Will Wild back up hyperbole with GM choice?
The Minnesota Wild will enter the National Hockey League in the fall of 2000, which puts the franchise in the unique position of promoting a team that really doesn’t have anything to promote. Bill Robertson, the clever man who directs communications for the Wild, put it best when he said: “We don’t lose a game for 17 more months.”
Great line. The team doesn’t drop a puck in its new St. Paul arena
for 17 more months, so why not capitalize on its ongoing “unbeaten”
streak?
Robertson, who grew up in Minnesota and is one of us, was the
Minnesota Timberwolves communications director for the first five
years of their existence, then he took on the same role to help launch
the Anaheim Mighty Ducks NHL franchise, and now comes home to put to use his experience guiding new pro sports franchises in Minnesota.
The Wild came to Duluth last week, with Jac Sperling, the club’s chief
executive officer, and Robertson leading the charge. Sperling is trying to also pick a general manager and coach; actually, only a general manager because the new GM will pick the coach. The day before the Wild came to Duluth, I asked him what he planned to say to the folks in Duluth. “Whatever they want to hear,” Sperling said. “I mean, we’ll talk about whatever they want to talk about.”
It was a delectable slip, because at this point, Sperling can only try to tell hockey folks around the state what they want to hear. Good cheer, good stuff, positive, and maybe you want to buy a season ticket. As for a general manager?
“From the standpoint of being a good judge of hockey talent,
understanding the dealings with player agents and the collective
bargaining rules, the ability to negotiate and deal with other general
managers, working with the media, and being a good team player,
all are important factors in our selection,” Sperling said.
“It’s also important for us to get someone who has acceptance in the
community. Our intention is to find the best person for the job, to get
us to where we need to be both in business and in hockey. I think it
is important that we pick someone for general manager who is
either an existing general manager or assistant general manager in
the league right now.”
There is the key phrase, because Sperling can choose any parameters he chooses in order to narrow the search to the man he wants. I believe Sperling has selected his general manager, but simply hasn’t worked out the details yet. Before the general manager and coach are named, however, let’s go back to that line about what the people in Minnesota “want to hear.”
Minnesota sports fans have been accused of being fickle, demanding a winner. That’s true in football, baseball and basketball, where pro fans might not care a whit about college, high school or youth levels of those sports. In hockey, the incredible network of grassroots support means fans watch and cheer for Derek Plante, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jeff Nielsen, Craig Johnson, Lance Pitlick, Darby Hendrickson, Brian Bonin and countless others since they were 11 or 12, playing Peewee hockey, to high school and college.
There are true, diehard hockey fans in Minnesota and there are front-runners. Their ticket money counts the same, and it’s up to the Wild to discern which side they want to attract more. True hockey fans are much more appreciative of honest effort, because they know it can be satisfying on its own, and probably will lead to winning as a byproduct.
The true fans would most like to hear the name Herb Brooks as coach and director of player personnel of the Wild. If it were my choice, I would also name Neil Sheehy general manager. Period.
That would be a bold, new combination that would generate 100 percent pure support. The traditional new-franchise “honeymoon period” would last indefinitely.
Brooks, of course, is Minnesota’s No. 1 icon in hockey. He coached the University of Minnesota to three NCAA titles — the Gophers ONLY three titles — in a six-year span of the ’70s, then he gathered up a batch of college guys and won the 1980 Olympic gold medal for the U.S., against Russian, Swedish, Finnish and Czech teams loaded with players who later would change the face of NHL hockey. As a brief aside, did you notice the World Tournament, which ended last week, and how France failed to win even one game? You recall Brooks’ last coaching assignment was with the French national and Olympic team. Under Brooks, with virtually the same players as on this current winless team, France upset the U.S. in the World Tournament.
Brooks is simply the most clever, creative tactical wizard in the
game, and it is a sad testimony to the sport of hockey that the most brilliant tactician in the game is NOT coaching. Much of the reason is that the progressive and unpredictable mind of Herb Brooks makes traditionalists uneasy. The people who don’t know, and who don’t understand, and who might have their own vested interests, criticize Brooks for not being a “team player.” But Minnesota hockey fans know better. They know Brooks, they believe in him, and they know his actions will be more forceful than all the hyperbole in capturing the collective hockey soul of the state.
