Life feels like it’s moving way too fast lately. It’s difficult sometimes to slow down and remember to take everything one day at a time, especially when you’re young, but I’m working on it. I feel like I’m starting to get back into the swing of things, and it’s nice.

They say you have to hit rock bottom before you can start making your way back up, and a couple weeks ago I reached what felt like that point. Before I fell asleep that night, I was thinking about all the things in my life that I wasn’t happy with, and the list went on far too long. The only thing I was sure about was that I could not keep living like that any more; it was so hard to find joy in anything, even the things I used to love.

I’m still trying to figure myself out. Aren’t we all? As long as I have my job, my best friends, and my family, I know that everything will be okay. As much as I want to be independent, we all need something to depend on — a person to talk to when you feel alone, a home to come to when you want comfort, friends to be with when you want to have fun, and a job to make life feel more regular and stable. 

All it takes sometimes is a couple steps back and a little perspective to realize that life isn’t nearly as bad as it’s made out to be. There are so many reasons for me to be happy; I just stopped seeing them. I could blame that on a number of different things, but I won’t. When it all comes down to it, the only person left to blame for where your life is right now is yourself. After all, it’s your life. Every choice, mistake, and achievement you’ve made has brought you where you are today.

I can proudly say, however, things are most definitely looking up. I’ve started to appreciate the little things again, and the big things even more. I’m not going to let life bring me down anymore; being sad is just such a waste of time.

Staying positive, even when you think you can’t, is one of the most important things to remember. When you’re pushed to the edge and you feel like you’re going to break, hold on to the things that you love. They, if nothing else, will get you through.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone again for all the positive feedback on my columns and articles. It means so much to know that so many of you even read my work, let alone enjoy it.

It’s amazing to feel good about life again. It feels like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders, and I can finally breathe and enjoy myself. Knowing that in the end everything will turn out just fine is enough hope for me. I’m far from perfect, but I like it that way. Perfection isn’t something anyone can actually achieve; it’s something too many people strive for and end up disappointing themselves when they don’t reach it. But I don’t need to be perfect. Right now, I just need to be happy. Everything else will fall into place as life goes on, and worrying about it isn’t something I wish to waste time doing.

Finally, thank you to my best friends and my family; without all of you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. The future is bright, and although I don’t know exactly where I’m going yet, I know that I’m going to be successful and happy when I get there. Life is a roller coaster, and I’m just trying to enjoy the ride.

The event of snow, a word not foreign to those of us who live in Minnesota, brings many things to mind; sometimes so many I tend to ramble. As I have said before, English wasn't my best subject in school, but my own memories and tales told by my family are important to me and may take a week or two to relate.

I hope you find them interesting, as well as help bring "Whatever Comes to Mind" for you, too. As a writer, I know I have done my job if I am able to get readers to think of their own stories.

There wasn't a lot of interest in snowmobiles around Geneva before my dad got his first winter toy, a second-hand Polaris snowmobile. It was built like a tank and just as heavy. Everybody had a good laugh because that year we got little if any snow until the boys’ state basketball tournaments. That seemed to do it every time — they bring in the snow, and we got a "doozy" that year.

Nobody was prepared for that much snow at one time. My dad had a glorious time delivering everything from people, to mail, bottle gas, groceries, and what not. I remember someone commenting that they didn't care if it didn't even snow the next year, they were going to have a snowmobile just in case, and Geneva reached its peak in snowmobiles.

Snowmobiling was the thing to do. When the snowmobile crew went like a convoy down to Nodine (a small community close to Houston, Minnesota) to snowmobile with Everal and Lenard Lageson, people in the area stood outside on the streets and stared like they'd never seen such a sight before. They told the Lagesons they "must have rich friends.” The next year when we came back for another visit we were astounded because it seemed like everyone had a snowmobile and the hills, valleys and trails just reached out to them.

My oldest daughter was just a baby (she and I didn't take part in the ride), but we met up with the group at one of the many tavern/restaurants in the area. Krista was sleeping so I laid her, wrapped up in her warm blankets, on a pool table. As the snowmobilers arrived, they shed their gear and tossed it on the table until someone yelled, "Hey, there is a baby there!”

