Pedersen, Turchany named to Hall of Fame
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Monday, August 31, 2009 8:00 AM CDT
For The News
Dan Pedersen was raised in Eau Claire, the third oldest of nine children. Graduating from Regis High School in 1969, Dan earned 12 varsity letters in 4 sports earning all conference, all district and all state awards. At the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Dan lettered four years as a defensive back and kicker. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree hi Geography and Physical Education. Dan earned his Masters Degree hi Education from Winona State in 1980. He was distinguished with the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year Award in 1995.
During the fall of 1974, Dan began his career at Elk Mound High School as a physical education teacher and head coach of football and track. It was 5 years later in 1979 that Coach Pedersen started his head basketball coaching position. During nearly three decades, Coach Pedersen worked the hardwood and the grass. Coach Pedersen has been most recently recognized for his contributions in football by being inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
After 25 seasons in basketball, Coach Pedersen’s record stands at 365-186. His teams achieved ten conference championships, 4 regional championships and two state final appearances at Madison’s field house. Coach Pedersen’s teams will always be remembered for their teamwork and fundamental play.
A long time member of the WBCA, Dan served as an assistant for the WBCA Ail-Star Game and served as a member of the WIAA Basketball Coaches Advisory Committee. The WBCA deserves special recognition for helping Coach Pedersen achieve his goals as a basketball coach.
Coach Pedersen reflects upon his early experiences and credits much of his competitive nature and athletic accomplishments to his parents, who provided participation in all activities, and the quest for challenges honed from the many sibling rivalries and competitions that occur among eight brothers and sisters. Dan values the support he received from his recently deceased father-in-law, Bob Knutson, for his years of personal loyalty.
He and his wife, Jane, who is his best friend, have been married for 39 years. He wants to thank her and their children-Paul (Julie) and Jenny (Kevin) for their endless love, encouragement and support and for allowing basketball to be a passionate part of their lives. Dan has five additional fans in grandchildren: Jake, Jenae, Cameron, Caden and Chase.
Dan shares this award with all his coaches and thanks them for their loyalty, dedication and lifetime friendships. A special thanks to Dan’s longtime assistant, Jack Curtis, who always taught fundamentals of the game and always brought him peace at the tune of war. Coach Pedersen also appreciates the privilege of working in a quality school district such as Elk Mound and thanks the administration, especially the honor to work with Jay Silvernail, long time athletic director and friend, whose guidance and support provided a great work environment for Mounder success. And finally, a sincere thanks to the many dedicated athletes and their families who made this award possible.
Roger Turchany
Roger Turchany graduated from Boyceville High School and UW-Stout. He coached at Campbellsport High School for 30 years, five years as JV coach and 25 years as the Cougars' head varsity coach.
During his twenty-five years as head coach, he established a very competitive program with an overall record of 327 wins and 212 loses. In this twenty-five year span, the Cougars won five conference titles, three regional titles, one sectional title and finished second in the 1992 Division II state tournament.
Roger had five different players chosen to play in the WBCA All-Star games and was also an assistant Ail-Star coach in 1992 and head Ail-Star coach in 1993 for South Division II teams. He worked on the South Division II All-Star player selection committee for 20 years, chairing the committee for 10 of those years. He has been a WBCA member for twenty-six years and is now a lifetime member.
His coaching philosophy at Campbellsport was built around discipline, dedication, determination, desire and character. He and his staff established these attributes throughout the grade school and high school programs. They worked hard at developing a "team attitude" and the teams were family that supported each other through the good and bad tunes. Coach always wanted his teams to play hard and instilled his philosophy that "good things happen to good people" and this would reward them the rest of their lives. He and his staff wanted the teams to be "mentally tough" and have "class" in victory as well as defeat. The person with "class" makes everyone feel comfortable because that person is comfortable with himself or herself.
As varsity coach at Campbellsport, Roger was so fortunate to have had great assistant coaches that were loyal and dedicated to the program. He had great young people to work with that are now successful in their own right and the reason for his success. He owes a great debt of gratitude to his wife, Joanne for she gave him patience when he needed to walk and an ear when he needed to talk. And he thanks his family and friends for all of their support and encouragement through the years.
There is no one that starts out their coaching career thinking about being inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame. Roger is truly humbled by this honor and grateful for all the great people and great memories that have crossed his life on the coaching path. We all owe so much to so many.
Hall of Fame Inductees
2009 high school coaches
Paul Aleckson-D.C. Everest H. S. Dave Borowicz—Milwaukee Tech H. S. Jack Culhane—Marathon H.S. Tom Downey—Fennimore H. S. Bruce Erickson—Kohler H. S. Bob Miller-Fall Creek H. S. Dan Pedersen—Elk Mound H. S. Rich Roginski—Eleva-Strum H. S. Roger Turchany—Campbellsport H. S. Dennis Uppena—Cassville H. S. Lon Wilson—Bloomer H. S.
College coaches
Rick Bowen-UW-River Falls Steve Larson—Edgewood College Dolph Stanley—Beloit College
Friends of basketball
Tom Handlen—Sun Prairie Al Tetzlaff-Milwaukee Cliff Thompson—Sauk Prairie Jack Waterman—Wisconsin Dells
Referees
Doug Holt—Madison
Players
Keith Burington—Monroe H. 5. Dick Cable-Stevens Point H. S. Mickey Crowe—St. Nazianz JFKPrep Nate DeLong—Chippewa Falls H. S. Paul Morrow-St. Croix Falls H. S.
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