Ole Pappy
It was the biggest weekend of the year for Minneota High School coaches.
The Minneota football team was playing their toughest opponent, BOLD, for the Section 5A title and a trip to the state tournament. And the girls volleyball team was making an effort to upset Tracy-Milroy-Balaton and also get into the state tournament.
So assistant football coach Matt Buysse went about his business as usual and was helping the troops prepare for the big game at SMSU in Marshall. His mind was on the game.
He knew wife Kaley, an assistant and B squad volleyball coach, wasn’t expected to deliver their first child until Tuesday (November 7).
About two minutes into the game, with Matt Buysse on the sidelines, “We’d just made our first fumble,” Buysse recalls.
His telephone rang. It was Kaley.
“She was having an ultra sound and her water broke,” said Matt. So he ran out of the stadium and headed for the hospital. Later they became parents of their new eight pound, two ounce son RYKER.
And that meant Kaley would NOT be on the floor with the other coaches as Minneota pulled off the biggest upset ever, beating the Panthers to earn a spot in the state.
Coach Hayley Fruin (Yes, the coaches are Hayley and Kaley) laughed when asked about the newest Buysse’s untimely arrival.
“We are dedicating this win to RYKER,” she laughed. It’s doubtful little Ryker will realize for quite some time how he interrupted Minneota’s winning tradition. But Matt Buysse was philosophical about the whole thing.
“All the coaches have worked together so long, I doubt if they skipped a beat without me there.”
Well, they did win! As for Kaley, well, the other coaches picked up the slack and they, too, did WIN!
One thing is for sure, this new Ryker Buysse has to be labeled a winner.
LAUGH A LITTLE: Air-Headed Scene: A radio newsroom.
Caller: I just wanted to let you know you’re off the air.
Host: Yes, we know. The engineers are working on it.
Caller: It would be nice if you put something on the air that says that.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:
As my Ole Pappy used to say, “There are three solutions to every problem:1. Accept it; 2. Change it; 3. Leave it alone.”
In short, Ole Pappy would look me in the eye and say, “If you can’t accept what I said, change it for the better. If you can’t change it, get the heck out of the way!”
Thanks Ole Pappy!