I can imagine what I'd think now if someone did that to their baby. I was lucky, not one person turned me in for child abuse!

Many of our local snowmobilers back then also traveled up to the Duluth and Mackinac, Wisconsin area where there was a lot of snow and places to snowmobile. Many of the men discovered a "ski jump" area and every man that went up there tried out the ski jump and came home with broken windshields on their snowmobiles.

My mother had a Raider snowmobile, which had "cat tracks." That snowmobile was terrific for going up and over the snow piled in the ditches. The snowmobile was so heavy it would sink in the soft snow, but it was great on the hard packed snow piles.

Looking back at those good old days, mom says that some of the things they did were not very smart, an observation most of us came to realize, as we get older.

My nephew, Kade, was born in the middle of October, and my mother made him a snowmobile suit and would take him along with her. She would put him down in front of her, between her legs, which would keep him out of the direct wind, but all of the exhaust would come back at him.

Mom wonders now if that little suit was warm enough, as the material she used really wasn't that thick. Manufacturers later made snowmobile suits that were really warm for those long rides in the wind and snow.

A few times there were about 100 snowmobiles taking part in trail rides. When traffic got heavier and heavier and restrictions were placed on riding on the roads, snowmobile trails were developed.

It is funny the things that one forgets and how something, like a big snow storm, comes along and triggers your memory.

Snow seemed to be prevalent in the arrival of more than one family member. My aunt, Phyllis, and her soon-to-be-delivered daughter, DeLoyce, had a hard time getting to the hospital from their farm southwest of Ellendale in March of 1951. The snowplows could only "punch through" the snow banks to a mile from their farm, so they made an improvised sled for Phyllis out of an old car hood. They also couldn't get home again, and spent several days at my Aunt Ellen’s home in Albert Lea. That same snowstorm also resulted in a minor airplane crash near Ellendale; the airplane skis couldn't accelerate in the snow, and the airplane went up on its nose. My cousin Jim owns that same airplane today. When he restored it, he had the mechanics leave the wrinkled cowling on it. "It's part of the airplane's history," he said.

The birth of my second daughter, who was born on the 10th of April, was proceeded by a short but freakish snow storm that trapped her dad in Albert Lea and me at my parents’. We had to get the snowplow out to get me there before she was born.

My nephew Cameron was born during the Super Bowl storm, back on the 8th of January in 1975. What started out being a rainy day turned into a full-fledged snow day and mom was ever so glad that Kaye had been able to get to the hospital before the storm really hit hard. The blizzard would have prohibited anyone getting through to get her to the hospital. Kaye and Cameron had to stay in the hospital an extra day, which wasn't to Kaye’s liking, as she hates hospitals. When they were finally able to come home and realized that traffic was only one way and traveling almost like through a tunnel, she understood why she had to stay that extra day.

Next week I will share a few more winter memories.

Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. If you have news please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.

Birthdays and Anniversaries:

• Thursday, March 14th: National Potato Chip Day!  Laura Katherine Worrell, Connor Duane Klemmensen, his 5th; Sierra Christine Krause, her 4th; Brian Cerney, Brent Huber, Marcia Hutchins, Lee Loverink, Mark Finch, Kathy Molenaar, Trevor Titus

• Friday, March 15th:  Angie Haberman Lyman, Marvel Beiser, Andy Ditlevson, Robin Jepson, Judy Lunning, Tim Phagan, Steve Clausen, Tony Motl, Julie Peterson, Don & Cindy Gould

• Saturday, March 16th:  Ava Pospesel, Blair Pospesel, Al Batt, Cortnee Langlie, Judy Waage, Tyler Lewis Hagenbrock, Jackson Taylor William Churchill, Harold & Pat Wayne, Hugh & Karen O'Byrne