Sheehy, meanwhile, was a tough, hard-core, uncompromising defenseman at International Falls and Harvard and in the NHL, at places such as Calgary and Washington. He wanted to become a player agent, but only after he completed a law degree. Any athlete who would choose an agent who ISN’T a full-fledged attorney is not what you’d call bright. While studying, and since getting his degree, Sheehy has not only become an astute agent, but he has counseled executives of the NHL Players Association, debated various NHL executives, and has actually straightened out problems that developed as a result of those who don’t understand all the rules as well. Sheehy, the younger brother of Hall of Famer Tim Sheey, has done the same so impressively for USA Hockey’s amateur organization that he would be a shoo-in to take over as executive of that operation, if he wanted it.
Sheehy doesn’t fit Sperling’s criteria as an existing GM or
assistant; but in fact, he’s way beyond that. Furthermore, while he is young,
knowledgeable and aggressive, Sheehy and Brooks get along so well in a
concept of mutual respect that the two would be a
fabulous and imaginative duo.
It would be easy for the Wild to name the Brooks-Sheehy duo, but it also would take a great deal of courage, because it would be breaking the traditional NHL mold of operation — a tradition that has gotten…well, MOLDY.
A new franchise, at the price structure of the end of the 20th century, can be assured full support for the first couple of years regardless, but with the right people in place, those most difficult years could establish a team with a crafty, clever and competitive style, right from the start. Or, it could play it safe and conservative and go with the NHL’s status quo. Will Sperling be content to tell us how “wild” the club intends to make every night, or has he learned enough about Minnesota to back up the words by making a bold, new stand with this bold, new franchise?
My guess is that Jac Sperling is leaning toward signing Bobby Smith as
general manager. Smith aligned himself with the Winnipeg Jets
franchise when Twin Cities millionaire Richard Burke purchased it with the intention of
relocating in Minnesota. When they found that Minneapolis had promised all the revenue streams at Target Center to the financially balked Timberwolves, the Jets moved
on to Phoenix. Bobby Smith is now the general manager of the Coyotes.
Jac Sperling got his law degree from the University of
Virginia, is a member of the Colorado bar, worked to keep the minor league Memphis
Chicks from relocating; tried to negotiate a new stadium for the
Seattle Mariners; tried to negotiate a new stadium for the San Francisco Giants; worked for the ownership group of the NBA Denver Nuggets and the NHL Colorado
Avalanche; worked for the Maryland Stadium Authority to relocate the
Cleveland Browns as the Baltimore Ravens; negotiated to finance the Milwaukee Brewers new stadium; and negotiated for Denver’s planning and building of Coors Field for the Colorado Rockies.
Also in that sparkling resume, Sperling represented Burke’s transformation of the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix. His connection with the Jets/Coyotes may have brought him together with Bobby Smith, the two-time star centerman of the Minnesota North Stars, who is one of the most impressive
individuals both on the ice and off the NHL’s rinks. Smith also fits all of Sperling’s personally stated criteria as GM, provoking the easy prediction that Smith will be Sperling’s guy.
UMD picks Eau Claire’s Nielson as grid coach
If Bob Nielson has his way, the UMD football team will open up its offense, running the option and passing at least half the time. And Nielson WILL have his way, after accepting the challenge to become UMD’s new head football coach Monday night.
UMD’s search for a new football coach was long, consuming over two months, and thorough throughout the interview process, but the attention to detail apparently paid off with Nielson, who will leave the job at Wisconsin-Eau Claire after being the virtually unanimous top pick among the selection committee’s five tightly-bunched finalists.
