Tri steps down as football coach

Eagle View
Covering the Eden Valley-Watkins School District
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a Knowledge
Bowl member?
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find out 3C
Foundation
honors EV-W
for academic
success
Tri steps
down as
football
coach
Award given to schools that
work to close achievement
gaps among students
By Brent Schacherer
EDITOR
STAFF PHOTO BY LYLE DIEKMANN
Ray Tri, who retired from coaching football after 26 seasons, ends his run as Eden Valley-Watkins High School’s winningest
coach, finishing with a 161-101 record. Long-time assistant coach Jon Thielen will replace Tri as head coach.
Tri retires after 26 seasons; Thielen tabbed as new head coach for Eagles
By Lyle Diekmann
SPORTS EDITOR
W
hen Ray Tri walked off the
Metrodome turf following a
heartbreaking 21-20 overtime loss to Waterville-ElysianMorristown Nov. 21, he knew it would
be his last game as Eden Valley-Watkins
football coach.
In late January, the school announced
Tri’s retirement from coaching after 26
seasons.
“When my mind gets made up, it pretty much gets made up,” Tri said. “I had
my reasons going in and nothing
changed my mind at the end of the season.
“It just seemed like the time is right,”
Tri added. “As I got older, it was more
important for me to leave when we still
had a good crew coming back. They’ll get
the big junior class with a lot of kids out
and most of the defense is coming back.
There are lots of reasons (to leave), but
that’s one of them.”
Tri ends his run at EV-W as the
school’s winningest coach, finishing with
a 161-101 record.
There were some struggles in his
early years with the Eagles, but Tri
helped turned the program into one of
the top Class AA programs in the state.
After leading EV-W to its first state
tournament appearance in 1997, Tri
guided the Eagles to six consecutive
state tourneys from 2004 to 2009.
During that run, EV-W made two
Prep Bowl appearances, highlighted by
a state championship in 2005.
“Every one of us, when we are little,
dream of playing on a state championship team. I never did that, but I’ve
See TRI on Page 4C
Eden Valley-Watkins schools continue
to earn attention because of their academic success.
The most recent spotlight shone on the
district in January when the Minnesota
Academic Excellence Foundation recognized Eden Valley-Watkins School
District with one of 10
MAEF School Spotlight
Awards.
“It is a privilege to
recognize schools and
districts that make
great strides in closing
achievement
gaps
among students,” said
Melissa Malen, chairwoman of the MAEF.
“Spotlight award-winning schools and
districts have used data-driven and student-centered approaches to develop
unique curriculum, student support programs and staff development opportunities that have in combination brought
See AWARD on Page 2C
LITCHFIELD
Independent Review
www.independentreview.net
2C
EAGLE VIEW
FEBRUARY 21, 2010
Award: Honored by state
FROM PAGE 1C
their students’ success. The impact of
the achievements made by their students will last a lifetime.”
The Spotlight Award recognizes a
school’s success in curriculum, instruction, assessment and staff development
that addresses needs and works toward
success for all students.
“We are very fortunate in our school
district to have dedicated principals and
a dedicated staff who go the extra mile
for kids,” Superintendent Larry
Peterson said. “Our staff truly believes
in educating one child at a time and
works very hard to try and make sure
each student reaches their potential. We
have an outstanding curriculum director who has helped develop a solid curriculum K-12 where the right hand
knows what the left hand is doing. We
have a very supportive School Board
who complements our system and we
have supportive communities along
with cooperative parents who work with
the school as a team. Last but not least
we have students who challenge themselves and want to get better. We feel
very fortunate.”
All Minnesota schools that participate
in the state’s statewide assessments are
eligible to apply for the Spotlight Award.
Dassel-Cokato Elementary School
also was one of the 10 schools or districts
to receive a School Spotlight Award.
Minnesota Academic Excellence
Foundation is a non-profit organization
that promotes academic excellence in
Minnesota public and nonpublic schools
and communities through public-private
partnerships. MAEF advocates, promotes and recognizes academic excellence in Minnesota elementary and secondary students, schools and communities.
For a Free Estimate and Design …
ask for Dan, Sheila or Brent
Where Quality & Service Come First
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LITCHFIELD INDEPENDENT REVIEW
EV-W one-act cast
addresses issues
involving dementia
‘Stroke Static’ offers insight
into what happens when
an 83-year-old man mixes
the past and present
By Amber Thompson
STAFF WRITER
A
fter advancing to state in the
One-Act Play competition in
2008, adviser Vicki Meyer posed
a challenge to Eden Valley-Watkins thespians this year with the drama “Stroke
Static.”
