Inducted October 10 to the Minnesota State High School Coaches Hall of Fame
“I was honored; humbled.” That was the initial reaction of Eugene “Gene” Hildebrandt of St. James when he was told that he would be a part of the Class of 2015 inducted into the Minnesota State High School Coaches Hall of Fame (HOF) of the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association (MSHSCA).
The HOF began in 1980.
“I never even though about it; that I would be recognized for my coaching of multiple sports,” states Hildebrandt (known as “Gener” in his youth and high school years – and still today by many).
During ceremonies held at Sheraton West Minneapolis in Minnetonka on Saturday evening, October 10, the Mountain Lake native -a 1974 grad of Mountain Lake Public High School (MLHS) – was inducted into the elite group.
“Legendary MLHS teacher, principal – coach – Burt Munson, was inducted to the HOF posthumously in 1982,” shares Hildebrandt. “I mean . . . Burt Munson. He was legendary. That name means so much to Mountain Lake Lakers. And I am recognized in a group of coaches along with him.
“I remember delivering the daily newspaper to Burt, and talking to him about sports and coaching. That’s incredible,” Hildebrandt says in awe.
Other area coaches who are part of the HOF include Arnold “Judge” Veglahn of St. James (Class of 1983), Chester Bisel of Lynd and Butterfield (Class of 1987), Steve Kjorness of Westbrook/Walnut Grove (Class of 2001), Wayne Heisinger of Heron Lake (Class of 2009) and Carolyn Hummel of Lakefield and Jackson County Central (Class of 2012).
Route to coaching legend
Hildebrandt primarily became a coaching legend in the state by building a powerhouse wrestling program at St. James. He coached wrestling at the school for 33 years – 27 of those as head coach.
However, as the coach notes, this honor recognizes all of his coaching experiences.
On top of his years coaching wrestling, Hildebrandt has spent 32 years coaching football, 19 years coaching girls softball and one year of girls basketball.
All told, that adds up to 85 years of coaching.
During his tenure, the Saints’ wrestling squads tallied a 471-132-2 record. This includes a duo of state championships – in 1989 and 1998. Over the course of his coaching years, teams additionally won nine region/section championships, and despite the fact that St. James is the smallest school in the South Central Conference, his wrestlers won 12 conference titles and finished as runner-up 10 times.
On the individual wrestler level, Hildebrandt was the coach for seven state champion wrestlers, six runners-up and 11 third-place finishes. He coached 91 conference champions, 66 section champions and 112 state qualifiers.
As he built the wrestling program at the school, Hildebrandt was recognized as Section Wrestling Coach of the Year eight times, State wrestling Coach of the Year twice. He is also a member of the St. James Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Hildebrandt shares that he has been a member of the MSHSCA since beginning his coaching career, and that, “I have had the chance to live the dream here; to be able to coach all of these sports.”
In the classroom at St. James High School
Hildebrandt graduated from Mankato State University (today, Minnesota State University-Minnesota) and came to the school district in 1981, where he taught special education. In 1995, he became Dean of Students. While serving as dean, Hildebrandt also teaches a high school class for at-risk youth with a curriculum focusing on social skills and making good life choices and decisions.
Achievements not done all alone
Most of all, he emphasizes that he did not achieve his coaching success all alone, “It is all about the athletes, coaches, mentors and parents. And, of course, family support” – including from his wife, Julie and children, Sarah, Danielle and Ethan. “Being a coach is very time-consuming, and coaches need their families behind them.”
In fact, Hildebrandt even looks back to what he gleaned from the coaches he had as a youth and in high school. “In wrestling I learned so much from Coach Curt Grenier, Coach Buzz Tewes and Coach Dale Werner,” Hildebrandt recalls. “And then in high school football there was Coach (and Uncle) Blaine Klingsporn, Coach Marty Skow and Coach John Weir; in high school baseball it was Coach Eric Johnson. Paul Metcalf was my VFW baseball coach and, for a year, cross country coach, and even further back, my Little League baseball coach Merle Peterson. Coach Weir additionally got me involved in phy ed leadership, and through that high school class, I learned all the requirements and skills necessary to be a teacher and a coach. All of them greatly influenced me.”
Even his parents – Yvonne “Vonnie” and the late Leroy Hildebrandt – were “coaches” for their six children in a very special parental way. Recalls Hildebrandt, “They never asked us IF we were going to participate in a sport; if it was fall, they asked what sport we were going to do, winter, spring summer – all also the same,” emphasizes Hildebrandt. “My dad always stressed to us when we were kids – that was the time to get out and do it; the time to get out and play – ‘cuz later in life you have a job and other responsibilities. Plus, my folks knew that when we (my brothers, sisters and I) were participating in sports we would be able to learn in practice a ton of important things of which they talked to us about – commitment, teamwork, responsibility and what hard work can achieve.”
In high school, Hildebrandt ran cross country as a sophomore – the first year of a team at MLHS – but switched to football and lettered the last two years of his high school career. He also lettered four years in both wrestling and baseball.
Words for young coaches
Hildebrandt’s advice for young coaches reflects how he also handles his classroom and dean duties – “Inclusion. Coach inclusion. Coach all the kids, not just those who have natural talent or who are average,” he declares. “Reach out to all skill levels. Make it fun, then throw in the skills. And know this – the athletes will mature; don’t give up on any of them. Give them all your knowledge of and love and passion for the sport.”
Hildebrandt stepped down from the position of head wrestling coach following the 2013 season, spending time coaching junior high wrestling the following two years. “But last wrestling season was the finale for me,” Hildebrandt states. “I have been told by many successful coaches that you will know when it is time to ‘hang it up,’ and that time is now.
“You know, when you are doing it (coaching), the time flies; it doesn’t seem that it has been this long,” reflects Hildebrandt. “The time has flown past. I hope others – athletes I coached and their families – had as much fun and got as much out of it as I did. I sure have an awful lot of memories from being a coach.
“Now . . . I bought a crossbow – and I am going deer hunting.”