Nielson, 39, was introduced at an on-campus press conference at the Hall of Fame room in the UMD physical education complex, which is about a long touchdown-bomb pass from the football field, where he coached Division III Wisconsin-Eau Claire to a 28-14 victory over the Division II Bulldogs last fall. After guiding the Blugolds to a 10-3 record and advancing to the NCAA Division III playoff semifinals, Nielson said that visit to Duluth last fall figured in his decision.
“I left here impressed with the enviroment, and the facilities, and I realized this would be a great place to be, in terms of both the university and the football program,” Nielson said. “It’s a great challenge, which brings a great opportunity for me to coach scholarship-level student-athletes.”
Nielson replaces Jim Malosky, who retired after sitting out last season while recovering from a mild stroke. Because Malosky was at the helm for 40 years, Nielson is only the fourth coach in the 66-year history of the program, but he stressed that the opportunity offers him his three main factors — tradition, commitment and vision.
“I am humbled to follow a man who not only won so many football games, but had such an effect on so many young people who he’s coached,” said Nielson. “There’s no program i this country taht better typifies tradition than this one.
“I think everyone from [athletic director] Bob Corran to the chancellor to the staff has instilled great vision here, and I’m very excited to be part of it. As for the commitment, I am committed to build on the great tradition and to be part of tis community and this university.”
UMD’s consistently successful program was monitored by assistant co-coaches Jim Malosky Jr. and Vince Repesh, the offensive and defensive coordinators under Jim Malosky Sr. Nielson said he has met with several of the assistants and would meet with them further to discuss the staff assignments.
He said his prefered style is to have multiple sets, with one set back or possibly two, and “we threw the ball an average of 30 times a game,” he said.
Jim Malosky Sr. said he was impressed with everything about Nielson. Jim Malosky Jr. said he was excited about working under Nielson, who favored the rollout quarterback option style last season.
Nielson was born in Marion, Iowa, and played offensive lineman for the Linn-Mar high school team in suburban Cedar Rapids. After attending Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, where he had a 4.0 grade-point-average,and getting his Master’s at Northern Iowa, Nielson began an impressive coaching career during which he has turned several programs swiftly into winning teams. He started at Ripon (Wis.) College on a team that went 2-6-1 his first year, then 7-2 in his second and final season.
From Ripon, Nielson went back to his alma mater as an assistant at Wartburg for eight years — six as offensive line coach and two as defensive coordinator. Then he became Wartburg’s head coach and athletic director, where his teams had five straight winning seasons, including the 1993 Iowa Conference title and back-to-back NCAA Division III playoff appearances in 1993 and 1994.
At Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Nielson’s first team was 5-5, his second was 7-3, and last season he brought the Blugolds to an 8-2 overall record for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title for the first time in 15 years, and they won two playoff games before losing in the national semifinals. Nielson was awarded the Football Gazette’s Division III coach of the year honor for last season.
UMD plays in the Northern Sun Conference, which is Division II and allows a maximum of 21 scholarships in football. There has been some examination of potential for someday moving up to the level of the North Central Conference, which allows 36 football scholarships.
“My intention is to have the best NCAA Division II program we can possibly have,” said Nielson. “If the university decides to take the course in moving to a higher level, we’ll be ready to accept that challenge.”
Nielson and his wife, Terri, have three children — daughter Amanda, 14, and twins Kyle and Kasey, 3. Asked about the emotions of leaving behind a program he had just built, Nielson acknowledged that was tough. “But this felt like the right decision for me,” he said. “From the perspective of coaching and personally, I thought this would be a place I’d like to put down roots.
“One thing the fans are used to here is winning football, that’s a common grain. The structure of our offense and the structure of our defense might change slightly, but I intend to continue to build on the things that have taken this program to great heights.”
Bulldogs find extra incentive for baseball meet
The UMD baseball team went into this weekend’s Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball tournament in Morris as league champion and No. 1 seed, with good reason.
The Bulldogs are led by the sizzling bat of Ryan Skubic, who went 5-for-6 against Wisconsin-Superior on Tuesday to lift his season average to .429. Brett Spaeth is hitting .402, and Matt Joesting .381 to lead the UMD offense, while ace senior righthander Chris Swiatkiewicz will share the spotlight on the mound.
