Seniors Blocker and Denstad reflect on playing sports for 3 seasons, community and culture

Caledonia's motto is "a city for all seasons" and that includes high school sports.

The Argus sat down with two senior athletes Owen Denstad and Isaac Blocker, in order to give something of a spotlight on two local three-sport athletes, their insights on their experiences and how their year was going.

Denstad and Blocker play three sports for Caledonia Area Public High School. Both recently had success at the state level in wrestling and have illustrious football careers, as well as winning academic awards during the wrestling season.

One of the first things talked about was how the year was going, but it quickly evolved into some deeper thinking about what Caledonia’s sporting culture means to them, how the community affects athletes and what led to their success.

Both Owen and Isaac broached the subject of community and culture in their talk about how the year was going: spaghetti dinners with teammates, having a common goal and just having friends in sports with common interests were similar themes.

Owen said, “The team aspect was huge, it makes it fun; and we all want the same thing. We believed in the system and we were a good team because of it.” He expounded about wrestling and how the wrestling practice room is a place for the team to come together and support each other, and how baseball was a “time with the boys” where late practices would lead the team to go to one house to hang out more after practice.

For Isaac, football had a similar effect – the importance of the team, establishing friendships and building bonds in the sports they love. He said, “Football made us respect each other, going to war in the trenches on the field, giving it your all, you build respect for one another out there.”

Isaac talked about the journey in wrestling throughout his career, from having trouble accepting losses to learning how to handle nerves and anxiety through guidance from his parents and coaches.

After an injury, Isaac explained how he had to work and put in the time switching from baseball to golf, “I was terrible at golf, but over the course of my first season, I was able to improve my strokes by 30 just by putting the time in and working hard to improve my game.”

The subject matter naturally swapped to the effect of parents as well. Isaac got into wrestling, because he saw his brother wrestle.

“They drove countless miles for me and my brother, I’ll be forever grateful for it. As you grow up, you realize how much they did.”

Owen added, “Your parents just have a sense for these things. If I have a bad practice or a bad match, my mom will always ask what I need; she’s always there for me.”

Isaac followed up “When you’re young, you cry when you lose a match, but my Dad was always the first one off the mat to meet me when I lost.”

They also talked about the importance of coaching, with many coaches — too many to list here — being big influences in their lives.

“The coaches in this community donate a lot of time to the athletes," said Owen. "They teach us not only sports concepts, but life concepts as well.”

Both athletes agreed that the notion of working through the hard times really resonated with them and helped them out in both their personal and sporting lives.

Lastly, they talked about giving youngsters the opportunity to play sports and showing them that it’s available.

“Coach Fruechte told us that the little kids look up to us, so we have to have fun in the sports we play, and that will resonate with them,” Owen said.

Isaac also gave credit to the Caledonia Park and Recreation Department and their great sports programs. “If they get in early and build those friendships, this stuff becomes their life. Sports, Community, School,” Owen finished.

Astutely, both athletes made it a big point to point out how limiting their screen time in video games allowed them to devote time to sports.

In addition to school work and spring sports, both will run practices for Open Wrestling, which started this week. It's on Sundays from 6-7:30 p.m., in the City Auditorium basement.

Isaac will be taking part on the boys golf team this spring; look for him at the Ma Cal Grove Golf Course. Owen will be playing baseball; come to the field and support the squad.

If your child is interested in playing sports, don’t hesitate to contact Scott Sorenson, the athletic director for Caledonia schools for more information.