunches.

"It takes a lot of community members, parents and players to have that sort of sustainable program, and we're fortunate in Minnetonka to have that," he said.

Lakeville South football

The details: Lakeville South went 13-0 last season and won the Class 6A title, but nine of the players who achieved that are on college rosters now.

The mind-set: "It's watching for complacency and creating a healthy fear of that," coach Ben Burk said. "You have to be on guard for the feeling of having been there before, and you have to get that out of the kids' minds."

Sport-specific: The goal all along is to win more than one, Burk said, so winning the next one is built in with winning the first one. Blowouts are building blocks.

"That's the nice thing about winning games the way we won them," he said. "We told the seniors this: You are not going to play every snap every game," he said. "We're going to build depth."

Burk pointed out that coaches win twice for every state tournament victory, because each comes with extra practice that only a few teams get. For football teams that is up to five weeks of extra reps. "The sophomores and juniors get that much more experience," he said.

Stillwater girls' soccer

The details: Stillwater upset undefeated, top-ranked Edina in the semifinals en route to the Class 3A championship in 2021. Now coach Mike Huber is dealing with radical roster change. His team lost 11 seniors from last season, replaced by 10 freshmen. Huber, who said he's never had more than three freshmen on the varsity, put it this way: "They're good freshmen, but ..." The chance to repeat is not lost. The team also has eight seniors.

The mind-set: Huber sells fun. "We try to tell them how special it was last year," he said. "So many teams never make it."

Sport-specific: Soccer is a sport in which the lure of club play can hurt the local varsity. Huber didn't get to 125-43-19 in 10 years at Stillwater by ignoring that. "We never really have had a player choose club over high school," he said. "Kids take a lot of pride in playing varsity."