The Trust Project
EDGERTON -- Have you ever thought about the impact sports excellence can have on a young person?
I mean the young person who watches older kids participate and win championships.
We tend to think that children might be far too young to be affected long-term when they see their town win a state high school title. Take them along to the games, buy them a Coca-Cola and a twisted pretzel, and forget about it after it’s over.
But maybe you’ve got a son or daughter who’s sports-minded. So you tell him or her how marvelous it can be to become a champion, and when you get them home you wonder to yourself if what they’d just seen might have made an impact.
Sometimes, it truly does. Sometimes, one single memory can carry over for years.
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Dawson Rieck is a senior boys basketball player at Southwest Minnesota Christian High School, and he’s been an important contributor on the varsity team since he was a 10th grader. His identification with the Eagles came earlier than that.
Way back in 2013, when Southwest last won a state boys basketball championship with an 81-73 victory over Maranatha Christian Academy in the Class A championship game, Rieck took notice. He recalls:
“In 2013 I believe I was a third-grader, so just watching that team get to state and win the state tournament, and achieve their goal, was just another thing on the list that would make me a little bit better, to get better at basketball and want to win state again.”
Today, Rieck is a leader on the 2022-23 Eagles team, a prolific scorer and floor leader. And the Eagles, as usual, are one of the top teams in the area. Winning has been regular with Southwest Minnesota Christian under veteran head coach Jamie Pap. They always aim high. And they often get there. And Rieck is pursuing a dream that began when he was a boy.
“Here at SWC there’s always the pressure of being good. I think that we always have the weight on our shoulders to be good, but it always pushes us to be the best we can,” Rieck said.
When The Globe asked Rieck to identify his best qualities as a player, he could’ve said something about his shooting skills or his passing abilities. Instead, he talked about his desire to help make his teammates better.
“Just leading the team in the way I think we should be leading,” he explained. “As a point guard, I bring the ball up, so just getting the offense going. And also by being a vocal leader, letting everyone know where they should be at all times.”
Rieck has learned his lessons well. Basketball is a team sport, and it’s only by working together as a team that a team can win a state title -- like the one won in 2013.
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We spoke with this week’s Globe Drill subject, Dawson Rieck, recently at one of his Southwest Minnesota Christian practices. You can see the video online at www.dglobe.com . Here’s a sample of the interview:
QUESTION: What is the most valuable advice you’ve received as an athlete?
ANSWER: “I think the most valuable advice I’ve received is that if you miss a shot or anything, just forget about it. If you make a bad play, just forget about it and move on.”
QUESTION: What’s the most interesting thing about you that some people don’t know?
ANSWER: “A lot of people don’t know that I’m color blind, actually. It’s hard to explain, but some things are just a little bit duller. It’s like, if the red and the green are by each other, it’s just a little bit harder. I don’t know if it’s red or green.”
QUESTION: After you graduate, what’s next for you?
ANSWER: “I plan to attend a 4-year university, which I have not decided on yet. I hope to play basketball there and major in some sort of sports or exercise science. The reason I would pick exercise science is because I’ve been around sports my whole life, and I just love it. And in eighth grade I broke my leg and I had to be around physical therapists and all that, and I think it would be really cool to be a part of.”