However, if the Bulldogs needed any further incentive, the latest regional NCAA Division II baseball ratings should have provided it.
While winning the league title in a dramatic last-game victory over Southwest State, the Bulldogs are only seeded fifth in the region going into the weekend. Central Missouri State is No. 1, Minnesota State-Mankato is No. 2, and Winona State is No. 3, with Rockhurst (Mo.) No. 4, and UMD No. 5. Only the top four teams are invited to participate in next week’s NCAA regional tournament.
The Bulldogs can have no quarrel with the validity of Central Missouri, Mankato or Rockhurst, but for
Winona State to be ranked two noches ahead of UMD smacks of regional favoritism.
Winona State wound up No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. In last weekend’s wild last-game finish, UMD and Southwest were tied for first, and while the winner got the title, the losing Southwest State Mustangs dropped to No. 4 seed in the conference. Winona State wound up second, a half-game behind UMD, while Wayne State and Southwest were tied for third, with Wayne winning the tie-breaker.
UMD, of course, didn’t need a tie-breaker to beat Winona State for the title. The teams split four games during the season, with all four games played at Winona.
The tournament opened with UMD facing the first-game winner between Southwest and Bemidji State, while Winona State awaited the winner between Minnesota-Morris and Northern State. After the second round of games on Friday, the double-elimination tournament concludes with the final two teams meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by a second game, if necessary.
Wild tour hits Duluth amid ‘unbeaten’ streak
New professional sports franchises have what they call a “Honeymoon period,” which is their first couple of years of existence, during which otherwise critical fans might grant them the chance to struggle, stumble and flounder while they build a team that might someday be competitive for — dare we suggest it? — a championship.
The Minnesota Wild is a new franchise that is in something of a “Pre-Honeymoon period.” First of all, the literate among us are still trying to figure out whether the Wild is singular or plural. I mean, do we say “the Wild is,” or “the Wild are…” For now, let’s say the Wild are, even though they aren’t, yet.
The Wild will enter the National Hockey League in the fall of 2000, which puts the franchise in the unique position of promoting themselves when they really don’t have anything to promote.
“We don’t lose a game for 17 more months,” said Bill Robertson, the director of communications for the Wild.
Great line. The team doesn’t drop a puck in its new St. Paul arena for 17 more months, so why not capitalize on its ongoing “unbeaten” streak?
Robertson, who grew up in Minnesota and is one of us, was the Minnesota Timberwolves communications director for the first five years of their existence, then he took on the same role to help launch the Anaheim Mighty Ducks NHL franchise. So he comes home with some serious background in how to guide a pro sports franchise in Minnesota, and how to help get a fledgling NHL franchise off the ground.
The Wild came to Duluth this week. Jac Sperling, the club’s chief executive officer, and Robertson led the charge. Sperling is caught in a whirlwind of activity, trying to promote the new club while also trying to decide among prospects for general manager and coach. Actually, he only is trying to pick a general manager, because he then will let the new GM pick a coach.
It is extremely difficult to get to talk to Sperling, because he is out there talking to so many groups. After a couple of weeks of trying, I got him for all of about five minutes on the telephone and asked him what he planned to say to the folks in Duluth.
“Whatever they want to hear,” Sperling said. “I mean, we’ll talk about whatever they want to talk about.”
It was a slip. A Freudian slip. Obviously, he was right the first time. At this point, Sperling can only try to tell hockey folks around the state what they want to hear. Good cheer, good stuff, positive, and maybe you want to buy a season ticket. The serious stuff is a general manager, and I believe Sperling has selected his general manager, but simply hasn’t worked out the details yet.
“From the standpoint of being a good judge of hockey talent, understanding the dealings with player agents and the collective bargaining rules, the ability to negotiate and deal with other general managers, working with the media, and being a good team player, all are important factors in our selection,” Sperling said.
“It’s also important for us to get someone who has acceptance in the community. Our intention is to find the best person for the job, to get us to where we need to be both in business and in hockey. I think it is important that we pick someone for general manager who is either an existing general manager or assistant general manager in the league right now.”
