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Craig Mattick: Welcome to another edition of In Play. I'm Craig Mattick. Today's guest spent a career in education and administration. From a small town in southwest Minnesota, stops in California and Montana before becoming a part of a Christian school in Sioux Falls with a very successful athletic program. Of course, now he's enjoying retirement. 34 years as an educator and athletic director at Sioux Falls Christian. He's Jim Groen. Jim, welcome to In Play.
Jim Groen: Thanks a lot, Craig. It's a joy to be with you today.
Craig Mattick: I hope retirement is treating you well.
Jim Groen: Yes. Retirement is all that they tell me it was. It's certainly an adjustment. You go from what was a busy life, lots of activity, to now being able to name your own schedule and your own timeframe. So with all that, it's been a good start to retirement for sure.
Craig Mattick: I know athletic directors put a ton of hours in on the job, and I congratulate you, Jim, on the service you had for the kids and the community.
Jim Groen: Well, thanks, Craig. It was a joy to be a part of all of that. Having a real desire and love for athletics myself my whole life, being able to be in some way, be a part of kids' lives and mentor them along the way through athletics was really what I got into education and why I did it. So, it was a joy.
Craig Mattick: Jim, your hometown is Prinsburg, Minnesota. It's, what, southwest of Willmar. It's east of Montevideo and Granite Falls. Prinsburg population of, what, 500. Did you live in Prinsburg or were you a guy who lived on the farm?
Jim Groen: Yeah, I was a farm guy. We lived 10 miles straight north of Prinsburg. My dad and my uncle farmed together my whole life. And as you know, farm life, lots of things that come with that. You learn what hard work is all that was a good way for me to be raised on the farm in a loving family.
And I graduated from Central Minnesota Christian School in Prinsburg back in 1977, which is a long time ago, but along the way, had really great experiences. Enjoyed my athletics like a lot of ADs do.
Craig Mattick: Prinsburg doesn't have a public school, but it does have central Minnesota Christian, a Christian school there, enrollment about 90. Was there about 90 when you were there?
Jim Groen: Yeah, I believe my graduating class was 35, so we were a little over a hundred I believe for nine through 12 at that time. Small school, small community, great community to grow up in, great support for our Christian school with many churches in the area providing students and support of the school.
Craig Mattick: Central Minnesota Christian, they were the Blue Jays. Smaller schools certainly don't offer all the sports and extracurricular activities like the bigger schools, but what were you involved with at Central Minnesota Christian?
Jim Groen: I started my freshman year. I ran cross country and played basketball. Moved up through my sophomore through senior year, I played basketball, baseball, dropped cross country after one year. Found out I was more built for the basketball than baseball myself-
Craig Mattick: Sure.
Jim Groen: ... and enjoyed really a lot of great memories with teammates and just competitive games. We had a pretty successful athletic program back in the day, and basketball was probably my biggest love of all.
Craig Mattick: What were some of those schools that you would play, some of the rivalries and the conference that the Blue Jays were in?
Jim Groen: We weren't a part of a conference, but we had big rivalries with Clara City and Renville. Those were probably our two big rivalries. We ended up playing Benson, Danube, all those are smaller schools right around the area. Didn't have to travel too far for those games. Kerkhoven, another one that we'd play, like a lot of these smaller area towns, the small town rivalry certainly were part of growing up.
Craig Mattick: Yeah, it's 1977, you decided to go to Dordt College. Well, it's Dordt University today. It's in Sioux Center, Iowa. Why did you choose Dordt?
Jim Groen: Dordt was many of my own relatives, cousins, attended Dordt. Our denomination that I grew up in supported Dordt College. So, Dordt was certainly always on the horizon for me, and I had several of my classmates also go to Dordt, which made that move pretty logical for me.
Craig Mattick: Jim, I have checked most of the athletic records at Dordt. I did not see your name anywhere. What was going on with that? Are you involved with sports?
Jim Groen: I did play. I was on their men's basketball team for three years, my freshman year through my junior year at Dordt. I was, at best, a good role player. I prided myself in hard work and being a good teammate. I certainly was part of some really good Dordt teams back in that day. But to say I set any records, no, I was certainly not that.
Craig Mattick: You got your BA though, your Bachelor of Arts in elementary ed at Dordt, but you wanted more after that. You went off to the University of South Dakota. What was the decision to get your Masters at that time?
