Thirty-one years in, Mabel-Canton volleyball coach Lonnie Morken still has the same nervous/excited reaction to Day 1 of the volleyball season. Day 1 was Monday, Aug. 12, with fall sports beginning around the state in girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, girls swimming and diving, football and boys and girls soccer.
It’s the anticipation of it that does it to Morken. And the Minnesota Hall of Fame coach wouldn’t want it any other way. “I’ve never gone a season without getting butterflies on that first day,” said Morken, whose team has advanced to the Class 1A state tournament the past two years.
“There’s just a lot of great emotion in the gym on that first day, and that goes for the coaches, too. There were a lot of anxious kids in there, excited and hoping for a great season.” The 53-year-old Morken liked what he saw from his players, which was expected.
After all, this is a veteran group, with all of its starters returning from a team that won the Section 1, Class 1A title and then finished fourth at state. ADVERTISEMENT The Cougars’ top player is the coach’s daughter, fabulous senior setter Sahara Morken. That is Lonnie’s youngest child and come November, he’ll have coached one of his kids for the final time.
For many, it begs the question: Will this then be it for him as M-C’s head coach? The answer is no. Coaches that continue to get butterflies on the first day of practice generally aren’t ready to hand things over. That generaliza.