By JACE FREDERICK | jfrederick@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer PressPUBLISHED: August 28, 2017 at 4:56 p.m. | UPDATED: August 28, 2017 at 4:56 p.m.
It was going to take a special opportunity to get Tyler Krebs to leave Burnsville High School.
The football coach had built what was a middling program over the past decade into a true contender in Class 6A. Under Krebs’ direction since 2011, Burnsville advanced to the state tournament in 2015, its first such appearance in 20 years. The Blaze went 16-5 over the past two seasons, developing into one of the south metro’s true powers.
“I was very happy with my teaching job, the coaching job, my family was very invested in the community,” Krebs said.
But then Larry Thompson, who Krebs played for at Lakeville in the early ‘90s, retired from his post at Lakeville South this offseason. The chance for Krebs to come home was too good to pass up.
“I was a Lakeville grad, my wife was a Lakeville grad, I played for Coach Thompson, so the ability to take over the program from him, there was a teaching job that fit, all of the stars aligned,” Krebs said. “It was not easy. It was one of the tougher things we had to do, but it feels right, and it’s been a lot of fun so far.”
The signs of home are everywhere. Krebs said some of the coaches he played for are on his staff, including Thompson, who is staying on to coach the ninth-graders. Some of his friends growing up are also on staff, and some of his friends have kids on the team.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “A lot of people have reached out to me.”
It seems odd for a coach to jump from one job in the South Suburban Conference for another, but Krebs was welcomed with open arms by players who witnessed what their new coach can do for a program.
“When we heard that Coach Krebs was going to be our coach, we were excited,” senior running back Logan Gudmundson said. “We were excited to have a coach that we knew was well-respected and a good coach.”
Krebs’ impact is already being felt. Senior defensive back Brady Torborg said there’s more energy and intensity in the classroom watching film, in the weight room and on the field.
“He didn’t dilly dally at all,” senior defensive lineman Matt Borowicz said. “Very organized. As soon as he came to South everybody accepted him and he accepted us, as well. He has every characteristic that a great coach has: the smarts, the talent, the history of being it. Everything in his background is just unbelievable, and he’s great for our program.”
Lakeville South struggled last season, going 1-8 while being shut out four times. But Krebs said those struggles were partially because of circumstance. Jake Flynn, who was set to be a team captain and the starting quarterback, died in a car accident in December 2015. The Cougars had a turnover margin of minus-15 last year and were hampered by injuries.
“They just had one of those years last year where everything that could go wrong, went wrong,” Krebs said.
Krebs has developed three pillars for building a successful program, a process he developed while playing under Thompson and John Oxton at Lakeville, refined as an assistant coach at Eastview and mastered at Burnsville. You need a quality coaching staff, strength program and player development system and a good youth program.
Krebs said Lakeville South is much further along in these areas than Burnsville was when he took over in 2011, but he’s made some slight changes. He brought in coach Scott Sahli from Burnsville to run the strength program, made some “minor adjustments” in the youth program and bolstered the coaching staff with additional hires.
In Burnsville, he said there was a five-year plan to build the program into a championship contender. He feels the Cougars can compete for titles much, much sooner.
“The hard part for us is it’s been a while since they’ve had a championship team here,” Krebs said. “That’s our goal, to compete right away this year … so that’s been the big thing is to try to break through (to them) on how good we can be right away.
“We call it brainwashing. Everything we talk about is championships, and if you say it enough hopefully they start believing and buying into it. Obviously, we hope we have a few good games right away to get things rolling for us. But a lot of it’s mental. I told the kids I believe in them and we can build right away, but it doesn’t matter what I believe.”
