Holy Family High School football coaches look to create better leaders through program
VICTORIA, Minn. -- Dan O'Brien had it going at St. Thomas Academy - one of the winningest programs in the state. So why did he move to a program that is struggling?
"For me, the opportunity for that challenge," O'Brien said. "Probably a little bit more importantly the opportunity to coach with two lifelong football mentors of mine."
One of those coaches is Jeff Ferguson. He won state championships at Totino Grace High School, retired and made a move.
"We moved out to Chaska. I don't know anything about Chaska," said Ferguson. "Our daughter's out here, our son-in-law, and we have some grandkids. And so I moved out here and kind of had an opportunity to connect with Holy Family, new Holy Family people, through my time at Totino Grace, both Catholic schools."
The other coach won a state title at Minnetonka. But Dave Nelson started with his friend, Ferguson, 45 years ago at Blaine High School.
"To be honest, Maxie, I didn't see this coming," Nelson said. "I thought I'd be out on a pontoon boat on Lake Minnetonka right now."
Ferguson started working at Holy Family. He recruited Nelson and then the two of them recruited O'Brien. Here you have maybe the most wins as head coaches of any program in the state, now overseeing a program that has been starved for wins in recent years.
"Our numbers are down. It's certainly the number one thing and the first thing for me was to recruit the hallways," O'Brien said.
The numbers are down and the challenge is big, but what has changed for those that have been to the pinnacle is redefining the pinnacle.
"I think coaching is coaching. I think that it's, you know, how many you have, that's what's different. How talented you are, that's what's different. But we have some talented players," Ferguson said.
In the midst of it all, they are reminded that the program you coach does not define the mission - football is the same game. Kids are wanting the same things.
"The older you get, the more your mindset changes and more it's about developing young men, trying to lead them, and then get them to be better men and better leaders through the game of football," Ferguson said.
That is the reality of what coaching means right now.
"We've got some young guys that kinda think they've got a little bit of knowledge, and trying to fit that all on the same page. But for us as a staff, what we've kind of come to is, we've got to start with the fundamentals. We've got to start back at the basics, we're starting stance," O'Brien said.
But that's why the past matters. They understand that Friday nights are special. They understand what it takes to win. And, in a different place in their coaching life - a different place in their life - they make sure the kids they coach are not measured just by scoreboards. What they want the players to feel going forward is what defines the goal for the athletes.
"It was a blast. One of the highlights of my high school career. Friday nights are special. I've met some of my best buddies for the rest of my life, those types of things," said Nelson.