Jim Groen: Well, after four years in Montana, Manhattan Christian School, from there, about five years at Ontario Christian School in Ontario, California, moved back to South Dakota to Sioux Falls at Sioux Falls Christian. And after a few years here, I really felt a tug to get into the athletic director administration piece, and it made sense and logical for me to continue my education and get that Masters in athletic administration. So, I went to USD for that, and I believe I got that in 2009, if I remember right and use that to further my career as an athletic director.
Craig Mattick: So your first teaching job was right after Dordt, you went to Manhattan, Montana. That's in central Montana, population about 2000. By the way, Manhattan, the potato capital of Montana. So how did you get that gig right out of college there in Manhattan, Montana?
Jim Groen: Well, my wife and I, we were married between my junior and senior year at Dordt. So senior year, of course, you are finishing up all of your credits and looking forward to graduation. And to say that I had Manhattan, Montana, on my radar, I don't think I did, but yet was certainly looking for a education job.
As you can imagine back in those days, 1981, I graduated at Dordt. There was not the internet, there was not a large way to even find out about openings. So, a lot of these schools would send their material to the college with advertising of openings and so on. And so I often check the bulletin board and visit the placement office, and sure enough, this position was out there.
I interviewed with the couple of their school board members who came to the college, and they offered me a position as a fifth grade teacher for them. And my wife and I decided that was where we should go, and my wife was also at the time finishing up her degree. Our goal was to get close to a university that could help her to finish her degree.
And so Bozeman, Montana State was just down the road from Manhattan Christian. And so for a few reasons made sense for us to take that job.
Craig Mattick: It was the package, the package deal.
Jim Groen: And honestly, Craig, that was a really wonderful school to begin a career. We have wonderful memories of that area and are very grateful for that opportunity too.
Craig Mattick: Did you do any coaching at all?
Jim Groen: I did. Started out as a lot of us do in athletics, I coached seventh grade girls basketball and cut my teeth through that. But then after just a year, a high school position, boys basketball, JV coach, opened up, and would you know it, after one year of that, the varsity position opened up.
Craig Mattick: Sure, sure.
Jim Groen: I was given that job, and through a lot of just... I inherited a wonderful team, and believe it or not, we won the state tournament-
Craig Mattick: Wow.
Jim Groen: ... my third year as a teacher and first year varsity boys coach.
Craig Mattick: So, so far you've lived in the small towns of Prinsburg, Minnesota; Sioux Center, Iowa; Manhattan, Montana, and then you decided to take a job just west of Los Angeles, Ontario, California. I mean that population there is 185,000, Ontario Christian High, enrollment about 1200. How big of a culture shock was that, moving to a much bigger town than what you had been used to over the years?
Jim Groen: You're right. That was a big jump for us. A big reason for me to take that... People have often asked, "What made you make that jump?" Well, I had family in the Ontario Christian School area. That was a big reason for us. That was a big pull to get out there.
I had a few friends that were at that school, so it wasn't like I was totally in the dark as to that school, but we also, my wife and I are a bit adventurous, don't mind a challenge. And it just made sense to, we were young enough and felt a real tug to make that move and spend five years there.
Craig Mattick: What'd you teach?
Jim Groen: Say, I taught the same thing, fifth grade in the elementary school.
Craig Mattick: Coach?
Jim Groen: I coached basketball, not varsity. I was a freshman boys basketball coach. I had never coached anything football related, and lo and behold, through some circumstances-
Craig Mattick: Right place at the right time, Jim.
Jim Groen: Well, the head coach became a good friend of mine and convinced me to get into the football coaching arena, and so I did, and spent four years as a football coach as well.
Craig Mattick: But nothing as an athletic director at either of those first two schools?
Jim Groen: Right, no.
Craig Mattick: Did you think you'd be staying in California for a while?
Jim Groen: It's hard to say. I liked all teaching. It was a one-year contract every year, like a lot of privates did. And to say I wasn't looking to move, but yet all of our family, my wife grew up in the Bloomington, Minnesota area. My family, of course was the Prinsburg area, so it made sense to get back to family, to move closer here to Sioux Falls.
I did after five years there, another through circumstances, and I'll just say this, Craig, when you say circumstances, I believe that that's the Lord working through things to make those roads open up. The position at Sioux Falls Christian opened up. Again, interview and all, and we decided to pick up and move closer to home, to Sioux Falls.