The story of an 83-year-old man with
multi-infarct dementia, the abstract production mixes past and present inside the
head of someone who honestly can’t tell
the difference.
With scenes that depict blood flow stopping and starting in the main character’s
brain, as well as intangible shadow characters voicing a variety of concerns, the
play was hard to understand at first.
“If you just jump into it and you have no
idea about what’s going on, it’s going to be
pretty hard to understand,” said Travis
Martin, who played the main character,
Russ.
However, the challenge appealed to
Meyer.
“We have found that with the one-act
play, you can’t just do a simple play just
for the fun of it,” she said. “You have to
have an edge. I feel that these kids need
to be challenged, and this is a challenging
play. We’re not here just to do something
fun, because they usually get killed in
competition.”
To prepare for competition, the cast
took part in a variety of non-competitive
one-act play festivals, where they were
critiqued and able to take constructive
criticism and change things before the
competition Jan. 30.
STAFF PHOTO BY AMBER THOMPSON
A victim of multi-infarct dementia,
Russ, 83, played by Travis Martin, middle, can’t differentiate between hallucinations from his past and visitors in
his present in Eden Valley-Watkins
High School’s production of “Stroke
Static.”
Although they didn’t advance to sections, the EV-W cast shed light on an
important issue that some people will face
during their lives.
“I hope they’ll have a better understanding (of dementia),” Meyer said. “I
have a dad who has dementia and he has
a friend who has Alzheimer’s and it is so
hard sometimes to realize that this is
their disease. I hope that anyone else that
is dealing with people with these types of
illnesses just know that they’re in there
somewhere, so they have compassion and
understanding.”
Check us out at: www.independentreview.net
EAGLE VIEW
LITCHFIELD INDEPENDENT REVIEW
Knowing what it takes to be on Knowledge Bowl
EV-W makes impressive
showing in Knowledge Bowl
competitions
By Brent Schacherer
EDITOR
S
uccess of the football team might
have drawn the most attention
among Eden Valley-Watkins
School District residents and students in
recent years. But there’s another team
that’s quietly built its own reputation for
success — albeit in a completely different
competitive arena.
It’s where speed and quickness are
important but mental blocks are more of
a worry than the blocks thrown by a
pulling guard.
Eden Valley-Watkins’ Knowledge Bowl
team has won the Central Minnesota
League title three times in the past four
years and advanced to the state Bowl
meet three times in the past decade, just
missing a fourth trip last season when
one bad round in the section meet cost the
Eagles. But with a solid core of returning
team members, there’s hope that Eden
Valley-Watkins can make a return to the
state stage this season.
Of course, one never knows in the competitive world of Knowledge Bowl.
“The competition is tougher this year,”
said Julie Bulau, who has coached the
Knowledge Bowl team since 2000. “There
are some new teams in the league and
they’re going to be tough.”
Still, the Eagles finished first in two of
the first three meets of the nine-time
Central Minnesota League this season.
And with the league title decided by
points amassed during the regular season, EV-W at least figures to be in the
hunt for another championship.
Eden Valley-Watkins began fielding
Knowledge Bowl teams in the mid-1980s,
according to Bulau, and during the next
two-plus decades built a legacy of success.
The past decade has been among the most
successful, with EV-W Knowledge Bowl
teams reaching the state meet in 2000,
2002 and 2008.
Bulau credits a good “feeder system” —
Knowledge Bowl participation begins in
elementary school at EV-W — and a student body culture that seems to value success in academic pursuits.
“It’s not just a nerdy thing here,” Bulau
said of Knowledge Bowl. “Kids want to be
on the team.”
Katie Winter, a senior on the five-member varsity team, agreed.
“It’s a good time,” Winter said of competing in Knowledge Bowl, then adding with
Are you Knowledge
Bowl eligible?
Questions from a
recent Knowledge Bowl
meet:
Q. A jet engine
is an engine that
discharges a fast
moving jet of fluid
to generate thrust in
accordance with
which of Newton’s law’s of motion?
Q. The most common medical practitioners of the Middle Ages were called ...
Q. What story is about just one of
3,653 days of imprisonment in a Stalinist
labor camp?
Q. Papeete, the capital of French
Polynesia, is on what island?
Q. What complex carbohydrate is the
main constituent of papyrus?
Q. Combine like terms in this equation:
3(x squared) - 4y + 2xsquared.
Answers: 1. third law; 2. barbers; 3.
