St. Croix Lutheran H.S. Football Coach Reaches Students On, Off Field
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Great coaches are not defined by wins, they are defined by what they do for student athletes.
Sometimes it can be what they do in the course of one game, and other times it can be what they do over the course of decades.
Each week, WCCO partners with the Greater Game to bring you stories of just that.
This week, WCCO's shares the story of the coach of St. Croix Lutheran football, who will play in the prep Bowl Saturday. The story of the impact of Coach Carl Lemke.
It's practice time for St. Croix Lutheran High School. The favorite time for its veteran head coach Carl Lemke.
"I think I look at [football] now, most of all, from the eyes of the players, our school and the parents, and so forth, and what a positive thing it is for them more so than what it means to me personally. Because I just like being around the game of football no matter what happens," Lemke said.
It works because game days have become a consistent source of pride. Work hard all week, then play a fundamental brand of football.
"It's a comfort. It's awesome to not have to worry about who that person is and what he does," Athletic Director Ryan Hulse said about Lemke.
Hulse understands. He's the athletic director and he's an assistant coach. So, every day he gets an up-close tutorial on football, and he's come to appreciate what Lemke's style means to the program.
"You learn so much from him. It's just the little things and how attention to detail he is. Really, as a young coach, you go, 'That's what I need to do. I need to follow that lead,'" Hulse said.
Forty-three years ago, Lemke accepted a job as a head coach. He's never served as an assistant. He's always been the man in charge. But that comes with a bit of a regret.
"I sometimes regret that because I think I could have learned something earlier had I been an assistant," Lemke said.
"Instead you learned by fire?" WCCO's Mike Max asked.
"Yeah, that's right," Lemke said.
What has emerged from all those falls is a sense that he understands football because he understands athletes.
"He obviously knows a lot. He is true to the game, like old-style football," a player said.
He's changed his approach, spending more time on fundamentals and refinement.
"That it's the little things that count, when you're talking about the actual game of football. It doesn't matter what offense or what defense you run, but it's the little things that the kids do that's so important. And we condition less and work harder on the skills in football and I think that has been the biggest change in my coaching career," Lemke said.
It's more than football when you accept this position. The school is committed to an international mission in faith, something he hopes moves into the football team: that there is more in life.
"We talk a lot about Christian character, showing true Christian character in everything you do. Whether you're a member in your family, in school and in the football team. And we stress to these kids that that's what's important in life," Lemek said.
He does that here with his action.
"He cares so much for the kids. He'll tell you, football is given to us for a reason – for boys to be physical in a positive way. And he just preaches that. You know the kids turn to him so much for guidance on how to live," Hulse said.
And as he looks back he ponders what has been, knowing there are more yesterdays than tomorrows and ready to move on. Well, not quite.
"When are you going to retire?" Max asks.
"After next year. I keep saying that," Lemke laughed.
