By Tim Miller
Since I’m new to Mini, I was amazed when I first heard about such things, but it’s true! In Mini-School there are athletes which range from cross-country skiers to basketball players.
First, let me tell you about the excellent conventional athletes in Mini-School. Randy Nelson has been the varsity soccer coach at MHS since soccer has been a varsity sport – 26 years! He’s the only coach MHS has ever had. Two of his passions in life are Mini-School and soccer.
LaKaysa Bollig, Mini-School’s own, is one of the best track runners in the state of Minnesota. She went to the state meet last year as a junior and plans to get there again this year and win. Way to go, LaKaysa!
Allen Jampsa is really into weight training. He’s worked very hard in Mini-School and now is taking a mainstream Phy-Ed class in weight training and is outstanding.
Doug Berg’s sports involve water. He canoe races through the spring, summer and fall. In the winter months he races on frozen water (snow) using cross-country skis. He participates in the two biggest cross-country skiing races in the U.S., The Mora (MN) Vasaloppet and The American Birkebeiner and after he retires he plans to take part in some races in other countries. Most of those big cross-country ski races are over 30 miles long and Doug finishes them in 3 – 4 hours.
Many kids in Mini-School start their day with Mini-School basketball. Some like to just shoot around and some compete pretty actively. The active competitors include: Marti Norris, Jeff McGinn, Josh Boudreau, Andy Black, Ed Gudis, Matt Evans, Allen Jampsa, Dustin Olson, Derek Knowles, James Froemming, Matt Guffan, Sam Maeder, Aaron Sapp, Craig Schrupp, Jesse Steinwand, Trevor Scott, Lakaysa Bollig, Matt Holler, Nick Merchent, Dan Jorgenson, Ryan Prich, and Jake Anderson.
Mini-School used to have volleyball and many of the kids I asked would like to see it come back. With more gyms in the school now, maybe it’s a possibility.
Mini-School kids like to participate in sports more then spectate. Most felt professional athletes are overpaid. The sports program most liked was Sports Bloopers.