“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”;
4. Tahiti; 5. cellulose; 6. 5(x squared) - 4y.
On the team
Eden Valley-Watkins High School has
two varsity-level teams that compete at
various Knowledge Bowl meets throughout the area. They are:
Team 1
Seniors: Alexa Bulau, Katie Winter
Juniors: Carlos Acosta, Scott Notch
Sophomore: Travis Eisenbacher
Coach: Julie Bulau.
Assistant Coach: Renae Ward
Team 2
Sophomores: Jen Notch, Eli Salo, Katie
Theis, Alex Theis, Brooke Scherer, Andrew
Swenson
a grin, “Plus, it makes me feel smart.”
Knowledge Bowl meets involve five
rounds, beginning with an opening written round in which the team answers 60
questions. Four oral rounds follow, in
which teams square off head-to-head in
three-team groups. The oral rounds
involve 45 questions each.
Knowledge of a wide range of topics is a
key to success for Knowledge Bowl participants, obviously. But quick-thinking and
reaction time also play a significant role.
The importance of speed is evident during oral sessions at meets, when a judge
reads questions and the competitors have
to “buzz in” when they know the correct
answer. Because the first person to buzz
in has the first — and possibly only —
chance at earning points for a correct
answer, competitors don’t always wait to
hear the whole question. Instead, they go
with early clues in the question and buzz
in, hoping to arrive at the correct answer
with an “educated guess.”
“There have been years when I’ve had
kids on the varsity because they are fast
on the buzzer,” Bulau said. “With three or
four words, you can have a pretty good
idea where the question is going.”
Current team members agree.
“If you hear, ‘This H.G. Wells book...’ you
have a good idea that (the answer) is Time
Machine, Invisible Man or War of the
Worlds,” said Scott Notch, a junior. “You
have to be fast on questions like that.”
But not too fast.
Carlos Acosta, another junior team
member, said the good Knowledge Bowl
team player “knows when to shut up ...
when other people (on your team) are
right and you’re wrong. If you don’t have
a strong answer, don’t go with it. You have
other people on the team.”
The team begins preparations for its
competitive season in November, when
members gather for informal “captain’s
practices.” Regular practices begin in
December with the team practicing two or
three times a week. Practices usually
involve going through questions from previous meets. A practice favorite is a “lightning round” in which team members are
asked questions they got wrong in a
recent meet, Bulau said.
Training is important, team members
agree, but it doesn’t stop when practice
ends. In fact, the good Knowledge Bowl
competitor is training all the time — so
much so that sometimes it doesn’t seem
like practice at all.
“I don’t train for Knowledge Bowl, I just
pay attention in class,” Notch said with a
shrug. Then, he added with a laugh, that
he participates in the extra-curricular
activity because “it’s a good way to get out
of school and have fun.”
Following that line of humor, Notch
said the successful Knowledge Bowl participant has to “know a lot of trivial,
unimportant stuff.”
That’s not exactly true, of course.
Knowledge Bowl questions cover the
gamut of academia — from biology to literature and trigonometry to history.
“Knowledge Bowl combines elements of
Quiz Bowl and Jeopardy,” Bulau said.
“But I think (Knowledge Bowl) is a lot
harder than Jeopardy.”
FEBRUARY 21, 2010
3C
Eagle View
Vol. 1, No. 5
Published monthly by the
Litchfield Independent Review
P.O. Box 307, Litchfield, MN 55355-0921
LITCHFIELD
Independent
Review
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We want to hear
from you!
Do you have an idea for a story about
a student, teacher, class or event in the
Eden-Valley Watkins School District that
you would like us to feature in a
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like to hear from you.
Contact Editor Brent Schacherer by
phone at (320) 593-4802 or by e-mail at
[email protected].
4C
EAGLE VIEW
FEBRUARY 21, 2010
LITCHFIELD INDEPENDENT REVIEW
EV-W STUDENT PROFILE: Brittany Schmitz
Eden ValleyWatkins football
coach Ray Tri
talks with quarterback Tyler
Geislinger during
a 2009 playoff
game. Tri has
retired after 26
seasons as EV-W
football coach.
Senior keeps busy with
after-school activities
STAFF PHOTO
BY LYLE DIEKMANN
Name: Brittany Ann Schmitz
Age: 17
Grade: 12
Hometown: Eden Valley
Family: Parents, Steve and Becky;
sister Nikki, 20, and brother Ryan, 17.
Extracurricular
activities:
Basketball, volleyball, softball, Big
Brother Big Sister, Band, National
Honor Society, Aquilla (yearbook).