Craig Mattick: Sioux Falls Christian, 30-plus years ago, a much smaller school than it is today. Enrollment now, what, over 1500. Beautiful campus on the southeast corner of Sioux Falls. But Jim, when you arrived at Sioux Falls Christian in 1990, that facility was on the east side of Sioux Falls, a much smaller facility. How many kids were enrolled there when you got there in 1990?
Jim Groen: As you said, the campus is on 18th and Sycamore. I don't know the exact numbers, Craig, but it was similar to what I was used to out in Minnesota, probably 30 to 33 kids a grade. So roughly 100, 110 kids, nine through 12. Again, a very well-supported, encouraging school, just a good place for us to land for sure.
Craig Mattick: Well, enrollment was growing, it was increasing those first 14 years, you're there. What was it like being in that old facility before you moved on to the new building? I mean, you guys were bursting at the seams at the old facility.
Jim Groen: When I moved to Sioux Falls Christian in 1990, I was assistant boys basketball coach under Head Coach [inaudible 00:16:29], and so the two of us were the boys basketball program. And that gym was certainly home court advantage in a few ways.
Craig Mattick: It was tight. Yes, it was.
Jim Groen: It was tight but also wonderful to play a game. And as you can imagine, Sioux Falls Christian loves its basketball, and that gym was often filled to the rafters and some wonderful memories of those kinds of nights, cold winter nights in a really, really hot gym. But it was fun to be a part of those years for sure.
Craig Mattick: Were you athletic director right away at Sioux Falls Christian?
Jim Groen: No, I came in 1990. In 1995, I became the head boys basketball coach, and then I did basketball. I did some golf, as we called boys golf. And then in 2002 was when I became athletic director, but at the time then I was also head basketball. From 02 to I believe it was 06 is when I was doing both AD and head boys basketball. And then in 06, I decided to get out of the head boys basketball and just wanted to be AD.
Craig Mattick: I'm trying to remember, I think, there was a year or two that Sioux Falls Christian made the state basketball tournament when you coaching?
Jim Groen: We did. We made it in, let's see, 97 and 98. Both of those were class B years. 97 we finished third. In 98, we finished fourth, and then we went again in 2002 as an A school and finished the fifth.
Craig Mattick: Yep, I think that's the O2 year. I remember running into you at the state tournament, and Sioux Falls Christian was one of those schools that maybe a lot of folks didn't really know much about, but by golly, you guys eventually had to move out off of the east side of Sioux Falls and move to the southeast corner, a 100,000 square foot facility. What was it like once you got into the new facility?
Jim Groen: Well, it was much bigger, much nicer. A lot of those things that you get with a new campus, a new building, it was a very nice move for our school. We were able to over the time then eventually bring on our elementary students as well. And so became now a PK through 12 campus, everybody under one roof. And with that comes nicer upgraded facilities and a good move for the school.
Craig Mattick: More room for enrollment, and because of enrollment increasing, you're able maybe to add more sports. What sports did you add after the move to the new facility?
Jim Groen: Oh boy, new facility. We moved there in 2004. We've added girls soccer, we've added boys football, [inaudible 00:20:18] golf. We added girls softball, boys and girls tennis, and I'm trying to think if I'm missing anything.
Craig Mattick: Maybe cheer and dance too.
Jim Groen: We had cheer and dance for just I think two years. But since then, that program has not continued.
Craig Mattick: Sure. But you do also share some of the athletic facilities with the University of Sioux Falls, certainly with football, soccer and track. What did that mean to get that relationship with the University of Sioux Falls?
Jim Groen: Well, that was a big part of our move to that location was discussions with University of Sioux Falls. I was not a part of all of those. Our administration between the two schools certainly did most of that leg work, but a big reason for us to move there was the joint use and being able to be a part of those three large athletic fields was a big plus.
Craig Mattick: Past 25 years, there's been great success for sports at Sioux Falls Christian, a number of state titles. A lot of the success, Jim, is because of growing enrollment, but also you've had success with hiring really good coaches for the 14 sports that is offered there. As an athletic director, when you're hiring a coach, what were you looking for?
Jim Groen: You're right. The cornerstone of all of the programs that we offer, you need people that are, number one, committed to a faith that our school holds dear and also to committed to developing young people, men and women, to grow in their God-given abilities. And that's a real high priority for our school and myself.
