Hutchinson High School has championship fever

So how does this school year stack up with past years? In 1998-99, Hutchinson also won six section championships in football, girls and boys swimming and diving, boys tennis, girls track and field and girls golf. In the 2002-03 season, the Tigers won five titles in football, girls and boys swimming and diving, girls basketball and wrestling. The 2019-20 Tigers have already matched those totals with the spring season yet to go.

So what is behind this recent surge in success? I asked around the Hutchinson sports scene to see if there was an answer to the question.

It's the administrator

From talking with several coaches, one man who they all pointed to was activities director Thayne Johnson.

Johnson in the 2018-19 season was named the Minnesota Interscholastic Activities Administrators Association Activities Director of the Year for Region 2AA. Any sports franchise will tell you that success starts from the top and moves down. It seems to be no different with Johnson.

“He (Johnson) does a marvelous job of leading and making sure that all of the programs have what they need and can go out there and compete at a high level,” Tiger football head coach Andy Rostberg said.

Johnson was also praised for letting coaches coach and being receptive when coaches had issues. While some ADs may be tempted to micromanage coaches and teams, Johnson has put the right people in charge and the kids are up to the challenge.

“Every time something came up, I communicated that immediately to Thayne,” girls hockey head coach Marc Telecky said. “Not necessarily because he already knew about it, but because I wanted him to know about it. I didn't want there to be any secrets. I wanted to be transparent. He was very responsive to that, very very much supportive and grateful for that.”

Johnson has been with Hutchinson for five years and has seen good and bad seasons come and go. But this year he felt there was going to be a surge in excellence, but he couldn’t have predicted just how successful teams would be.

“We knew we had a pretty good group of athletes,” Johnson said. “But I don't think anybody ever anticipated, especially this winter, four section championships, five teams competing in the state tournaments. We never really planned on it, but it was a fun experience.”

It's the coaches

Another reason for the success could be experienced coaches. Most of this year’s teams that won section championship were led by coaches that have been in the position for at least seven years. Marc Telecky, Hutch’s first-year girls hockey head coach, is the lone exception, however, prior to the girls job he coached younger teams and was on the bench for the boys team with his brother Matt Telecky.

Stability at this important position is key to building successful programs. Coupled with a stable activities director, coaches are able to better do their job and get the best out of their athletes.

“When all of our coaches buy into (kids first), when you put that first, that definitely helps breed success,” Johnson said. “And the consistency of coaching has definitely helped too. When you're not every two years trying to bring in somebody brand new, that definitely has helped.”

But the coaches don't want to take any compliments from the job that they did. They were humble and deflected the praise to the people they think deserve it.

“It's just one of those things where the more people that you get that are passionate about the community and helping the kids, in my personal opinion, the more success you're going to have,” Marc Telecky said, “because it becomes more than just coaching. At that point it's creating relationships.”

It's the players

Obviously the players are also part of what make championships happen. But what about this group of Hutch students has made the 2019-20 athletics season so successful? Is it the right blend of upperclassman and younger students? Is it the chemistry since a lot of the athletes have been playing together since they were children? Or maybe it's a mix of both.

“They seem to be a close-knit group, at least with the wrestlers,” head coach Todd Card said. “I think most of those guys are best friends through most of the time that I've known them. I think that builds that bond and that competitiveness. They made the journey together.”

A reoccurring theme I heard from the coaches and administration is that it's all about the kids. Sure the other things matter, but it's the kids working on and off the field who make it all come together. With that, the attitude around the teams have been different than in year's past.

“I've seen it more this year than in other years,” Joel Niemeyer, the sports director at KDUZ radio, said. “A team-first, not a me-first, attitude. That's from the players, coaches, fans, from everybody kind of fostering. I can't count the number of times I've seen a team with superior talent lose because they're playing 'me first' and not 'team first.' This year I think it's more about the team, and good results have followed that.”

Speaking of off the field, the kids’ hard work has extended into the classroom as well. Although Johnson did not have the exact numbers, he was confident that all the teams carried a combined 3.25 GPA or better. All the coaches agreed that in their experience, success in the classroom translates well to the field. With plenty of smart, dedicated kids, it makes adjusting and learning come much easier.

“There's a translation there,” Rostberg said. “It would be good kids. When you've got good kids, they're able to deal with adversity and they're able to adjust on the fly. They get along, they can work with other people. … I think the academic part might be just getting into routines as far as work ethic. If you're working hard in the classroom, you're going to get a good grade. If you're working hard on the field, you're going to get a good grade.”

So what is it? Is it the administrators, coaches or players that have led to this year’s success? Well, it's a combination of all three.

All three need to work hand-in-hand for so many programs to have so much success, and this season has been a shining example of what can be achieved when it all falls into place. Everyone has put in the work to make Tigers athletics as great as its been.

The biggest goal for Johnson and the coaches is to sustain this success. They know it won't be easy, but that won’t stop them from trying.

“It's just having those kids that are driven and determined and have had that success,” Johnson said. “And really, moving forward even in the next year and beyond, the underclassman, I think, got a chance to see what the state experience is like and want to get back there. … I think if you look at all of our sports teams that have competed on the state level this year, whether it's fall or winter, that has been one of the big standouts is that whole idea (team first). They are truly a team.”