(Oakland) Former Riverside football coach Burke Swenson discusses his love and passion for coaching in this week’s edition of Why I Coach.
Swenson considered two career paths…optometry and education/coaching. He went with the latter. “The love of sport and the opportunity to coach at that next level, obviously I knew I wasn’t going to be a professional athlete after college so it just seemed like a natural way to continue my enjoyment of sports. I was very fortunate growing up in Osage, Iowa I had some outstanding people who were coaches and teachers for me growing up. I always thought if I could do that for other kids that would be a pretty meaningful way to live life and it has been. It has been exactly that.”
He’s the son of two teachers, but that’s not necessarily the reason why he got into education and coaching. “I had a natural ability with kids. My folks I think were as surprised as anybody that education is where I wanted to go. They never tried to push me one way or the other. Just wanted to let me find what my passion was.”
Swenson competed in football and track at Wartburg College. “As it turned out it couldn’t have gone better. I loved my experience with Wartburg and I have loved my career. It’s been great.”
His early coaching stops were in New Hampton, Carroll, and Iowa Falls. A vacancy for a head football coach brought him to Riverside. “Football was what my big goal was. I wanted to be a head football coach. Riverside gave me the opportunity. I had just gotten my master’s degree in technology. Sure enough they had a technology position open and a head football job, so it was just a perfect marriage.”
Swenson enjoyed coaching basketball and track, but says football was always his favorite. “Football was always my love. I’m still to this day kind of a college football junkie. It’s just my immediate passion.”
His players were like family to him. “That to me has been my favorite part is having this extended group of boys who will always remember out time together. I’ll be the first to tell you we didn’t win nearly as many games at Riverside as all of us wanted to, but that didn’t diminish the relationships and fun memories we created.”
A postgame message early in his career at Riverside made a big impact. “We lost a really close game to Panorama and we really thought we were going to win that game going in. Afterwards I just told the boys I was so proud of them. That was the first time I told the boys ‘I love you.’ I told the boys ‘I love you.’ Boy I tell you what, from that moment on once they knew how invested I was in them…that translated into an effort in the weight room, in practice, they absolutely gave me everything they had. Once that started then that continued. A lot of my boys when I get off the phone with them that’s thing we say is ‘I love you.’ Once we got that emotional connection there wasn’t a whole lot we couldn’t do.”
Currently Swenson is involved with middle school cross country and track and admits it’s nice to scale back and have more time with family after being consumed by football for so many years.
Previous Coaches
(Click to listen)
John Kesselring, Adair-Casey alum
Eric Maassen, (AHST grad) Sheldon
Jerome Hoegh, Atlantic grad (West Sioux)
Gaylord Schelling, Atlantic and Tri-Center
Dick Strittmatter, Atlantic native
Chad Klein, Audubon Native (Kuemper Catholic and Boone)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Monte Riebhoff)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Steve Ahrendsen)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Scott Weber)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Curt Mace)
Jason Mehrhoff, Anita Native (Carlisle)
Eric Hjelle, Elk Horn-Kimballton grad (Underwood)
Brett Watson, Elk Horn-Kimballton alum (Waukee Northwest)
Warren Watson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Chris Stimson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Scott Yates, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Jan Jensen, Elk Horn-Kimballton alum
Seth Poldberg, EH-K grad and Guthrie Center coach
Marc Bierbaum, Griswold grad and Iowa Western track/cross country assistant
Trevor Gipple, (Griswold grad) SW Valley
Curt Schulte, Harlan graduate (Glenwood)
Angie Spangenberg, Harlan and Red Oak
Eric Stein (Harlan grad) Iowa Central
Darrell Burmeister, Nodaway Valley
Lanny Kliefoth, Nodaway Valley
Chad Harder, (Walnut Grad) Tri-Center
Josh Abel, (Walnut grad), Tri-Center