• Sunday, March 17th: St. Patricks' Day, Ashley Marie Hagen, Shannon Weckwerth Pacholl, Mike Cady, Dakota Ray Janning, Nicole Hanna, Patrick Wobschall, Harvey Zicafoose, Mandy Galbraith, Joel Hill, Jenifer Jensen Pietari, Carol Scott, Kevin & Marsha Jensen

• Monday, March 18th: Ashley Marie Hagen, Lynn Sommer Eaton, Chad Cornelius, Randy Brandt, Michelle Bartness, Dan Enzenauer, Matthew Larson, Wanda Stanley, Kent Toft, Matt & Jennifer Van Hal, Dean & Sue Westrum

• Tuesday, March 19th: Samuel Bartness, his 1st; LaVern Klocek, Jill Rye, Jill Neitzell, Tyler Crabtree, Bethany Butler, Tori Lynn Sage, Wyatt Marcus Westergrin

• Wednesday, March 20th: Jayda Moon, Tricia Renae Hanson, Nicole Christensen, Neva Lembke, Gary Reichl, Jim Butler, Tammy Harpel Nielsen, Winfred Bergdale, Shelly Hoeve, Billy Jo Johnson Schwierjohann, Dennis Olson

Surprise somebody. Call someone. Send a card and make their day. Little things mean a lot.

After reading a news release by the Minnesota DNR I am less excited about the amount of snow that we have been receiving this winter. Whenever I’d have to shovel snow I would subconsciously be telling myself that it was really a good thing. We definitely need the moisture, so I’d always feel pretty good whenever the snow accumulated enough to need shoveling, although I knew that I would be the one doing the shoveling. I have to say that the last time school was let out because of a snow day my nice grandsons stopped by to help me shovel – great kids!

The following is part of the aforementioned DNR news release: Melting winter snowfall won’t do much to alleviate the extremely dry soil conditions across Minnesota, even if some areas experience spring flooding, said Greg Spoden, the state climatologist.

Roughly 70 percent of Minnesota is in extreme drought or severe drought. “All of the snow that has fallen over the winter by and large remains on top of the landscape, a landscape that is largely frozen,” he said. “Now the dust remains beneath the concrete.” Despite winter precipitation that’s a little above average for much of the state and well above historic levels for parts of West Central and North Central Minnesota, soil moisture remains near all-time lows in much of the state.

Even flooding at this point won’t alleviate a drought. The National Weather Service, which produces flood outlooks, has called for a high risk of flooding in the southern reaches of the Red River Valley, including the communities of Fargo-Moorhead and Wahpeton-Breckenridge.

As the spring melt comes, the sun’s energy will be used to melt the snow first, rather than thaw out the ground. Water will flow over the land, leaving it drought-stricken once the waters subside. “First the snow has to leave before the soil unfreezes,” Spoden said. “So we can’t face a situation really where the soil will thaw and allow a significant infiltration of that snowpack.”

Abundant spring rain is needed to recharge the soil. The average March through May rainfall in Minnesota ranges from six to eight inches. “If we get at least that, we’ll be fine for the spring planting season,” Spoden said. “But to replenish those desperately dry subsoils, we’ll have to exceed that six- to eight-inch amount.”

The latest outlook from the Climate Prediction Center, a branch of the National Weather Service, calls for above-average precipitation from March through May for the east half of Minnesota and equal chances of above or below normal precipitation for the west half.

— — —

As we venture into the time period that lies between “hard ice” fishing and “open water” fishing, I find myself doing the daydreaming thing again. That is when I reflect back to my earlier years growing up or to the days when my boys were small and I had that “little kid feeling” that would get me excited about the upcoming season. When we first moved into our present house the neighbor to the east would head to the Mississippi every March to fish walleye. I can remember thinking as much as I love fishing, it’s just a bit early to be sitting on the water. Over the years I have taken a couple of early trips to “the River” but now that I’ve done that I don’t think I’ll be repeating it anytime soon.

Don’t get me wrong – if you want to catch walleye and can’t wait for the inland lakes opener the river is a good place to go. If you are fishing on the Mississippi between Minnesota and Wisconsin the season doesn’t close so you may take game fish year round. All limits pertaining to how many fish you can have in possession still apply. 