There is the key phrase, because Sperling can choose any criteria he wants in order to narrow his search.
Before the general manager and coach are named, however, let’s speculate on what might be, and could be. If it were my franchise, I would name Herb Brooks coach and director of player personnel, and I would name Neil Sheehy general manager.
Period.
That would be a bold, new combination that would generate 100 percent pure support, and guarantee a “Honeymoon period” that would last indefinitely, simply because everybody in the state of Minnesota would know that those two would work their hardest to achieve the best, and while they would expect nothing less from their players, that is important.
Minnesota sports fans have been accused of being fickle, and, as in most cities, they demand a winner. But that is in football, baseball and basketball. In hockey — with the incredible network of grassroots support, where fans watch and cheer for the likes of Jeff Nielsen, Craig Johnson, Lance Pitlick, Derek Plante, Darby Hendrickson, Brian Bonin and many others as they go from Peewees to high school to college and, hopefully, to the NHL — fans are much more appreciative of honest effort and competitive status. Because they know that those ingredients will lead to ultimate winning as a byproduct.
Brooks, of course, is Minnesota’s No. 1 icon in hockey. He not only coached the University of Minnesota to three NCAA titles — the Gophers ONLY three titles — in a six-year span, but he gathered up a batch of college guys and won the 1980 Olympic gold medal for the U.S., against Russian, Swedish, Finnish and Czech teams loaded with players who later would change the face of NHL hockey.
As a brief aside, did you notice in the current World Tournament, how France went through winless? You recall Brooks’ last coaching assignment was with the French national and Olympic team. Under Brooks, possibly with many of the same players as on this current winless team, France upset the U.S. National team in the World Tournament.
Brooks is simply the most clever, creative tactical wizard in the game, today or any day, and it is a sad testimony to the sport of hockey that the most brilliant tactician in the game is NOT coaching. Much of the reason is that traditionalists fear the progressive and unpredictable mind of Herb Brooks. The people who don’t know, and who don’t understand, and who might have their own vested interests, will criticize Brooks, and claim that he doesn’t always seem to be a “team player.” But Minnesota hockey fans know better. They know Brooks, they believe in him, and they know what he could do.
Sheehy, meanwhile, was a tough, hard-core, uncompromising defenseman at International Falls and Harvard and in the NHL, at places such as Calgary and Washington. He wanted to become a player agent, but he wanted first to complete a law degree. While studying, and since getting his degree, Sheehy has not only been an astute agent, but he has counseled executives of the NHL Players Association, debated various NHL executives, and has risen so fast in his dealings with USA Hockey’s amateur organization that he would be a shoo-in to take over as executive of that operation, if he wanted it.
No, Sheehy doesn’t fit Sperling’s criteria as an existing GM or assistant; he’s way beyond that. Furthermore, while he is young, knowledgeable and aggressive, Sheehy gets along so well in a concept of mutual respect with Brooks that the two would be a fabulous and imaginative duo.
Brooks, while turning the New York Rangers from a plodding, dull team into a whirling, exciting force, and later while coaching the New Jersey Devils and, briefly, the injury plagued North Stars at the end of the Lou Nanne era, became a believer that the traditional NHL franchise operation could be improved. In his mind, the coach should have a strong voice in player personnel, and the general manager should mostly be a legal-wise business manager who worked as an equal with the coach, rather than as an omnipotent boss.
It is a brilliant scheme, if you have the right duo to make it work. Brooks and Sheehy would be perfect.
But all of that would only work if the Minnesota Wild has the courage to make a bold, new stand with their bold, new franchise, instead of just bounding around the state to tell us how “wild” they intend to make every night a special happening.
A new NHL club must figure to be on the losing end for its first few years. Minnesota fans have seen the North Stars at their best and at their worst. At their worst, they were losers, and during much of that time, they also were dull, unimaginative losers. That was the worst.
