Tews honored with coaching award
In recent years especially, coaching positions in a variety of sports have been like a revolving door at Jamestown High School. That has not been the case in gymnastics, however. Dave Tews is in his 29th year as the Blue Jays’ head coach and 33rd in the program.
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In recent years especially, coaching positions in a variety of sports have been like a revolving door at Jamestown High School.
That has not been the case in gymnastics, however.
Dave Tews is in his 29th year as the Blue Jays’ head coach and 33rd in the program.
On Wednesday Tews was named the NFHS Coaches Association Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year in gymnastics. The Midwest section consists of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska. As the winner of the sectional award Tews is also a nominee for the national coach of the year award.
“I guess it speaks to that fact that I’ve been around for quite a while,” said Tews, never one for self promotion. “From the standpoint, it’s neat.
“It’s nice for the program. Anything that puts our program and our sport in a positive light is a good thing.”
It’s a bit of good news for Tews and his team, which has had a tough week. On Monday night, freshman standout Alex Lind suffered multiple facial fractures and a concussion after sustaining a major fall during practice. Lind is likely done for the year.
“Alex is a tough girl. It was a little scary there for awhile, but I talked to her (Tuesday) and she’s doing about as well as you can considering what happened,” Tews said. “I was just glad to see her in pretty good spirits. If there’s a kid that can handle a spill like that and then bounce back, it’s probably her.”
Lind is one of many top-notch gymnasts Tews has groomed through the years. The Jays have never won a state championship or had a state champion, but have traditionally been among the top programs in the state.
“We’ve had a lot of really good girls come through and that’s what makes a program successful,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of dedicated kids that put a lot into it and hopefully got a lot out of it.”
Tews also had taken satisfaction in the number of former Blue Jays who have stayed involved in gymnastics.
“There was one year where ex-Blue Jays made up half of the officiating numbers in the state. At least I didn’t scare those girls away from the sport,” he joked.
After growing up in Litchfield, Minn., Tews has become a Jamestown lifer. He graduated from Jamestown College in 1977, during which time he wrestled for the Jimmies. He was hired as a teacher and coach shortly thereafter and has never left.
Gymnastics wasn’t his first choice when it came to coaching, but things certainly have worked out for the best.
“I kind of got into it by default,” he said. “The first couple of years I didn’t really know what I was doing, but as the years went by, like anything else, you gain knowledge and experience and before too long I felt like I had a pretty decent idea of what we needed to do to build the program up and hopefully sustain it.”
And after three-plus decades he shows no signs of slowing down.
“Like any coach, you hope that your kids enjoyed their time in the sport and had a really positive experience,” he said. “If that’s the case, and hopefully it is, that’s about all the satisfaction I need.”
Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at daves@jamestownsun.com
Tags: sports, jays, gymnastics, coaching, tews, award
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