Infectious energy, optimism define start of Pat Larson era for Kernels football
Jul. 29—MITCHELL — As summer winds down and fall camp draws near, a buzz and excitement is floating through the Mitchell High School football program.
And it all starts with the new man in charge, Pat Larson.
After spending nearly two decades as a football assistant, Larson was elevated to head coach in late April. In the three months since, he's been embracing the breadth and depth of his expanded duties — from organizing the MHS fall camp schedule to helping operate camps that come through Mitchell to talking to the media.
"I'm having an absolute ball. It's everything I thought it was going to be and more, but the more hasn't taken away from the stuff that I love," Larson said. "I knew those responsibilities were there, but I've never done it. Now that I am doing it, it's 20 years in and I'm having new experiences, which is the best part because it's fresh this way. ... I can't imagine doing anything else in my spare time, because this is what I do in my spare time; it's my fun time."
Yet, while Larson is going through the offseason process for the first time as a head coach, a strong sense of continuity remains.
Prior to this season, all of Larson's football coaching experience had been under longtime coach Kent Van Overschelde, who resigned in February. As such, it only follows that Larson's program will share many similarities with its predecessor.
"Most of what I know about how to run a program comes from Coach V," Larson explained, noting other recent influences from MHS basketball coaches Todd Neuendorf and Ryker Kreutzfeldt. "So I'm going to do a lot of that same stuff, but this is a chance to try and put my own spin and some of the assistant coaches' spins on things."
Veteran MHS assistant coaches Zack Clement, Trevor Krugman and Eric Witte are listed with Larson as Kernel assistants, providing further stability for the program.
Since taking over the position, Larson has had a couple of players come back to the sport after previously stepping away or deciding to play football despite normally focusing on another sport, which he points to as a byproduct of relationships he worked to foster as an assistant coach across multiple sports.
Last season, the Kernels went 2-7 and missed out on postseason play for the first time in a decade. So in his first year, Larson is hoping to help guide the program back to the playoffs as part of a bounce-back campaign.
While he's finding and establishing a balance between short-term and long-term visions ahead of his first season, Larson isn't shy about his high hopes for the program moving forward.
But as the final countdown to the season begins, Larson's focus has started to narrow. The Aug. 25 season opener at Yankton has been circled on the calendar for some time now, as Larson is eager for the program to set its initial standard under his leadership and begin to raise that level week-to-week. MHS opens fall practices on Monday, Aug. 7.
"I may be the only coach in the history of mankind, but I'm excited to go to Yankton on August 25, and I never thought those words would come out of my mouth," Larson said. "I want to see what we have as a program. I want to see where we stack up from week to week and how much we can improve from now through the start of fall camp, through that first game and then every week through the season. ... I'm just excited about this year and what this year takes us to in the future."
