Some things never change, and while there are few certainties in high school sports, there is one constant you can always count on---expect Foley High School to make a serious impact at the Minnesota State High School Wrestling Championships. Every year.For over a half century the little school by the Rum River in central Minnesota has been a major player on the prep level, especially under coach Lyle Freudenberg, a former wrestling captain at Minnesota State University Moorhead.
The onetime Dragon recently completed his 29th season as head coach at Foley High and guided FHS to a fourth place finish at the 2011 Minnesota State Class AA Championships at St. Paul. “We were in the finals in 2009 and 2010, and we had a couple of really nice squads. We had a good squad this year, too,” said Freudenberg.
Under Freudenberg's watch Foley captured state titles in 1989 and 1993 in the two-class system, and again in 1994 in the expanded three-class field. He was twice named Minnesota High School Wrestling Coach of the Year.
Freudenberg was appointed head coach of the Falcons in 1982 at the age of 30, and admits he was attracted to Foley by the rich wrestling tradition.
“I wanted to get into a good wrestling program and learn a little bit more,” Freudenberg said. “When I came to Foley they had two coaches who had been here about seven or eight years, and they were both outstanding technicians and coaches,” said Freudenberg.
Freudenberg cannot imagine a more perfect place to chase his dream.
“Foley had a strong wrestling tradition back then. They started in 1954 and had only one losing season, 1959. We haven't had a losing season since, and they've always had success. The fans are very knowledgeable about wrestling, too, and sometimes we draw close to 2,000 fans for a dual. The community is really supportive.”
A 1970 graduate of Parkers Prairie High School, Freudenberg lettered in football, track and wrestling and placed third as a senior at the state wrestling tournament. It was a pair of former Dragons who pointed him to MSUM.
“Andy McCarty was my coach, and he had graduated from Moorhead State, and Al Holmes, an assistant coach at the time, recruited me. The scholarship depended if you made the varsity team. There were no guarantees then, but I did get a partial scholarship.”
A fast learner, Freudenberg barged his way into the Dragon starting lineup as a freshman, beginning a run of four productive seasons that created a batch of pleasant memories.
“In my senior year in 1974 I won a conference title at 150 pounds,” said Freudenberg. “I was one of the captains along with Bob Bowlsby, and I qualified for the nationals as a junior and senior. I was ranked in the top 10 at the time but didn't place.”
Freudenberg worked his craft under the careful eye of Hall of Fame coach Bill Garland.
“Bill was a good technician,” Freudenberg said. “My style in high school was quite a bit different than college. I was more of a mat wrestler in high school, so it took a couple of years to convert me to the college style of wrestling, but Bill was very patient with me. It took a while to get me over the hump.”
“Bill always wanted to wrestle the best competition. When I was a senior we wrestled against several Big Ten schools, and I learned a lot about the mental part of wrestling. Because I changed my major to Biology I needed another year, and I spent my last year an assistant coach under Garland.”
“I started teaching at Oakes, North Dakota in 1975. Back then jobs were hard to come by and it seemed like a good start for me. I coached there for three years and really enjoyed it, and came to Foley as an assistant in 1978. I got the head job in 1982 after four years.”
A great ambassador for his sport, Freudenberg is continually on the lookout for talent, someone who can help his Bears, and someone he can help.
“It gets tougher, and kids have a lot of options these days. One thing about wrestling, you're always talking to kids, trying to get them to come out. It's not a recruiting sport like football, everyone wants to play football. Wrestling is a very popular sport in Foley, but not everywhere. You still have to go out and get the kids.”
He remains convinced that wrestling can positively shape lives as well.
“You learn a lot about yourself, how to handle stress and develop a great work ethic,” Freudenberg said. “What I learned in high school and college allowed me to continue coaching at a pretty high level for quite a few years and still put in a lot of time and energy into the program, not only the varsity program but K through 12 as well.”
Despite his long and prosperous career, Freudenberg isn't ready to ride off into the sunset. “I'm close to retirement, but I enjoy the teaching part and coaching. I've got some great assistant coaches who make my job easier and make our whole system work. That makes it funs as well.”
His sons Josh (25), and Jared (23), both competed for him and daughter Laura (21) remains close to the sport as well. “Both of my sons wrestled for me, and that is one of the most rewarding things for a parent. It made doing all those extra things as a coach a lot easier knowing they were involved in the program.” His wife Lynn also teaches at Foley.
A seventh grade Life Science teacher, Freudenberg insists there are valuable measuring sticks other than victories to assess his teams.
“If the kids aren't much fun to coach, the season won't be much fun. We've always been successful, and it's fun to win, but the day-to-day thing in the room, and seeing them improving week-to-week is more important.”
No comments:
Post a Comment