Now that we are into March and can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, I am ready for that first cast to open water. That cast may be a few weeks away but anticipating summer is a great pacifier for the real thing. I have already found myself planning that first trip to the cabin which has me wondering what I will find once I get there. A friend of mine once said that vacation is half anticipation and half participation; I think that sums it up.

I am already getting excited about fishing a lake that Brian and I visited for the first time last fall. We didn’t put a boat in but visited the access which is one of our favorite late fall experiences. We drive around checking out lakes that we have not fished before and every so often we will stumble upon a “must try” lake. That is just another part of the outdoors experience that we always enjoy.

Until next time get outside and take in a little fishing, skating or just take a winter walk in the good old Minnesota outdoors.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers because they are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

It appears that despite the midseason swoon, Tubby Smith’s Golden Gophers are going to the "Big Dance." There was some question before the Indiana game as the Gophers were getting blown out by 20 points or more in successive games. They were not only getting beaten badly, they looked they really didn’t want to be playing basketball.

A great many people were crying for Tubby’s head. The Indiana game stopped the "Get rid of Tubby" movement and Smith’s job is safe for at least another year. However, Tubby Smith had better get Trevor Mbakwe the big box of chocolates next Thanksgiving. He is the big reason the Gophers were able to defeat #1 ranked Indiana.

Usually a team is led by the point guard, much like the year Bobby Jackson took the Gophers to their only Final Four appearance. However, in the Indiana game it was clearly Mbakwe who took the team on his back and showed them how it was done. So behind Mbakwe, it seems that Tubby’s team will make the tournament and not only that, they will get a pretty good seed.

As the Gophers head into the NCAA Tournament they enter with a long tradition of not doing well. They have only succeeded in making the Final Four in 1997. Then the academic scandal under Clem Haskins came to light and the Gophers’ success was wiped out by the NCAA rules committee.

Can our team reverse their fortunes this year? As a Minnesota fan with one son who is a Minnesota grad, I sure hope so. But I would be very surprised to see the team advance beyond the first or second round.

Most NCAA winning teams have excellent guard play, particularly from the point guard. What with the advent of swarming zone defenses, inside play has been negated to a degree. In order for one good team to win against another good team, fine play is needed from a point guard to distribute the ball along with a shooting guard on the order of Blake Hoffarber. The Gophers have neither. It was expected the Hollins boys would supply both. It hasn’t happened, and the lack of production by those two have resulted in the team’s mediocre Big Ten record.

Perhaps the biggest flaw in the Gophers is the lack of outside shooting. In addition to the guards’ lack of marksmanship, the two starting forwards Rodney Williams and Joe Coleman, are not good long-range shooters. And by long range I mean anything beyond 15 feet. Williams is a wonderful athlete and occasionally will rock the "Barn" with his play ,especially with his dunks. (Did you see his block of an Indiana last-second shot? He must have gotten close to 13 feet in the air.) However, I’ve seen high schoolers with a better outside shot. Joe Coleman is an undersized Big Ten forward who also doesn’t own an outside shot.

The Gophers’ progress in the NCAA Tournament depends on one of our inconsistent outside shooters getting hot. If they do, that would open up the middle for Mbakwe and the Gophers will be tough to beat. Mbakwe is a big plus and if he gets some help, the Gophers can cause problems for any team.

If they are going to make any kind of statement in the tournament, they need to do it this year for the Gopher basketball future looks bleak as they lose both Mbakwe and Williams after this season. And judging from the past, Tubby Smith seems to be a little short on miracles.

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

"I went to Walla, Washington last week."

"Don’t you mean Walla Walla?"

"No, I didn’t have time to go to both Wallas."

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: It all started years ago when I read "The Lord of the Rings." Since then, I've been Tolkien in my sleep.

Over here

Hartland is near the hem of the state. Folks take the road less graveled to get here. The smallest of towns has endless corners. A neighbor winters in Florida. He's a snowbird who drove there. He called to tell me that Florida has a snow removal plan. There’s no snow or removal, but they have a plan. He’s kept the right turn signal on the entire time he has been in The Sunshine State. He does that in case he spots a buffet.

