Outside Looking In

Nice job, gentlemen
When the winter sports season was set to begin, many Minneota fans that I had spoken to were of the same opinion regarding the boys and girls' basketball programs.
First, though, a little explanation before revealing those opinions.
Chad Johnston, who deserves all the praise he has received as an iconic prep basketball coach in both football and girls' basketball, was taking over the boys basketball program this winter. As the girls coach, Johnston's teams had been a perennial state tournament participant that had brought home three state titles while another was snatched away by the 2020 pandemic.
He inherited a boys basketball team that went 6-22 the previous season and graduated its best player and lone senior, Cale Sorensen.
Al Panka was taking over a girls' basketball team that had lost an abundance of talent in starters Natalee Rolbiecki, Megan Tolk, Jeren Rost and McKenna Yost, leaving just Ireland Stassen as the lone returning starter.
Now for the views and opinions of the "armchair quarterbacks." It wasn't just one or two people that I heard these opinions from; there were numerous that maintained the same sentiments regarding the two programs:
"The girls are going to be way down this year and the boys will probably make it to state."
As it turns out, those comments were seemingly unfair to both Al Panka, who moved up from coaching the girls' "B" team to taking over as head coach, and to Johnston, who took over a young team lacking height that got a late start due to his football team winning the state championship.
Johnston admittedly heard some of those comments about his team, too, from exuberant fans who felt Johnston would immediately wave his magic wand and turn the boys into winners just as he had with the girls. Even though Johnston thrives on pressure and loves a challenge, he knew this wasn't going to be an overnight success story. You don't flip a pancake until one side is ready, so he knew taking this job would take time, patience and commitment from the players, as well as himself. He told me more than once that he just wanted to see progress and then when the playoffs rolled around, opposing teams wouldn't think they would have an easy time beating them.
Losing isn't something Johnston is accustomed to in any sport he has coached. He was won over 85 percent of his games in both football and girls' basketball. So, you have to give him a lot of credit for taking on this challenge.
Johnston also knew that Panka was a good coach who would have the girls ready every night. Still, there were naysayers that felt otherwise.
Well, the Viking girls knocked off No. 1-seeded Lac qui Parle Valley 48-35 last Friday night to capture the 3A-North championship and move within one rung on the ladder leading to the state tournament. Panka perhaps coached his best game of the season against the favored Eagles, who had beaten Minneota twice this season by double digits. He had a game plan that worked to near perfection and the girls bought into it and performed admirably.
With the Vikings trailing by one point at halftime, Panka switched some things up in an attempt to overtake LQPV in the second half, both on offense and defense. His plan was to wear down the Eagles by running subs in and out of the lineup while pushing the ball hard on offense and applying relentless defense.
The boys' basketball team played better and better as the season progressed, earning a No. 6 seed in the Section 3A-North playoffs when earlier in the season it looked like they would be involved in the play-in game as one of the lower two seeds.
The boys did lose in the 3A-North quarterfinals on Saturday to finish 8-16 this season. But they showed flashes of good things looming in the horizon for next season.
This is also a credit to the players of both teams for believing and buying into each new coach's directions, and working hard to achieve success.
I was once told by a knowledgeable sports fan that the way to tell if a coach is good or not is to watch how his team plays in the second half. A good coach makes changes needed to counter an opponent and has the ability to alter his/her original game plan, if needed. Both Minneota basketball coaches had their teams performing better in the second half than in the first half in a majority of the games this season.
Both of these men have done an outstanding job leading their troops into battle this season.
Why do I feel it was unfair to assume the boys would be an instant success and the girls would take a downward trend? Because I was one of those "armchair quarterbacks" who felt that way.
These coaches both deserve many apologies. Let me be the first to get in line.

Soups on!
AgPlus is again hosting a soup/chili cookoff as a fundraiser for the United Way of Southwestern Minnesota.
This is the third year that the AgPlus leadership team has held the soup/chili cookoff. This fundraiser is for employees of AgPlus only, but if a family member or customer happens to be there at the time, they are welcome to join in, said Steve Traen.
All proceeds go to United Way. Donation are matched by CHS and then doubled by Land O' Lakes.
The soup/chili fundraiser will be held in Slayton on March 13, Marshall on March 14, Ghent on March 15, and Canby on March 16.