How long have you attended EVW schools? All my life.
Tri: Retires as football coach
FROM PAGE 1C
What’s the funniest thing
that’s happened in class
this year?
Teaching all the subs to play
our senior card game, Nertz.
Q:
A:
of all the teachers
you’ve had in the district,
Q: Out
which had the biggest
effect on you? How?
Mr. Jansen. He coached me in
basketball and softball. He has
been a big part of my life since
eighth grade. He has taught me many
things.
A:
you were a kid, what
did you want to be when
Q: When
you grew up? How does it
compare to your goals now?
I wanted to be a firefighter, just
like my dad. It compares to my
life now, because I want to help
people.
A:
Eden Valley-Watkins High School senior Brittany Schmitz is trying to decide
which college to attend in the fall.
where she is now.
is the biggest chalQ: What
lenge facing you and your
peers right now?
My biggest challenge is finishoff the year well and figurA: ing
ing out what college to go to. As
do you think your
graduating class will be
Q: What
for my peers, the challenge is to have a
most remembered for?
For our Section 5AA football good, memorable year.
A: champions six years in a row.
If you could tell your parQ:
ents and teachers one thing
What class on your schedabout the members of your
do you think you’ll take
Q: ule
the most real-world knowl- graduating class, what would it be?
There’s always good gossip. We
edge from this year? Why?
A:
get along really well, and
Advanced public speaking. It
there’s never a boring moment.
A: will help me with my speaking
skills and my confidence.
Q:
A:
Who would you consider
your biggest role model?
Why?
I really look up to my sister. She
has worked very hard to get
do you see yourself
Q: Where
10 years from now?
I see myself graduating from
working in the real
A: college,
world and hopefully married
and having started a family.
been able to do it coaching and be a part
of that,” Tri said. “We’ve had some great
assistant coaches and obviously some
great players come through, and the parents have been supportive. It’s been a
great experience.”
Tri is stepping down just months after
one of EV-W’s best seasons.
The Eagles lost in the state semifinals
and finished the year with a school-record
12 wins.
Because Tri plans to continue teaching
physical education in the school district
for a few more years, his ties to the team
will remain strong.
“It’s always hard to leave the kids that
are still there, but it’s probably easier at
this point,” Tri said. “I’ll still be teaching
for a while. I’ll still be able to see them
play. With the kids that have been around
that many years, they are pretty important to you. So, it’s difficult in that way.”
Tri’s exit from coaching will allow him
to focus more time on his hobbies and his
family.
After taking a job at EV-W in 1977, Tri’s
responsibilities as an assistant or head
football coach have limited his free time
in the fall.
Tri said he plans to use the extra time
to watch son Adam coach his high school
football team in Wyoming and see his
youngest son, Ryan, play his first season
of college football.
He also plans on spending some Friday
nights watching EV-W football from the
stands.
“It will be nice to go to a game and relax
and enjoy it,” Tri said. “From what I hear,
our field for a fan is a great place to watch
a game. I’d like to find out first hand.”
Long-time assistant coach Jon Thielen
will replace Tri as head coach.
Thielen, a 1985 EV-W graduate, played
for Tri during his first season as head
coach and helped the Eagles win a
Central Minnesota Conference championship.
Thielen returned to EV-W as an assistant coach in 1991 and became defensive
coordinator in 1993.
After two decades working with Tri,
Thielen has high praise for his coaching
colleague.
“Ray is all football 365 days a year,”
Thielen said. “Coaching with him is easy.
He gives you as much as you want to do. I
learned a lot from playing for him and
working with him.
“Being out on the field without him will
be different after the last 18 years,”
Thielen added. “It will be a little bittersweet in that way.”
Thielen said he and assistant coaches
Rob Pederson, Adam Langer and Chad
Stanwick all tried to convince Tri to continue coaching.
In the end, Tri felt confident that
Thielen and his staff could carry on EVW’s strong football tradition.
“I’m envisioning everything staying the
same, but obviously, it won’t,” Thielen
said. “I only know how to run practices
how we’ve always done it. He’s got practice schedules planned out so we’re not
going to change that, because it’s worked
and because it’s all I know.”
If Tri has a change of heart, Thielen
said he would welcome him back with
open arms.
“Whenever he wants back in, he can
have it,” Thielen said. “He’s going to give
me and the program as much space as it
needs. Whatever I ask him for, he’s going
to be right here. He’ll do whatever we
need to have the program stay the way it
is.”