When I would interview for the head of the coaches, those kinds of questions were one of the first that would be asked. And we, as a school, were very fortunate to be able to include some of the names that are out there with our programs. They're just top-notch, I think, the best across the state that our program has been blessed to have as coaches.
Craig Mattick: Let's start on the girls side, the Chargers, they've won state titles in golf and soccer, track and volleyball, in fact, volleyball, 13 titles over 17 years, and Darci Wassenaar, the head coach. What was it about Darci when you hired her some 24 years ago?
Jim Groen: I think that was my first year as an AD, and I think she might've been my first hire. And she was an obvious choice, came to us with good recommendations from, she was Dordt College grad and success as an athlete there. What she's done speaks for itself, not only does she win, but she wins the right way. And our kids are just mentored in such a wonderful Christian manner, and she's the best I think across the state.
Craig Mattick: Girls in soccer and track also have recently won state titles at Sioux Falls Christian. What were the girls programs like when you first got to Sioux Falls Christian?
Jim Groen: We actually had a very good girls basketball program. If you remember back in those early 90s, Wakanda had quite a big run of girls basketball teams with Ron Flynn as their coach. And we were in, I believe, it was their same region to get to the state tournament. So, we had to run into them those years, and we gave them some very good games, I remember as our girls' basketball, but came up short with them.
But our girls' basketball program was always very good. Volleyball, of course, throughout our history, even back in those early days, was good. Several state tournament appearances, just no titles. We didn't have a lot, no track, of course, again. Good, the state titles were hard to come by. But it certainly has grown to be... Our program has been very successful.
Craig Mattick: And then on the boys side, the Chargers offer basketball, golf, tennis, soccer, track. But then you decided to add football. I remember those discussions. What was it like? It's about, what, 2010 or so? You want to start with a junior varsity schedule. Talk about who you needed to start the program and how to get it going.
Jim Groen: So, we actually added football in 2007 and our first coach was Bob Gary. And adding a football program, one of the harder sports I think to add, just lots of moving parts, equipment, and a big thing is to get the right coach that can develop the interest.
Craig Mattick: And you did.
Jim Groen: Yeah, you're right. We did. I didn't have a lot of background on Bob. I still remember the very first time he walked in my office. And for everybody who knows Bob knows what a great, sweet man he is, and so friendly, a little soft-spoken, but yet obviously had such a love for kids. And those years are just wonderful memories of him creating a desire for kids to play football.
We didn't have a lot of kids that, because our soccer program, to be honest, has had quite a long history of good soccer. And one of the questions that we had about adding football was could we support both a soccer program and a football program? And we felt we could. And it certainly was not easy those first years.
We went two years, as you mentioned, as a JV program. And then in 2009, we played a varsity schedule and went through some real difficult years of wins, losses, keeping kids in the program and all those things that come with it. But Bob stuck with it. I think he was there for five years and got us off on the right foot.
Craig Mattick: Well, eventually a state title in 2017 and you repeated in 2018. So what was it like with Bob watching that program build from the ground up and get a couple of state titles?
Jim Groen: Well, following Bob, we had Jake Pettengill as our next head coach, but all along Bob was of course a great supporter and encourager and even in the background was always there to offer his encouragement to the program. Jake developed even probably got our kids more in the weight room.
As our enrollment grew, we got more numbers out for football and eventually, in 17 broke through with a championship and then we're able to back it up the next year. And since then, it's been a very good program. Well even this past year, as you know, we got to the title game again this year and came up a little bit short, but just good numbers in our program for sure.
Craig Mattick: So boys golf, they have about eight state titles, tennis has two, this is on the boys side, basketball, three, track has six, but boys soccer, six titles. You've had Kendall Velgersdyk and Ephron Poyer and Ethan Poulter is your head coaches here over the past 15 years. How would you describe that success, and how did that success come for soccer?
Jim Groen: Well, soccer, as I mentioned, when I even got here in 1990, that was probably the sport, besides basketball, basketball's always been probably our biggest participation sport. But soccer has always been a favorite amongst our students, and I think it helps too that we're living in Sioux Falls.
We have all the soccer leagues and really good coaching at the younger levels, at the youth levels, and so our kids just have always done well for those reasons. Our boys program is second to none and we just throughout the years... This year we made the jump to AA in boys, a great season, great year again, came up a little short in the playoffs. But wonderful tradition of our boys soccer for sure.