Things found in a nose

I caught my three-year-old grandson picking his nose. His finger was up his olfactory organ because he was pointing at his brain. He's a smart little guy.

I used my hankie to wipe his nose. He had a bat in the cave. A nose goblin. Once I’d freed a trophy-sized booger, I stole his schnozzola.

"I have your nose," I cackled grandfatherly. The nose was my thumb protruding between bent forefinger and middle finger. I have all my grandchildren's noses.

Later, I stole a snowman’s nose. It’s a jewel. One carrot.

I paused in my snoot-stealing endeavors to ponder upon our winter. I had time for that because of Parkinson’s Law that says, "Work expands to fill the time available for its completion." My records show that 90 percent of my work takes 90 percent of my time and the other 10 percent of my work takes 90 percent of my time.

I thought about the lack of snowmen that I’d seen this year. I miss observing the artistry and imagination they present. I questioned parents of young children and they assured me that there’s a plethora of snowmen, but I don’t see them. I was cheering myself up by considering all the snow I hadn’t shoveled, when the phone rang. The phone always rings when a fellow is getting some work done. The caller was interested in hiring me to lead tours. He said one excursion would be during the "off-season." I live in Minnesota, where the weather is always off-season.

The knot was tied

My wife and I were married at the Congregational Church in New Richland. Reverend Fick officiated at our wedding. When he said, "If anyone can show just cause why these two should not be joined together in holy matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace," 46 of my bride’s relatives raised their hands. He ignored them. I liked him. He told me about his early years of wedded bliss. A devoted pipe smoker, he had a number of pipes in his smoking rotation. Like all good pipe smokers, he had just the right amounts of caked ash in each bowl to enhance his puffing pleasure. He returned home one day to find his bride smiling like the cat that ate the canary. She’d cleaned his collection of pipes by using a knife to scrape the bowls and gave each pipe a good scrubbing in soapy water.

I asked the pastor if he’d growled.

"No," Reverend Fick replied, "I appreciated her efforts."

Did you know?

George Washington had dentures made from hippopotamus tusks that were designed to fit over his one remaining tooth.

Eighty-two percent of Americans 35 and older consider themselves positive thinkers according to a Gallup survey.

Johnson is the most common surname in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. It’s second in the U.S. behind Smith. Williams is third.

Nature notes

Robins bathe in ponds, mud puddles, small streams, melted snow, and birdbaths — often waiting in line as if they’re picking up prescriptions in a busy drugstore. Robins raise their feathers to allow water to reach skin. Robins have hollow bones, making them too light to submerge, so they splash about. Robins use their bills to preen, which removes dirt and aligns feathers. The robin applies oil obtained from a gland near its tail to its feathers, which leaves them soft and pliable. It takes many short baths rather than one long soak because saturated feathers make flying difficult. Bathing frees the skin of parasites. Clean feathers are good insulation. I can hear a mother robin telling a youngster, “Clean feathers are warm feathers.”

Meeting adjourned

Be kind.

We got more of the precip out of the way on Saturday than the scurs might’ve guessed, but at least March has been living up to its reputation for sloppy, wet conditions. Will we get more of the same? Starting with Wednesday, partly cloudy with a chance of flurries. Highs in the mid 20’s and lows around 15. Partly cloudy on Thursday with highs of 35 and lows of 25. Mostly cloudy for Friday through Sunday with a chance of rain changing over to snow. Highs near 35 and lows of 25 – 30. Partly sunny on Monday with highs of 25 – 30 and lows around 25. Partly sunny for Tuesday and warmer with highs of 30 – 35 and lows near 25. Sunday marks St. Patrick’s Day already and it is significant as we see more than 12 hours of daylight for the first time since September 24th. Through the wonders of our federal government nanny, the sun will magically set at 7:23 although you can get up and stumble around in the dark again since the sun rises at 7:22 a.m. The normal high for St. Patty’s is 40 and the normal low is 23. The scurs will hoist a green Kool Aid to celebrate.

