[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1318-S1319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO GARY MUNSEN--A BASKETBALL COACHING MILESTONE
Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, during the cold and snowy winter months
in South Dakota, many of my constituents enjoy the excitement of the
basketball courts as a reprieve from the cold. This year, a very heated
basketball season is melting the snow off the city of Mitchell, SD.
Mitchell's basketball coach, Gary Munsen, has reached a milestone in
South Dakota high school basketball--he has recorded 500 career wins.
Gary Munsen's achievement represents his long, dedicated service to
the game of basketball in South Dakota, and more important, his players
and his community. Gary is living proof that hard work and a strong
commitment are the foundation of South Dakotans' success. Gary's
success also comes from his understanding that coaching is more than
teaching kids how to put an orange ball through an iron hoop. Coaching
is about teaching young people the importance of teamwork, discipline,
hard work, and individual effort. Gary Munsen has made many sacrifices
during his career as a basketball coach. But Gary's incredible effort,
determination and commitment have made him a brilliant coach. I extend
my congratulations to him for his outstanding record.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the complete text of an
article highlighting Gary Munsen's career be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the article was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
[From the Argus Header, Sioux Falls (SD), Feb. 4, 1996]
Munsen Hanging Tough--Mitchell Coach's Road to 500 Wins Hasn't Always
Been Smooth
(By Stu Whitney)
Gary Munsen doesn't need numbers to prove his perseverance.
His stubborn survival as South Dakota's master of March could
never be that simple or pure.
But some numbers are too significant to ignore, and they
are used to measure Mitchell's basketball mentor against
other mortals.
Victory is a comfortable criteria for Munsen. He shines
every time.
After Saturday's triumph over Washington, he needs one more
win to become the second coach in state history to claim 500
boys basketball victories. Gayle Hoover compiled 577 in 34
seasons at Parker.
The milestone might be reached Tuesday in Brookings, but
Munsen is more concerned about keeping this year's Kernels on
course. They are 11-1 and ranked No. 1 in Class AA.
``I'm not one of those guys who set out to coach 30 years
and get my plaque,'' says Munsen, whose 499-161 record
includes six state championships. ``I'm also not on some kind
of mission to break Hoover's record.''
To assert this, Munsen talks about walking away. He turns
53 on March 12, so early retirement from Mitchell's school
system could come in 1998.
``I've spent all my life doing this, and maybe it hurt my
family sometimes,'' says Munsen, who grew up 35 miles west of
Mitchell in White Lake.
``I might get out of education altogether, if I can afford
it. We've got a great athlete in (sophomore guard) Mike
Miller, and I told him when he goes, I'll go with him.''
Munsen has coached Mitchell's girls to a 141-21 record and
three state titles since 1989, but he plans to drop that
extra responsibility after next season. He almost did it at
last season's state tournament in Rapid City.
``Before the finals against O'Gorman, I decided I was going
to get out of girls basketball if we won,'' recalls Munsen.
``It just seemed like a good time to get out.''
When Mitchell was upset by the Knights, however, Munsen was
stuck for another year. Such is the burden he has built for
himself.
Critics can mention Munsen's alcohol abuse, his family
struggles, but never can they deny that he wins the big
games. Even on the high school level, it is that portion of
one's reputation that often prevails.
``There are probably some people who don't like him, but I
think a lot of people respect him,'' says son Scott, 30, who
coaches track and cross country at the University of South
Dakota.
``Coming through at the state tournament has always been
his style and his strength. I think he figured, `Well, I
might not be the smartest guy in the world, but I can outwork
them. I can be better prepared.' ''
But how does Munsen prepare for the end? If retirement
means losing the one thing that defined him as a winner, what
part of his reputation will ultimately rise?
``I was talking to (former Dakota Wesleyan coach) Gordie
Fosness about that,'' says Munsen. ``And he said, `When it's
time to get out, you get out. You'll know when it's time.'
``I still have a love for the game. I'm not as young as I
was, but the fire is still there. When the fire's gone, I'm
gone.
starting out
When Munsen started his coaching career at Marion High
School in 1966, it might have seemed laughable that history
would match him with Hoover.
Just eight miles down the road, Hoover's hard-working
Parker squads had established a sure-shooting reputation.
They beat Munsen every time the schools met.
``He drilled me a few times,'' concedes Munsen, whose
collegiate playing career started at Dakota Wesleyan and
ended unceremoniously at Dakota State.
``But he also showed me how to coach the game. I admire him
for the years he stayed all in one place.''
[[Page S1319]]
But Hoover remembers thinking that Munsen would not stay in
Marion. When the young coach ranted and raved, there was
something extra in those eyes.
``He was truly enthusiastic about basketball,'' recalls
Hoover, who remains Parker's athletic director. ``And I
figured he didn't want to stay at a small school. But I don't
think Gary knew exactly what he wanted at that time.''
After three seasons, the decision was made for him. A
school board member, unhappy with his son's playing time,
pushed through an unpleasant ultimatum.
``They basically said, `Do it this way or you'll be the
assistant coach,' '' says Munsen. ``A lot of people in the
community wanted me to stay, but that really wasn't much of a
choice.''
moving to mitchell
Whether classified as a resignation or a firing, Munsen's
departure was basically a beginning.
