By Tom Schardin, Staff Writer

Tom Madura coached the Prior Lake High School boys and girls diving teams for a combined 66 years and his impact was felt by many.

Sixty-one divers who Madura coached were part of a letter of recommendation to the Prior Lake Hall of Fame selection committee to include Madura as part of the 2008 induction class.

“Tom taught all of us a lot,” said Doug Kinney, class of 1984. “He taught us to overcome fear. He taught us persistence. He taught us about setting goals. He taught us that Dino’s in Northfield has the best onion rings in the Missota Conference. He taught us to always work hard.”

The selection committee was certainly persuaded. Madura joins four former Laker athletes who will be inducted on Thursday, July 31 at the banquet at The Wilds starting at 5:30 p.m. Joining him are Kirk Loehr (Class of 1984), Alisha Erickson McGee (Class of 1996), Erin Frye Lind (Class of 1997) and Martin Lannon (Class of 1958).

Madura is already in the Minnesota Swimming and Diving Coaches Hall Fame, being inducted last April. During his coaching tenure, he has been named the section coach of the year seven times; and in 2005, he received the Minnesota Swimming Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year award.

Madura started coaching the Laker boys in 1974 and became the girls diving coach two years later, before retiring this past year.

Madura was also named one of the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District Teacher of the Year recipients for the 2007-2008. He has taught physical education at Prior Lake for 33 years. He was at Five Hawks Elementary for 15 years, Grainwood Elementary for 16 years, and is now at Hidden Oaks Middle School.

“Coach Madura is one those very rare people who touch most everyone they contact in a truly positive way,” the letter of recommendation stated. “Besides his technical brilliance as a diving coach, Tom brings to his athletes a joy and energy which is quite simply otherworldly. We each have been inspired in very real ways by Coach Madura.”

Alisha McGee

McGee’s days at Prior Lake were spent excelling in three sports – basketball, volleyball and softball. As a basketball player, she was All-Missota Conference three times and went on to play Division III at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse.

“I enjoyed all three sports, but basketball was my passion,” said McGee. “Those days were my fondest memories.”

McGee is second on the Lakers’ all-time scoring list with 1,266 career points and is still the school’s all-time leading rebounder. She earned 10 total letters in her career with the Lakers and was the captain in all three sports, earning all-conference in all three as well.

McGee said she still takes in a Laker basketball game now and then to say hello to her former coach, Paul Larson.

Despite now living in the rival town of Shakopee, McGee will always be a Laker. Her allegiance will not switch.

“No way,” she said. “It’s a great honor to be inducted. It’s an exciting time. It brings back a lot of good memories.”

Erin Lind

Like McGee, Lind was also a three-sport standout for the Lakers, excelling in the same three sports. She was a three-time all-conference selection in basketball and in softball. After living in Lakeville and New Prague after college, Lind now makes her home back where she grew up.

“This has always been home,” said Lind. “It’s nice to be around this community. I feel very at home here.”

Lind scored 1,245 career points on the hardwood and went on to play Division II basketball at Minnesota Southwest State University, where she scored more than 1,300 points in her career.

However, Lind’s fondest memories of her playing days are not the wins and losses. It’s of her teammates and coaches.

“I used to love practices, even though some were pretty hard,” said Lind. “There are so many memories on and off the field.”

“I’m really honored to be selected,” continued Lind. “It makes me feel kind of old now. But there are people who have been selected who I looked up to during my career there and now I’m part of it.”

Kirk Loehr

There’s a simple reason why Loehr is part of this year’s Hall of Fame class. “He was one of the best pitchers in Prior Lake history,” said Lakers baseball coach Darwin Busselman.

Loehr was a three-sport athlete in his Laker days in the 1980s. Not only was he an all-state pitcher, but he shined on the football field and basketball court as well.

He was the Lakers’ MVP in football his senior year and twice all-conference in baseball, including playing in the prestigious Lion’s All-Star Series, which annually features the top seniors in the state.

Loehr played one year of college baseball at Waldorf College, before transferring to Minnesota State-Mankato. An arm injury ended his college career prematurely.

After his playing days, Loehr was an assistant coach for Busselman for four years.

Loehr said being selected gives him a chance to look back at his years at Prior Lake.

“You get a chance to reflect back on all the friends and coaches that made it such a great experience,” said Loehr, who makes his home in Prior Lake. “I don’t have a great memory of certain games or records. What I remember is how much fun it was.”

Loehr also remembers how it enjoyable it was to play three sports in high school. He said that’s not as common today because so many young athletes are specializing in one sport.

“When I was a freshman, I put word out that I wasn’t going to play football,” said Loehr. [Coach Busselman] didn’t even know who I was. He had some other teacher point me out to him and he came over to me and said, ‘You are playing football.’ So I played.

“[Coach Busselman] started out as a coach and turned into a friend,” continued Loehr. “I had the fortune of coaching high school with him after college. Most of the stuff I do, coaching in Prior Lake Athletics for Youth, comes from him. He drags me every year still to coach his clinics because he knows how much I still like coaching baseball.”

 (Editor’s note: Martin Lannon was featured in the July 5 edition of the Prior Lake American. The Laker Hall of Fame banquet will also honor the 1978 state champion boys basketball squad. For tickets, go to www.plsaef.org or call (952) 226-0063 or (952) 447-5473.