The rainfall over the past weekend was surprisingly abundant with 1.09” being tallied at the ranch gauge. It definitely was as advertised,  making area door yards sloppy messes along with exposing ice in places, again. However, heavy, wet snowfall Sunday night covered a lot of the ice so traction could be afforded once again without nearly the danger of slipping and falling. Unfortunately with the ground still frozen, much of what has fallen will likely run off or collect in area wetlands. That’s OK though. I can see the wetland from the bedroom window is once again full, something that hasn’t been the case since back in June. 

Most tried and true weather observers are telling us we should be thankful that it is showing us that it can indeed still rain on a widespread basis. Something that always makes me smile are the gloom and doomers telling people things like it will take years for us to recover from last summer’s moisture deficit. In 1964 we experienced a drought here in southern MN. In the spring of 1965, we experienced record precip and flooding. It rained on Easter Sunday and as legend would have it, for 7 straight Sundays. In 1988, we came off what was for many the most devastating drought they had ever experienced. By 1991, we embarked on what was to become known as the wettest decade of the 1900’s. Even last spring, conditions were equally as dry as they are this spring yet somehow we pulled off some pretty tremendous yields all things considered. Why? It rained over 6” in both May and June at the ranch. Look, the weather is going to do what it’s going to do and with enough people predicting different outcomes, someone is bound to be right. The trouble is their consistency isn’t very good.

Redpolls remain a major bird species at our bird feeders. Near as I can estimate there are somewhere between 60 and 80 in the bunch. They don’t all fit on the feeders so those that don’t cover the ground underneath. One of these days however they will head back to the north and am somewhat surprised they haven’t already. Cardinals have started their spring song in town although I have yet to hear it at the ranch. Not to worry as it seems things always move a little slower out here in the country. 

The recent warmer temperatures have awakened several of my least favorite animals, namely skunks and raccoons. Mrs. Cheviot had a close call with one of the local Pepé Le Pews as she rounded the corner of the granary towards the lambing barn. Mr. Cheviot did his duty to head back to the house to retrieve a weapon of mass destruction, but by the time he did of course the skunk had slithered off to parts unknown. The worst part of it is he’s apparently camping under the granary as several times the odor has been downright intense in the barnyard. The live trap hasn’t yielded any results yet either, so it’s becoming tempting to resort to desperate measures. It’s become standard operating procedure to secure the area before letting the dogs outside too. Cleaning them up after a skunk encounter is never much fun. In the meantime, I’m watching Caddyshack again to get some pointers on vermin control.

The dogs had plenty of mud to deal with the way it was over the weekend with the promise of more to come. Anyone who has ever had a dog on the farm during the spring knows exactly what I’m talking about. They are impossible to keep clean, especially active dogs like Border Collies or especially Labs, who thrive on mud and water regardless of its temperature. Eventually the ground will thaw, it’ll dry out and it’s no big deal. Having a garden hose with warm water at the ready seems to be our best bet with Ruby and Fudgie. 

The ewes finally kicked it into gear again so we managed to get over half-done with the lambing project. Of special note were the black twins born Thursday, a buck and a ewe. There’s something about these little oddballs, the black sheep. The lambs seem a little cuter than usual and are always the first ones to be picked up and played with. In the pasture they are a novelty as well, with many driving by commenting about the black sheep mixed in with a large group of white ewes. In this case the lambs were also bellwethers of good things to come after we’d been through a rough stretch with some full term lambs being stillborn. Shortly after they hit the ground, we had some of the nicest ewe lambs born to date, including one that had been chilled, warmed up in the house and still claimed by the mother upon her return to the lambing pen. That doesn’t always happen and usually results in a bottle feeding situation. Wonderful if you have kids to feed them, not so wonderful if you’re the poor schmuck who still hasn’t convinced himself that it’s a losing proposition. There’s always a black sheep in the family.

See you next week…real good then.

Last week, I started pontificating about my coaching philosophy upon a request by a reader. I got so long-winded that I’ll finish up this week!