In 1969, he was hired to teach business at Mitchell's
middle school--which included ninth-grade coaching duties in
basketball, football and track.
He also served as an assistant to varsity basketball coach
Tim Fisk, whom he met during a brief stay at Wesleyan in
1961.
``The tough part was getting the people in Mitchell to hire
him after what had happened in Marion,'' says fellow White
Lake native Jerry Miller, who was Mitchell's wrestling coach
at the time.
``But once he started coaching, Gary was destined to be a
good one. He's got a real knack.''
When Fish left coaching in 1972, Munsen inherited the
program. That first season, the Kernels introduced their new
coach to what would become familiar territory.
``I had never been to the state tournament--and we got
there,'' says Munsen, whose 18-7 team took third and watched
Huron beat Yankton in the finals.
``The kids we had that year really played above their level
of capability. Our biggest kid was 6-foot-4 and we had a 5-5
guard, but somehow we found a way.''
Still, Munsen did not enjoy sudden success at the state
level. Yankton had some powerful teams, and getting past the
semi-final round became a constant struggle.
``It wasn't all roses during the first seven or eight
years,'' says Munsen, who saw championship-caliber teams
stumble at the 1976 and '78 tournaments.
``We had some tough times where it seemed like we couldn't
get over the hump. I don't know if my job was ever in
jeopardy, but maybe people were saying we couldn't win the
big one. I was given a good chance to succeed, though, and I
hung in there.''
time for success
Munsen finally broke through in 1984, when all-state guard
Kyle Adams led the Kernels past Washington 54-48 for the
school's first title in 20 years.
``We were so thankful to finally get there that we made the
most of the opportunity,'' says Scott Munsen, who was a
backup point guard on that team. ``I think (Munsen) felt like
if he stuck it out long enough, something good was going to
happen.''
Once Munsen had conquered the state tournament, his
appetite for victory became voracious.
The Kernels, sparked by Bart Friedrick and Chad Andersen,
went 27-0 the next season to forge their reputation as a
perennial postseason power.
When Mitchell rose again in 1986--the first year of the
three-class system--it became the first South Dakota school
to win three straight boys basketball titles since 1924.
``Maybe it's easier to get to the state tournament now, but
it's not always easy to win it,'' says Munsen, who rose again
with a dramatic double-overtime win over Lincoln in 1990 and
added titles in '91 and '94.
``We always talk about getting back to the tournament and
trying to finish higher than the year before. If we won it
the previous year, we talk about doing it again.''
Munsen calls tournament time ``the most exciting part of
the game,'' and he speaks from experience. His Mitchell
teams--boys and girls--have reached the postseason party 25
times.
His boys teams have compiled a 37-17 record in 18 state
tournaments and have finished lower than fifth only twice.
``There's something unique about what happens to Gary's
teams at tournament time,'' says Miller, now the athletic
director at Roosevelt.
``And it doesn't happen by accident. It's got to be a
mental edge at that point, and what he does to get those kids
ready is really something.
hanging tough
As magnificent as Munsen the coach has been, his mystique
has been marred by the real-life struggles of Munsen the man.
His father, Charles, died of cancer in 1987. And his first
wife, Cheri, was diagnosed with the same illness in 1989.
All the hard work in the world couldn't erase that reality,
so Munsen looked to escape.
``That's when the drinking became heavy,'' he told the
Argus Leader in December 1991. ``I had some struggling
moments, some tough times. I knew it was a problem, but I
just wasn't able to cope.''
In the fall of 1990, Munsen underwent a month-long alcohol
rehabilitation in Aberdeen. He was separated from Cheri when
she passed away in 1991.
``I didn't handle that very well,'' says Munsen, whose
youngest son, Sam, is a Mitchell freshman. ``But it's over
and done with. I never, ever lost focus of the program during
that time.''
But problems with his second wife, Pam, also arose. Munsen
was arrested for misdemeanor assault Oct. 3, 1994, after she
accused him of striking her and knocking her to the floor.
Davison County State's Attorney Doug Papandick dropped the
charge on the condition that Munsen seek counseling, and the
couple has reconciled.
Though this side of Munsen's reputation has been wasted by
weakness, a person without strength could never have
survived. Even those with frailties can fight, and sometimes
they even win.
In the very near future, Munsen will win for the 500th time
and solidify his status as one of the finest coaches in the
history of South Dakota basketball.
It is a status that has grown sturdy through the years, so
sturdy that restless rumors and rival reputations cannot
possibly steal it away. Munsen knows how sturdy the vision of
victory can be. He couldn't even destroy it himself.
``He is a strong person,'' says Scott Munsen. ``Whenever he
has struggles, he becomes convinced that you have to believe
in yourself and become more committed to what you're doing.''
Until retirement comes, Munsen will commit to the cause
that has defined his existence over the past 30 years. After
a while, you become accustomed to carrying on.
``When someone has a bumpy road but still hangs in there,
that's a pretty good quality,'' says Jerry Miller.
``Maybe only a guy from White Lake, South Dakota, could do
that. When you've been in a small town and lived through some
trials and tribulations, you learn how to bite the bullet.
You learn to hang in there.''
____________________