It has always been easy for me to think of all that I have to be thankful for during the Thanksgiving holiday. I instantly think of my beautiful wife, our four children, my parents, my brother, and many wonderful friends. In essence, I always think of family. TheThanksgiving holiday is good in that it emphasizes the importance of spending time with family and those closest to us.
As a coach, there are many people that I am thankful for. While I know I will miss a few people in this column, here is a snapshot of the people I am thankful for in the world of Cook County athletics….
Athletic Director Pam Taylor
Not only did head volleyball coach Pam Taylor have a terrific volleyball season with a school best 20-4 record, but she is also a great athletic director. Despite not having any duty time at school for her role as athletic director, Taylor puts in extra hours of service to make sure all of our athletic programs are running smoothly. Her “after hours” commitment to our student-athletes and the athletic programs is a true service to our school and greater community.
The varsity coaching staff
at Cook County Schools
For such a small and isolated community, we continue to be blessed with coaches who are dedicated to our studentathletes. Many of these fantastic coaches are not teachers, but members of our community that dedicate themselves to our youth. In addition to our head coaches at school in T.J. Super (girls’ basketball), John Muus (tennis), and Pam Taylor (volleyball), I am thankful for all of our coaches outside of the school building. I think of Chris Hegg and his incredible job with the crosscountry running and track programs; Mark and Kelly Summers who coach Nordic skiing; Jessie Anderson who coaches softball; Jim Vick who coaches downhill skiing; and Arleigh Jorgenson who coaches baseball.
Our dedicated
assistant coaches
We have many dedicated assistant coaches at all levels of competition (varsity, junior varsity, and junior high) who are not only great coaches, but tremendous adult role models for our young people. I am always amazed at the tremendous amount of time and effort that these coaches dedicate to their respective athletes.
Youth coaches
They make our Community Education youth programs a possibility. Each year it gets tougher and tougher to find coaches to help out with our elementary athletic programs. I know that in the programs I oversee specifically, I am so incredibly grateful for the time and effort these volunteers give to our programs. Rod Dockan has done a great job coaching youth basketball. I also really appreciate the efforts of Chris Goettl, Rick Crawford, Paul Sporn, Mike Prom, and Jeremy Somnis who made the flag football program a huge success. There are numerous other volunteer coaches like Bob Baker in baseball and others in volleyball and other activities we offer our youth.
Our secretarial staff
Cindy Everson and Sally Deschampe put in all kinds of time with numerous school obligations, and they still find a way to have game programs printed, updated grade reports for student-athletes, and an uncanny way of letting us know which student-athletes could benefit from a healthy dose of a coach’s influence. In addition, updated budgets from Cindy Carpenter-Straub, help with student activity accounts and orders from Kathy Johnson, and Lori Backlund’s professionalism in the Community Education officemake life a lot easier for all coaches.
Dedicated and
supportive parents
I am continually humbled and impressed with the dedication and support coaches receive from our parents in Cook County. While everyone’s son or daughter can’t always be the star player, a starter, or even compete at the varsity level, our parents have been great advocates for our student-athletes. Your love for your children is inspiring and our coaches are very thankful.
Many others too
numerous to mention
There are many other people that we are so fortunate to have working with and for our children. Bus drivers, custodians, supportive businesses and community members, our booster club, our community radio station WTIP, many numerous volunteers, anonymous donors who have given thousands of dollars to help our athletic programs stay afloat, and others.
As with any article where you are seeking to thank people, I run the risk of missing people. I know that as soon as I submit this article, I will think of many more people I could write about. Please know this article was not intended to short anyone of praise, but rather to show our community how blessed we are to have so many good people working with our youth. As a parent, coach, teacher, and community member, I am very thankful that my children can grow up in the great community of Cook County.
Our student-athletes
Last on my list, but certainly not least: our student athletes. I am very thankful for these dedicated and passionate young people who strive for excellence. Our school, and in many ways, our community, is all about you! You make us proud.
Mitch Dorr, a Cook County High
School Class of 1993 graduate, is
now a social studies teacher and
coach at his former alma mater.
Mitch coaches Vikings football
and boys’ basketball. Coach Dorr’s
comments do not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the ISD 166 school
board or administration.
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