And in our girls this year, don't want to leave them out. Our girls won our first state title this year and over the last 10 years especially have gradually seen that sport just develop and get more and more success too.
Craig Mattick: What was the discussion like moving boys soccer from class A to AA?
Jim Groen: Well, I think our boys over the last several years, but for sure in the last five years, I think we had won three titles I think in the last five years. He had always been in our class A, while they already were moving up to AA for enrollment reasons. And so we felt for competitive need, we felt there'd be wise for us to investigate moving up to AA. The state allows schools to petition up and we did. And I think it was a good move for a lot of reasons.
Craig Mattick: Jim, you were in charge of 14 different sports for Sioux Falls Christian, athletic director for some 35 years. What are the biggest challenges facing athletic directors today?
Jim Groen: As an AD, there's a lot of voices that are in your ear for a lot of different things. Everybody has a passion for something, and typically parents are parents, they have a passion for their child. Whatever their child is doing, that's obviously very important to them.
And as an AD, you get those kinds of pressures about success and how something should be done and why it's not done this way. Like I said, there's just a lot of voices come from a lot of different directions. As an AD, I always felt it was my job to listen but not always be swayed in a certain direction. Try to keep what's most important the most important. And as a Christian school, it was my number one goal to always focus on staying true, as a school, what we believe is the authority given to us by God and to keep that in the forefront.
Craig Mattick: Looking back over your time at Sioux Falls Christian, Jim, are there any certain state tournaments which stood out for you, maybe a first appearance for a state event or a specific state title?
Jim Groen: Well, it's hard to, I guess, think back as something... Anytime as a coach for me, as I mentioned, I was a head boys coach in Montana, and my first year out of [inaudible 00:34:20], our team won the state title up there, which I think back to those years and can't hardly believe that that actually happened, but it did, have such great memories of that.
And then here at Sioux Falls Christian, state tournament appearances, state championships, all the different sports, our school has been blessed in so many ways athletically. I think the envy of a lot of communities, and the fact that we do gain a lot of those titles. What I just keep thinking I'm most proud of is, as we talked earlier, the focus that our coaches put, and I can honestly say they are not totally focused on winning a state title.
That happens along the way, but they do it because they develop strong, the mental piece of it. But just a strong team philosophy working together. So, the years as an AD at our school had been wonderful years for me.
Craig Mattick: When you are at an event now for Sioux Falls Christian, do you watch the event differently now, now that you're retired?
Jim Groen: Well, I do. I've honestly not attended a lot of events in person. I want to be able just, I guess, be in the background as much as I can. New athletic director, Micah Thompson, she's just very qualified. I've been really impressed with her and how she manages the program since I've left. I want to be able to allow her to put her stamp on the program.
Believe me, I still watch from afar. Even today, we can watch on the screen, which is a great thing to be able to do. So I certainly follow our teams closely. I have an interest in our kids. I care about how they do. So, it is different to being a retired AD, for sure.
Craig Mattick: Two more for Jim. What's keeping you busy with retirement today?
Jim Groen: My son lives in town. He and his wife and their three kids, I found that I've always been a handyman kind of guy. I enjoy doing handyman things over at their house. Babysitting grandkids is a part of it. My wife is still working, but she's retiring soon, and the hope and our goal is to both be retired together and spend some time traveling.
I've got a son in Florida and his family in Jacksonville, Florida. We've got a daughter in Minneapolis, and so traveling will be a part of what we do down the road for sure.
Craig Mattick: What do you suppose the folks back in Prinsburg, Minnesota, population 500, what do you think they think about Jim Groen today? It's got to be small town boy done good in the big city.
Jim Groen: Well, I guess I don't know how to answer that, except I really am... I think, as anybody does when they retire, you look back over your span of education for me. I've been in a Christian school ever since I went to my first. I was not a kindergarten guy, I jumped right into first grade. So first grade all the way through college, I was in a Christian school.
Prinsburg certainly was, as I mentioned, a small town community, but very supportive. I still think of that as my hometown and appreciate my growing up years, as we should.
Craig Mattick: In Play with Craig Mattick has made possible by Horton in Britton, where smiling at work happens all the time. Apply now at Hortonww.com. If you like what you're hearing, please give us a five star review wherever you get your podcast. It helps us gain new listeners. This has been In Play with me, Craig Mattick. This is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