A new franchise, at the price structure of the end of the 20th century, can be assured full support for the first couple of years. With the right people in place, those most difficult years could establish a team with a crafty, clever and competitive style, right from the start. Or, it could play it safe and conservative and go with the NHL’s status quo.
My guess is that Jac Sperling plans on trying to sign Bobby Smith as general manager. Smith aligned himself with the Winnipeg Jets franchise when it was purchased and moved.If you recall, the Coyotes circled above the Twin Cities for a time, with the intention of relocating in Minnesota, but the Timberwolves had all the revenue streams at Target Center so tied up there was no opportunity for an NHL club to even hope to break even, financially. So the Jets moved on to Phoenix to become the Coyotes, and Bobby Smith is now their “existing” general manager.
Jac Sperling, meanwhile, got his law degree from the University of Virginia, and is a member of the Colorado bar. He worked for the city of Memphis in its effort to keep the minor league Memphis Chicks from relocating; for several ski areas and tourism industry groups; for a group that tried to negotiate for a new stadium for the Seattle Mariners; for the Port Authority of San Francisco in its negotiations for a new stadium for the baseball Giants; for the ownership group of the NBA Denver Nuggets and the NHL Colorado Avalanche; for the Maryland Stadium Authority in its relocation of the Cleveland Browns transformation to the Baltimore Ravens; for negotiations to finance the Milwaukee Brewers new stadium; and for Denver’s group in the planning and building of Coors Field for the Colorado Rockies.
Also in that sparkling resume, Sperling represented the ownership group that bought the Winnipeg Jets and tried to move them to the Twin Cities, and then settled in Phoenix. That is where he would have come into close contact with Bobby Smith, the two-time star centerman of the North Stars, who is one of the most impressive individuals both on the ice and off the NHL’s rinks, and, presumably, in the front office.
That connection may mean nothing more than happenstance. But it also means Smith is known to like Minnesota and to have a warm personal relationship with the state, and that he also fits all of Sperling’s self-proclaimed criteria, including current status as a GM. And it provokes the easy prediction that Smith will be Sperling’s guy.
Trachsel sisters lead teams in two tournaments
The opportunity to watch your daughter play in a Division II college conference softball tournament is a unique attraction for any parents, but it makes this a tough weekend for Duluthians Larry and Mary Lou Trachsel.
Do they go to Aberdeen, S.D., to watch senior Jill Trachsel play third base for UMD in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament? Or do they go to Sioux Falls, S.D., to watch sophomore Jamie Trachsel play third base for St. Cloud State in the North Central Conference tournament?
The answer, which parents everywhere will understand, is: both.
“We’re heading for Sioux Falls on Friday, because the NCC tournament starts Friday, and we can see Jamie play at least two games,” said Larry Trachsel, who finds chasing softball games is the perfect way to follow the season as Duluth East’s assistant hockey coach. “Then we’ll go on to Aberdeen Saturday and Sunday to watch UMD, because Jill is a senior, so it’s our last chance to watch her play.”
There is no sibling rivalry between the two daughters. “We’re very, very close,” said Jamie, who has played with her older sister all the way up to college, despite their two-year age difference.
While fourth-seeded St. Cloud State opens with the NCC tournament against University of South Dakota at 1 p.m. Friday, a victory would mean they would play host Augustana at the Sherman Park Complex Friday night. A loss to South Dakota would mean two more games on Friday in the double-elimination tournament.
“If we can win our tournament, we could end up seeded between 1-4 in the regional,” said Jamie. “We’re 16-4 in the league, and 37-10 overall, but this weekend will be tough. Right now, Augustana is No. 1, North Dakota State is No. 2, Nebraska-Omaha is No. 3, and we’re ranked No. 4 in the region.”
UMD also wound up as No. 4 seed by losing twice at Moorhead State last weekend, then having Wednesday’s closing doubleheader against last-place Minnesota-Morris rained out. The Bulldogs face Wayne State at 10 a.m. Saturday in Aberdeen, with that winner facing the winner between first-place Southwest State and Morris at 4 p.m. Similar to the NCC meet, losing the first game in the
NSIC tournament would mean playing more games to stay in contention in double-elimination.