I recently read an article about youth sports that likened them to meat and potatoes. The basics and love of the game that are instilled at a young age are just like the basics of a meal. 

I like gravy on my potatoes; games and competitions are the gravy. Here’s the rub: I love gravy, but I’m not just going to eat it by itself.

When we get to the point where we are asking kids to play too many games, it is like eating gravy by itself. If the focus on fundamentals disappears, the meal is not as satisfying in the long term.

The kids love the games, and so do I. But I also don’t want to get to the point where we’re playing so many games that we don’t have time to practice. Even in a win, there is always something to work on the next day.

I know a coach at the same level as my girls in 5th grade who has his girls playing a 50-game schedule every year; even our varsity doesn’t play that much! I always worry about burnout. It takes a special group of players (and parents) that want to travel all over and give up every weekend to play ball.

Winning is not everything, but there is a fine line to walk there. If a team has an opportunity to win at the end of a game, you need to give them that chance. If everyone has gotten opportunities throughout the game, crunch time can be given over to a group that gives you the best chance to win in the final minutes.

Learning to win and learning to lose are both good skills to have. Understanding that people on a team have different roles is important as well. Still, this has to be done delicately at times. Sometimes it’s easy: you can’t dribble well and thus can’t be a point guard, or you have a hard time throwing the baseball across the diamond and thus can’t be a third baseman. These ideas should be coupled with BUTs. BUT, if you work hard at ballhandling/throwing, maybe it’s something you can do in the future.

And that’s the thing. Sometimes a kid just doesn’t grow as fast as others, but will eventually turn into a good player. We can’t give up on that kid just because he or she doesn’t have the skills now.                 Kristina Cole is a great example of a basketball player who was average in ability coming into 7th grade. Then she grew and continued to work hard at her game. Before I knew it, I never got a chance to coach her in 8th grade because she got moved up and eventually scored 1000 points on varsity. But she was given chances along the way and encouraged to keep working hard.

Matt Dahle was pretty average at baseball when he played for me in 7th grade. He struggled at catching and hitting, but loved the game. He got opportunities to try some things. He also grew and kept working at his game. Last season he was an integral part of the Panther baseball team that won the Gopher Conference.

There are always exceptions. Some groups of kids can and want to play a lot of games, and it will only help them; the year’s varsity girls basketball team is a good example. Other groups flop from too much pressure or from maybe missing out on players that could have contributed.

Let’s keep these kids around as long as we can and see what happens. Let’s not drive them away through disinterest or burnout. It might lead to great things for Panther athletics in the future.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is pontificate, which means to be pompous or dogmatic, as in, “The columnist pontificated so much that people wondered if there was anything on which he didn’t have an opinion.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The NRHEG Band Concert scheduled for Monday, March 11 has been postponed to Monday March 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the high school gymnasium in New Richland.

Funeral services for David Donald Demmer of Ellendale, MN, will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 14, 2013 at the First Lutheran Church in Ellendale. Pastor Richard Sliper will officiate. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in the Hartland Cemetery, Hartland, MN.

David died on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at the Countryside Senior Living in Owatonna, MN. He was 88 years of age.

David was born March 6, 1925 in Freeborn County, the son of William and Lillian (Preiss) Demmer. He attended public School in New Richland, MN. On December 21, 1947 he was united in marriage to Ruth M. Kofstad at the Trinity Lutheran Church in New Richland, MN.

Panthers dominate St. Peter for Section 2AA crown

Above, NRHEG's Paige Overgaard (10), Hannah Lundberg (00), Jade Schultz (12), Anna Stork (11) and others greet cheerleaders and fans on the court after the Panther girls' basketball team's 96-61 victory over St. Peter for the Section 2AA championship and state tournament berth at Minnesota State-Mankato Friday night. Below, NRHEG junior Carlie Wagner (3) stole the show with 49 points. The Panthers, 29-1 and ranked No. 2 in the state in Class AA, will meet Pelican Rapids in the opening round of the state tournament Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The Panthers placed third in last year's state tourney. (Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak)