Watching the cattle market and basketball is a winning mix for Doug Winterfeld

Paul Yeager: Hi everybody, I'm Paul Yeager This is the MtoM Show podcast, a production of Iowa PBS and the Market to Market TV show. We do like everybody who has liked or subscribed to our podcasts which come out each and every Tuesday both in audio form and on video form. So subscribe on our YouTube channel of Market to Market to be in the loop and always know when new episodes come out. If you are on the Iowa PBS YouTube channel, you might see my picture in another format that's not Market to Market related. It is Iowa PBS sports part of my job is to cover the state girls basketball tournament and the state softball tournament for championships and we get to know the coaches and the players and find out where the girls are headed in their future endeavors. And we also talked to the coaches some we get to know a little better than others because they aren't frequent visitors to Des Moines and the state basketball tournament. Today's guest Doug Winterfeld is one such gentleman, who is a farmer who usually asks me now why is livestock not moving in the direction I needed to right now, after we're done talking basketball, he wants to know about markets. So we're going to talk about his role on his family farm his job as a basketball coach, the mixing of the two the makeup of the players, and just what his overall experience is like as a state champion coach this year, his Sioux Center team, were state champions that's in northwest Iowa, and it is a very big hotbed of smaller school basketball, we'll find out maybe why that's the case. And just about the area in general, and how agriculture and sports go together. That's this installment of the MtoM Show podcast. Let's get started. When you're doing chores, do you think more about the animals? Or are you thinking about that defense that gave you fits the night before?

Doug Winterfeld: Well, first of all, I don't really do chores.

Paul Yeager: Wait a minute, is that because you're senior in the operation? Or how'd that happen?

Doug Winterfeld: That's pretty much going to computers and feed trucks and they don't get along with me very well. So kind of took me out of that rotation of of doing any feeding at the operation.

Paul Yeager: So why don't you just give me a little background. So I've always known you to be a cattle farmer, but it's probably way more complex than that.

Doug Winterfeld: It is. We are a family farm. My dad, my three other two brothers. And we each have a son in it. So there's seven of us there. And then we have a number of numerous hired men that help us out. But yeah, we have a custom feedlot. We own a part ownership of the cattle in their farm corn soybeans. So yeah, a fairly large operation and keeps us busy.

Paul Yeager: All there in Sioux County.

Doug Winterfeld: All there Sioux County, over in South Dakota. We're out in that area.

Paul Yeager: Doesn't sound like a farm that started up just a couple of years ago. Is that something you grew up in?

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah. Was boys grew up in that? Yes. Growing up working with my dad and shoveling the barns when we had hogs and all the old outside barns. That's how it started. And then we thought we really graduated when we got to skid loader. And so yeah, it kind of went from there. Then in the winter, my dad one story that the he said you guys get it clean, get all the barns cleaned every night after school, you can go in the shop and play basketball so we we could do it pretty fast. And when there was a reward kind of Oh, yeah. When you got that reward, you can do it really fast. So anything that's boys didn't think about is when you know when we don't have we don't want to play basketball. He's still expecting us to do it that fast.

Paul Yeager: So it was proven you could do it?

Doug Winterfeld: I get it. Yeah, we had proven something and then later on thought about our proving wasn't quite quite as much fun.

Paul Yeager: So was basketball the only sport you kind of hustled to the work through to play.

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, basketball is our our family loves basketball. My brothers both played in college I didn't. I decided that I wanted to go to the farm. I'd had enough of school. So then my son played and played for Northwestern there northern city. So yeah, it's been big. I got started coaching neighbor across the road, asked me to help with his au he had a son that was in fifth grade. And that's how I got started. 1990 That's when I started doing Hey, you.

Paul Yeager: You couldn't have been that old and 90. You were you were probably not too far out. From

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, I played and I graduated in '81. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, it was fun. It was exciting to try and, and the app this is where I am today. And you know, unfortunately, unfortunately for large brick and mortar was our was the guy that asked me his grandson's played for Western here this year and had runner up, but we just about had two state titles. They're right across the road from each other.

Paul Yeager: So that that would have meant, well, no, if they didn't win, that means you win bragging rights,

Doug Winterfeld: I guess. Yeah, that's we all go there. To remind me of that.

Paul Yeager: When you think about the work as a kid to get to play basketball, you're the you're coaching girls that are at the age that you were doing that work to hustle, do you think they think about hustling with their work to get done? So they can do basketball?

Doug Winterfeld: Probably not quite like I did. Yeah. You know, and the good thing about it for me is, these, these girls want to be there. And, you know, they come and they work hard in practice. You know, going from the boys program, which I, I was with the boys boys program for six years, before taking the girls, JV and freshman. And when I took it over, and they talked me into taking it. I just said, Well, I don't know how to coach girls, I'm going to coach them just like I do boys. And they've done that ever since. And it's worked out well. For me.

Paul Yeager: I remember you saying that exact line to me a few years ago, when I asked you about your background? And that's Do you think that has changed? And how you can coach not necessarily you can coach girls, but how girls are coached now is that they are just coach like the guys.

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, you want to push them. But you have to learn, I think you got to go through that. Let transition from boys to girls is it can be a transition, you figure out, you know, how can I motivate them? Every team every year is different, how the motivation happens. And you know, something might work this year next year, it might not work with a different team. Even though there might be some players on that team from the previous year. It's totally different. We'll have to figure that out in a year from now.

Paul Yeager: We'll get to your team in a minute. I want to talk about that run, but I want to go back to this I have this vision of you cleaning out the barn to to play basketball. What is it about your area of the state that just seems to all these neighboring towns? I'm pretty sure I've learned northwest Iowa because they all send a different basketball team to state each year. What is it about the culture of basketball in northwest Iowa,

Doug Winterfeld: I just think back it just kind of we grow up with it. It's just seems to be one of the one of the sports that everybody in the area just really enjoys. Whether it be high school, whether it be college, we get very good attendance at our colleges and our kids stay, you know, in the area pretty much. But it's just something that I think as a kid, we grew up with it basketball was the thing. Didn't have a hoop early, had a little ring, we put on a post down in the basement, and had no backboard or anything and low ceiling. So you know, just all those things. We had hoops hanging on our doors in our house for our kids and and our our boys and my daughters both played to so

Paul Yeager: low ceilings prompt not good three point shooting. That's all about transition and getting out front and getting behind a defensive.

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, that's uh, you want to be as accurate as you can because otherwise you're running after the other part of the of the basement too. So yeah, we pretty much do basketball wherever hoops whatever it is in the house.

Paul Yeager: When you were the age of these girls that you're coaching, did you have your eyes set? You always talked you've mentioned going back to farming but at that point, you're 15 you're 16 Were you still thinking I'd like to do basketball in some capacity after I'm done playing did young dog have that in mind?

Doug Winterfeld: No. No, I had the opportunity to go play in college. But just I love farming you were ready to get out. I was ready to start farming and I just loved love being outside and and loved working with animals and then I was just done with it

Paul Yeager: when you say finishing or feeding operation so are you are these ones that you only own for just a little while or they pass them through how's your setup

Doug Winterfeld: are set up is Yeah, well by him as calves Selim is as fat you know that smell mostly what our operation at home is?

Paul Yeager: How's it been this year?

Doug Winterfeld: It's been alright it's been alright you know the winter has been a little tough on him. The cold weather wise I mean yeah, weather has been really tough. Cattle are probably a little lighter than than normal. What we're seeing what's been going out last few weeks here so but otherwise in general markets good weather it'll stay there. I don't know. Nobody knows that with the with everything going on in the world. But right now it's Good.

Paul Yeager: In Sioux County, Iowa, you have a few options of where you take your animals, where's the primary? Where do they go? Usually next after your place,

Doug Winterfeld: they go a number of places. They they can go, Tyson, Cargill, Nebraska Beef, Greater O, JBS. I mean, everybody, we just put them out there. And, and whoever's, you know, the highest usually gets gets them no matter what having options has been good for you. It is it hasn't been that way in the field in the past, you know, it's been very limited. But everybody's kinda coming to the table and, and with new plants and that going on blind that helps, too.

Paul Yeager: With let's go back three years when COVID struck? What happened to you and your What did you have? Do you have a little backup at home? Or it was kind of limited there for a while on some of your options?

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, we were fairly fortunate that year, you know, we were able to move, we had a number of our cattle were gone. Due before that happened. So but yeah, we did have some on hand that that was not very good. You know, it just wasn't. And it wasn't anything anybody did just the nature of what happens in the world.

Paul Yeager: And that's sometimes it's hard for some people to understand that probably some of the younger people that worked for you weren't quite as attuned to booms and busts that you'd been through.

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, I think any younger farmers that are beginning, they went through that situation, maybe the years prior to that they made good money feeding their cattle hadn't experienced that. So it was kind of a wake up, anything can happen.

Paul Yeager: And that that history, I mean, we always discuss when I talked to guests about the you know, we had a history documentary about the 80s farm crisis. And that's, we always hear from teachers who say, keep showing that or let us we want to use that we need to remind people about that. You're also teaching some of these younger people on your farm about history, and it's kind of you were living life, you were living real life history in 2020. Yeah. And did you feel that the lessons been learned by not just your crew, but in general, those in agriculture,

Doug Winterfeld: I would guess, you know, in general, in like our crew to I mean, our younger ones are, are now in the meetings with Financials for the farm in that and, and they walk out of there, and they're just like, wow, you know, now this is real, this is real now, and it just doesn't, it isn't going to make every year. And I think that's the, you know, what everybody thinks is that we don't ever lose. But, you know, you go through one of those reality checks every once in a while,

Paul Yeager: kind of like the fans of your basketball team. We never lose... 

Doug Winterfeld: Well, if we do we know whose fault it is.

Paul Yeager: The assistants... Feeding. Corn? beans? Are you at to the point right now looking at some of that wheat from faraway places that might be able to help some of your bottom line.

Doug Winterfeld: For our operation, we produce enough corn for everything for the entire year. So we don't have to jump into that market. Only thing that would change a little bit as ethanol, we feed a lot of byproducts. So you know, that's one area you got to always be conscious of and make sure you have a backup plan. Because again, you never know. You never know

Paul Yeager: that DDG has been good for you. Yeah, that's been a good byproduct. I mean, that's that's a discussion I've had with a family member. He's like, Well, I thought I was great. But that DDG has been,

Doug Winterfeld: yeah, huge. It has. And I think everybody that feeds or has the opportunity to feed feeds it at a high level as they possibly can. It's just a good feed. And yeah, but again, you know, these ethanol plants slow down, shut down, whatever, everybody's scrambling. That's not a feed that you have put up and you don't have to worry. So we do some other things. We'll put some silage up and just keep it for summer months, just in case. We need something to offset that.

Paul Yeager: Do you still like farming? Oh, yeah. What do you like about it?

Doug Winterfeld: Oh, just the challenge. Challenge and watching the young generation start to take hold. And I'm seeing that more and more the last couple of years, my two nephews decided that the COVID thing probably was a good thing for them. They were going to take a two year course at Dordt College and then the COVID hit and that would course you are three days in class two days out in the field of what you wanted. Well with COVID They went let them do that. So they decided they weren't going and now all of a sudden, there's no way they're going. They've decided that you know why? We're doing exactly what we want and and that so yeah, it's been good.

Paul Yeager: So primarily, when I joked about you doing chores you really aren't doing that's that's other people that are doing things What's your primary role then?

Doug Winterfeld: I overlook everything. My son, Cory, he, he does all the financials, he checks everything. If he's got a question he can come to me. We discussed the selling and marketing of the products we have. So, yeah, I mean, I turn it over to him, we have a, we have an hired man that is in between our employees and us. So if somebody has something that has to be done, we call him and then he disperses it to whoever to get done for us. So we have, you know, our crew is really good. That way and, and yeah, they look forward to my mom's meals, she makes meals three days a week for everybody. So, you know, when when she's gone, everybody knows that and, and they keep asking when she's gonna be back. So

Paul Yeager: we'll get to your mom in a minute about the you're kind of teasing a little bit there where we're going to go. When you are coaching, though, when the season is the majority, October, November, you know, October is the prep. But November, December, January, February, March, is your role change? On the farm? Do you still try to do what you do in the summer, as well, in the fall or in the winter?

Doug Winterfeld: Wintertime? There's four months, November, December, January, February, the end of the first part of March, hopefully, yeah, it's about basketball. It's pretty much about basketball, I'll be honest, and they know it. They know those months, they can still get a hold of me, I still go to my office. But I'm probably not looking so much at markets as more watching film.

Paul Yeager: And you do so I guess in a follow up to your previous answer, you are doing the marketing.

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, I primarily do some of the marketing Korean i and in Dallas, my brothers what they think so You know, so that it ain't all on me. I got the coaching on me, I don't need another area of my life on me too.

Paul Yeager: So which one's more stressful? coaching or marketing? 

Doug Winterfeld: Oh, I, the coaching actually relieves me of the pressure of the farm. There's teachers that can understand that and be in the coaches lounge, before practice or that and there, they just can't understand why I would want to go through that stress. I'm like, this is fun. This is fun for me, gets me away from what I need, you know, him involved in every day.

Paul Yeager: Are there different or there's very specific compartments of your life. The time of day, like at three o'clock when you leave the farm, the farm is behind you. And when you're at 10am Okay, maybe during basketball season, you're thinking about basketball, but you're able to compartmentalize things.

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, in the mornings, 830 you're usually watching to see what the markets are doing opening up. Watch them through noon, one o'clock, and then one o'clock, it starts to switch. And, and then by 230. I'm gone. And when I leave the office, it's pretty much I got about a 5-10 minute ride to town. So that's when it changes flips. It's basketball, then

Paul Yeager: are you on the phone calling assistants or anybody else? You're just focused? 

Doug Winterfeld: Your drive? Yes, your time. Yep, that's my time.

Paul Yeager: Does it reverse? Coming home I've talked to there was a softball coach a few years ago that used to drive two minutes to his diamond then it was 45 minutes. He said that 45 minutes goes I was a better husband when I got home because I had already turned over the game in my head. The two minute drive coach, he never He took it home too much. Do you use those 10 minutes to decompress after? Maybe not a great practice? Or maybe not a great game?

Doug Winterfeld: Oh, no, I'll probably carry it. You know just how it's going into the evening a little bit. Then if it's a practice the next day, I'll prepare for that already. Start preparing. So it's it's pretty much basketball. And yeah, during the season, I'll put basketball on a night because there might be something I can pick up from some other team or whatever, you know, whether it be college, whatever, there might be some little thing that that might help us.

Paul Yeager: You see an out of bounds play you like you see a different approach on a trap. A different motion here. Oh, that's interesting. Do you have a notebook? 

Doug Winterfeld: Oh, I got a notebook and pad right by my chair.

Paul Yeager: Is it the same one that you have in the office? Like if someone comes to you?

Doug Winterfeld: Usually you'll sometimes I'll take it with me. Yeah, I got a folder or notebook that I take with me. Both places.

Paul Yeager: Okay, so it's always on your mind and always available to write out what's on your mind. Yep. When you started coaching basketball, when it went to the full time varsity job, did you change in the way you approach basketball and work and that balance? Did you feel like you had to be more into basketball when you were the head coach or when you were an assistant, you were like, No, I was all in as an assistant.

Doug Winterfeld: It changed, it changed. When I was with the boys program, we had a head coach would set out a practice schedule. And then we tried to stay on the same so that if he wanted to move players back and forth, that's how our practice would go. And then all of a sudden, yeah, it's on you. Now you gotta gotta do that. And I would do it. When he didn't have practice. I would have my own practice schedule with the boys. But yeah, otherwise, all of a sudden, yeah, it's on you. When I first came in, I didn't have any assistance. There wasn't anybody in the girls program. So yeah, I mean, I did camps little camp by myself that year, first year, and yeah, it was it was a challenge.

Paul Yeager: I'm thinking 15 years. Is that what it is? You've been varsity Head Coach 2323. Okay. Is Brandon, that was 15. You're 23? How is Doug? From 23 years ago, different to the one he is now.

Doug Winterfeld: There's a lot changed, the game has changed. And Doug had to change with the game. The game was very slow early, you know, we'd come down and we'd run sets and keep running until Yeah. Now Doug's the guy that yeah, if you're open, shoot it, you know, we got a chance at a rebound might be a less chance of a turnover. You know, we just send the girls enjoy it. They don't have to think they don't have to wonder Oh, is he gonna like this shot? Is he not gonna, you know, back in the day, certain people I wanted shots, I would script to first five possessions.

Paul Yeager: The last shot, like right there, script and possessions.

Doug Winterfeld: We script them. And, you know, then sometimes it works. Sometimes it didn't. And then you're frustrated. And the girls are frustrated because it was supposed to work. So we take all that out of it. Take that out of it. And that's that's one of the changes that I've made.

Paul Yeager: Is, is that in the last five years, 10 years, two years that you

Doug Winterfeld: know, we did that in about 2016, 15.

Paul Yeager: That's about the time you started making regular trips to domain right. Yeah. Correlation. No coincidence?

Doug Winterfeld: I think a little of both, I think we had, we had players that could do what we were doing. And then you go through some years that you maybe can't quite do maybe don't have the depth maybe, you know, what if for whatever reason, you can't do what you want. But yeah, that was definitely a change. We'd played zone back in the day, you know. And then our games sometimes were 29 to 32. And, you know, now we're disappointed the girls are disappointed if we aren't 60 and above. And it's a lot more exciting to watch. 

Paul Yeager: Tell me about this group of girls. And they're pretty special group, very multi sport, lots of activities, pretty dedicated to basketball, what made them stand out that you knew that this is a special group,

Doug Winterfeld: just you know, multi sport athletes. Having them go last spring and track a number of made it to state and then they go to softball, they make it to state and softball, volleyball, you know, honestly, there was a little pressure that this coach get him to state. Because, you know, every other sport, they had pretty much made it. And but yeah, just a special group, just the way they messed with some of the younger ones, the sophomores, we had playing juniors, sometimes that can be a little bit of an issue. But now with this group, this group just was together from day one, you could see it, there was something about him, he was going to take a little while with volleyball, and playing for a state title. It took a little while for them to get over that first couple of weeks. And maybe before Christmas, I think right before Christmas was a big win. We played West lion at their place, and they were ranked 15th. And we were able to win that game. And from that point on, actually, the coaches and the assistants and I talked. Yeah, we maybe have something here after that game going into Christmas break.

Paul Yeager: And I'll take it that you know what you're talking about, because you've been irregular in the time that we've covered in the last 10 years. I've seen you a lot at the state tournament. So for your coaching staff, and you'd have to kind of look around and go Yeah, we have something that's You didn't tell anybody that did you? No,

Doug Winterfeld: no, no. They have to swear to secrecy. Whatever said and but much less coaches have to stay there. I don't need to give any other school. Some depend on their bulletin board. This is what their coach said.

Paul Yeager: So and you even came into the state tournament I want to say that were you the sixth seed succeed. So you you were the you were wearing the dark jerseys, the road team the whole way. Was that did that mean no pressure For this group

Doug Winterfeld: know, just play, just play, you know, and that's kind of been the last when we started tournament time, we had the one player that was injured, and we had to have a sophomore step up. First night she steps in, she scores 24 in a tournament game. You know, that's pretty special, to have a player that can just step right into a role for us. And then yeah, Reagan still wasn't back when we played spear Lake second round, and we were able to get out of that game and and then play unity to go to state and then we were back to full force again, and we could get into our rotations.

Paul Yeager: And another Power of Unity up in your area that always has great teams and another guy who has a off school job as the head coach Jay, guide him in there. And he always love to talk about his, you know, he's, he's more of the I think, an accountant. And so he thinks that very analytically, do you think of sports? And basketball analytically? I mean, given your what you do on the eight to five or eight to eight to one job?

Doug Winterfeld: Some would say to 10, maybe? No, I guess I just look at the kids, I figure out, Okay, what's what's this player have for strength? You know, we just go through, you know, what can we get? How are they going to help us with their abilities? And but yeah, I don't, you know, I don't pay any attention to numbers. I do not let my players if they want to look at how they did stats wise, they don't do it on, don't let me see, you're doing it. Because that's not what a team is made of. You don't have to worry about what your points were. You can look at that with mom and dad afterwards, whatever. But, you know, I don't want them grabbing the book and say, you know how many points I have tonight. I just that's not a part of what I am about. And I don't want my team to be about, it's about us. For one common goal,

Paul Yeager: as a guy who's been in your district for a long time in in that area for your whole life. Does that help in your relationship with parents that come through? Because they know who you are? What you stand for what you're about? We're not looking at the stats, we're looking at this? Has that helped in your coaching been so entrenched in your community?

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, I would guess, you know, I guess I don't look at it that way. I've never had any issues with parents doing it, as long as I've, you know, been doing it. I mean, if there was an issue, somebody would have surely brought it up already at this point. But no, I, I've not ever had any issues with parents. And, and I think, you know, as long as the girls are going hard and doing what they need to do things go well, and for me.

Paul Yeager: I think there's a few coaches would like to find out what how you got to that point, because I think a lot of coaches have to deal with, and I say, deal with parents. And then I had another coach correct me a few years ago and say, Now we work with them, we don't deal with them, we work with them. And I And that's I guess, in anything in life, right is you have to work with somebody, your crew that that feeds, while you're, or having a load of semi when you're at State basketball, have cattle that are heading out to wherever they're going, you're working with those guys.

Doug Winterfeld: That's a big part of it, that's a big part of it. If anything is going to be successful, you all got to work together. And you might have to give a little bit, you might have take a little bit every once in a while. But it's very, very important. And then you need to figure out, okay, so we need to do this different, we're going to work together to figure this out. You know, with girls, it's totally different. I mean, if somebody's not going hard on the floor, in the scramble or whatever might get taken out. And I'm not gonna say anything, what we do is we just substitute somebody else in place over for a rotation. And then it's very simple. The next time they go out, they go really hard. So Message received. Yeah, you know, and, and sometimes they maybe don't agree with it. And but, you know, that's, that's how I deal with it. It's very simple that way. I don't have to get stressed over it. You know, just you got to go harder. You got to be able to do what we need you to do. And don't let your teammates down.

Paul Yeager: Nobody let anybody down. It stayed it looked like he played pretty hard. What was that run like this year?

Doug Winterfeld:  It was unbelievable. I think even to be yet. It's hard to believe that. You know, it really hasn't sunk in exactly what these girls have accomplished. You know, I think over time here it will. But yeah, just to have those girls I mean just seen him when the horn went off. Being able to have take a seat. She has walked the ball up a senior that she took a big wasn't able to go to The was done and try block crew on Friday, we had an extra eight, it was all good. She absolutely can go. And that was heartbreaking for her teammates, you know, even for the coaching staff because she laid it on the line every crucial time and again,

Paul Yeager: we had video, I was watching knowing what was happening. And a friend of yours had sent me a message. And he said, Hey, I hear that she might get in at the end if there's comfortable enough lead was that? I mean, was that your plan? or did somebody present that to you as a possibility?

Doug Winterfeld: No, that was our plan that if you know, the coaching staff and I talked if we could work it in, at the end, we wanted to get her in. And right at the towards the end, and I was there. 30 seconds left or something like that, though, the official was standing in front of me. And I said next time we take possession, just take a timeout for me right away because I need to get somebody in. And so we were fortunate. We had that opportunity. And she got to walk the ball up. So at that point, I don't think she had a lot of pain. But she definitely did before.

Paul Yeager: Yeah, it was it was tough. Yeah. It was tough to see in the semis. So when that injury happened. You're your championship moment. You're with the team. You know, there's fans behind you. Your parents had been in the stands, but your parents didn't finish the game. And you didn't know any of this. That happened until later. Are you okay that you didn't know anything?

Doug Winterfeld: At this? Probably? Yeah, my mom just got weak. And the third quarter, they had to take her over to the hospital. And yeah, we're still dealing with some of that. Hopefully, here in the near future, we can take her home. But yeah, that was after the game. Looking for him. I don't see him thinking okay, they're back at the motel. It was a little overwhelming, probably for him. So and then took the girls out to eat at Perkins. And then on Winterfield Snapchat that his kids have. My brother was talking to my sister, that's when I found out that something might have happened. And so yeah, there was there was fun, but it took a little bit of the bloom off it. But, you know, hopefully she'll get to go home here soon. And and then we'll celebrate.

Paul Yeager: So a little bittersweet. Maybe that's part of the reason things haven't settled in, because your life hasn't settled down yet.

Doug Winterfeld: No. I know, on Friday night, we went it Saturday, I'm driving back some kids and getting the school vehicles back. Back On My Way up after the welcome back on at noon on Monday back up in Des Moines. So yeah, I've been here, you know, quite a few days already over a week again. Ready to go home, ready to go home and sleep my own bed.

Paul Yeager: You've allotted a lot of your life now to Des Moines. I have two weeks, you hope that you come back again with another team and you stay this long week at a time but that's that's a little more fun thing that hopefully your mother can be back soon and to home and back to making those meals for those guys. They miss them.

Doug Winterfeld: Oh, yeah, they miss them. I've had a text from from Mecca or head guy there. And he's like, guys are wondering when she's gonna be back might be a little bit. So they're gonna have to keep bringing their own lunches for a while.

Paul Yeager: Do you think the girls I mean, I, we talk about it often in our sports coverage at Iowa PBS that, you know, it's more than just a sport, it's about life. Do you think your girls have maybe had a realization that that was great state championship is wonderful. But coach's Mom, that's more important.

Doug Winterfeld: i Yeah, they sent me back with some stuff that I didn't know what was gonna happen. Will oblique her talk to her a couple days ago and was asking how mom was doing. You know, that's, you know, and a number of the girls did before I left on Monday. And that's just who these girls are. These girls are concerned about everybody. Yeah, they had a great accomplishment. They're always gonna remember, it'll be a life, you know, a life deal for them. But, you know, they also were able to experience my parents. 89, 83 years old, the two of them went to game park. And the two of them were playing for crust. And both of them were still competitive at 83 and 89. And they're like, Oh, they're kind of getting into it over there. I'm like, yeah, they're a little competitive. And they're going to talk trash, even though they're 83 and 89. So, you know, it was good for the girls to see that.

Paul Yeager: And again, it's that small community knowing they know your parents. It's not Oh, they're visiting. Who are those two people over there? Yeah, that's, that's the part that gets lost in the large school. I think the larger school teams, they just don't know everybody, but I grew up in the small town of I knew who the parents of the coaches were, if they were around and does that That's, that's wonderful, isn't it, I think

Doug Winterfeld: is great. It's great. Everybody knows everybody. We have fans that come down after games and just tell the girls what a great job they did. You know, we have fans that go to every game. I wish we could give that award to a number of, of our fans at the beginning of the game, but, you know, we can only pick one, and we can only hope that we can get back to try and get, you know, someone else in that position. But that's a lot of our school. I mean, we have a really good following wherever, wherever we go.

Paul Yeager: Let's tie it all in and say that it's all the it's the rural life and the in the farming all tied together. Right?

Doug Winterfeld: It is. It is. It's everybody's just, you know, it's inter woven. Everybody's just kind of tied. And, yeah, it just great. Our community is giving, they help pay for whatever these girls, you know, if there's some other other added expense to this week, they take care of it for us. Our Booster Club does a great job at our school. And so yeah, we're really blessed as a school.

Paul Yeager: One more thing about the home area, I guess I should have this a little out of order of where I bring it up. But I do want to discuss if any of these young women want to get into agriculture, it's kind of hard right now to do. Sioux county is one of those areas where there's been some pretty expensive farmland. Does that change? I mean, I don't think that any of that comes into basketball. But I mean, does that just change the perspective when that stuff, some of those girls might not have the same opportunities that you had to to get into an operation and they may have to leave town or do a different job, but because it's not just men that get into farming? There's plenty of women that run farms now. So I mean, that's how I think of it. Do you think of it that way?

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, it's gonna be tough in our area, you know, like our nephews and my son, and that if we look at it and say, You guys gonna buy? It's not gonna happen? Can't happen. I mean, it's just too expensive. Will they have to maybe go somewhere else? Yeah, that's possible. But can they take some of what they showed me this last week on the floor? Can they take that and spread it into a new community or something like that down the road and then start something new somewhere else?

Paul Yeager: It'd be sad to see, but it's sometimes what happens. 

Doug Winterfeld: It does. It does. And, yeah, we can't control that, you know, just whatever happens and, and they're bound to be, you know, that I can all be around northwest Iowa. They're not going to all be there. But we've talked about getting together once a year here for the next few just try to set up a date over Christmas break, and just the team get together again, say hey, what's going on in your life? Where are you now and what's you know, so we'll always have that tie, to be able to do things like that.

Paul Yeager: Well, I appreciate you making time for us and being able to discuss the two sides of your life. I think our audience cares. I think they always like to know that there's more life than just the farm.

Doug Winterfeld: Yeah, there is. And, you know, this is my stress relief. If you can believe that. I appreciate it.

Paul Yeager: Thanks for the time. Doug. Thank you so much. Thank you. My thanks to Doug Winterfeld. we had his father in the room as well. He was sitting there in the corner and just kind of enjoyed hearing his son talk about what it's like to be a state champion coach as well as the family farm kind of a fun perspective there. If you want to hear new episodes each and every Tuesday, if you have feedback for me, send it to the show at MarkettoMarket@IowaPBS.org, we will see you next time. Thanks for watching or listening. Bye bye.