“We’ve dropped a few games we shouldn’t have,” said Jill. “It should be an interesting tournament for us, because we have something to prove. We have a lot of talent, and even though we’ve been struggling with our hitting lately, we’ve got a chance to pull it all together this weekend.”
The Trachsel family’s weekend tour of South Dakota is a lot more hectic than last week, when St. Cloud State came to Duluth to face UMD in a nonconference doubleheader. The Huskies, behind All-America pitcher Karissa Hoehn, swept the Bulldogs, as coach Bill Haller held ace pitcher Kari Kallio out because of a busy upcoming weekend.
Both Trachsels not only play third base, but both are vital hitters in their teams’ lineups. Jill Trachsel is hitting .357, leading a UMD team on which only Wendy Runquist (.301) is also over .300. Jill leads the Bulldogs with 40 hits, 26 RBIs, three home runs and nine doubles. “Jill has really come around as a hitter, and she’s psyched up for the tournament,” said Haller.
Jamie Trachsel is hitting “only .290,” she said, but she has come on strong after a slow start. She went 7-for-14 in four games last weekend, including four doubles.
While they played each other at UMD last weekend, parents Larry and Mary Lou brought out grandparents, uncles and assorted other friends and relatives and put on a huge barbecue for both teams after the games.
“It was fun to play St. Cloud and we’ve had a good relationship with them,” said Jill. “But it was kind of sad, too, for me. Last year, when Jamie was a freshman at St. Cloud, it was exciting to play against them, because it was the first time I’d ever played against her. But this time it was sad, because I realized it would be the last time we’d get to play against each other.”
Jamie agreed. “It really didn’t hit me until about Sunday that we won’t get to play against each other any more,” said Jamie. “We’d been teammates for so long, and we’re both real competitive. I mean, I want her to do well always, but I want us to beat them. I want to see them do well, too, because of her, so actually, I’d prefer not to play UMD.”
When they were younger, the Trachsel’s only two offspring were involved in various sports, including not only high school volleyball, soccer, basketball, tennis, and softball, but mainly racquetball.
Jamie won four singles and two doubles national age-group racquetball championships and was ranked No. 1 in the country when she was 12 and 14. Jill also won some racquetball events, and last year they got together, for a lark, and won the state A-level doubles racquetball championship for ages 25-30. “That was nice, because we hadn’t played in any racquetball tournaments for a long time,” said Jamie.
Their high school athletic careers had a bit of a controversial twist. They attended Duluth Central, but transfered to East when Jill was a junior and Jamie was a freshman. Jill played volleyball, basketball and softball. Jamie played tennis, basketball and softball. They were exceptional athletes, but they felt uncomfortable, knowing that most of their friends were still at Central. So they transfered back to Central after school had started, when Jill was a senior and Jamie a sophomore.
“It was very awkward for us, transfering to East and then back to Central,” said Jill.
“I don’t even want to talk about that,” said Jamie. “But I believe you can take whatever you can out of every situation.”
While both played in assorted state tournaments at both schools, one of the more impressive facts was that Jamie Trachsel won the Section 7AA singles tennis title at East, which was the Greyhounds’ 10th consecutive 7AA girls singles title; the next year she again won the 7AA singles title for Central, breaking East’s string of 10 straight 7AA championships.
“That wasn’t bad, I guess, considering that I only picked up a tennis racquet during tennis season,” said Jamie.
As natural athletes who excelled at every sport, it was a cinch they’d both go on to college. Both were recruited by UMD, with Jill going for softball, while Jamie chose St. Cloud State. “I just wanted to go away,” Jamie said, “but I also wanted to stay kind of close.”
While Jamie has two more years to play, Jill said she isn’t considering pursuing the scarce possibilities of semipro softball. “To be realistic, I’d rather finish school and get on to what I’m going to do in the future,” said Jill, who is has one more semester to finish her major in psychology but may want to go into hospital administration.
But first, there is this weekend, and the Trachsel family tour of South Dakota.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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