Former Henry Sibley Athletic Director and Coach to Join MSHSL Hall of Fame

Dean Verdoes got his first taste of sports glory as a starter on the famed Edgerton basketball team that became the smallest school to ever win the Minnesota boys basketball tournament in 1960.

A basketball, football and baseball standout in high school, Verdoes played college basketball at Macalester College and then went on to coach, teach and administer sports at high schools and at tournaments throughout the state.

Verdoes coached basketball, football, soccer and golf and then served as athletic director at Henry Sibley High School for 12 years.

All those years of service in Minnesota athletics are going to be recognized Sunday.

Verdoes will be one of 13 Minnesotans who will receive the Minnesota State High School League's (MSHSL) highest honor and be inducted into its Hall of Fame Sunday, May 15. The event will begin at 1 p.m., in the Edinburgh USA Golf and Event Center in Brooklyn Park.

After graduating from Macalester, Verdoes began his coaching career at tiny Clarkfield High School and then Madison in southwestern Minnesota, near the South Dakota border. He then joined the teaching and coaching staff at Henry Sibley in 1970, starting as an assistant basketball coach and a math teacher.

“There’s lots of things you enjoy,” said Verdoes. “In my case, I loved the camaraderie of the other coaches.

"I love math teaching, too, but you never get to know the kids when there’s 30 in a math class like you do when you have 12 or 15 on a basketball team. So it’s just a lot of fun. When you reflect and look back, I always said I wish I could have been–I think I did a good job with the kids–but I wish I could have been 50 and started then with what I knew after being an AD for some years. It takes so much insight to really do a good job in coaching.”

At Sibley he started the soccer program and was the head soccer coach for 10 years. He was also the head boys basketball coach for seven years and an assistant for six more. He served as the head coach for the golf team for 10 years. He then switched hats and in 1986 became the school’s athletic director, a position he held for 12 years.

His soccer teams won two conference titles and had two second-place finishes. His most successful squads were his golf teams, which in 10 years won one conference title, had two second-place finishes, one region title and a second-place finish at state.

“We had some really good kids,” Verdoes said.

But Verdoes demurs when asked to name some of his favorite teams, athletes or memories from throughout the decades.

Oh, goodness, there’s so many,” he said.

“It all started out in high school,” Verdoes said. “When I was a senior we were undefeated state champions. This past winter we had a 50-year reunion of our team and it was really fun. Some of those guys I hadn’t seen guys in 40 years.

“Coaching-wise, it’s really hard to pick out which teams or which students were my favorites because there were so many,” he said.

As athletic director at Sibley he was named the Region 3AA Athletic Director of the Year in both 1988 and 1995. He retired in December of 1999.

Verdoes said that the one strength he feels he had as an AD was his development of other coaches by “mentoring them, talking to them, trying to give them insight into some things,”  and generally helping them develop longevity in the programs.

"It is an honor to recognize the 2011 Hall of Fame inductees," said Les Zellmann, president of the Minnesota State High School League Board of Directors. "They are extraordinary individuals who have earned scores of state and national awards for coaching, officiating, judging, and administering high school activity programs."

Verdoes has been very active in MSHSL activities in a variety of roles, serving as a region committee member, chairperson and a board member. At MSHSL tournaments, he’s served as Region 3AAA girls and boys golf tournament manager for a combined 24 years. He’s worked the state AA boys and girls golf tournament as manager for eight years. Verdoes has also been an assistant scorer at the state boys and girls basketball tournaments and worked at both the state track meet and football tournament. He continues to work at the football, basketball and golf state tournaments.

“I enjoy it a lot,” Verdoes said.

Verdoes is also on the “M” Club Board of Directors and chairs the Macalester College Hall of Fame.

The League's Hall of Fame, sponsored by Wells Fargo, was started in 1991. Inductees are chosen through a selection process that included league member schools and a committee of athletics, fine arts, and educational leaders. This year's induction brings the Hall of Fame membership to 186.