Caledonia/Spring Grove softball team earns Academic Gold Award

The official word is out! The 2020 Caledonia/Spring Grove girls softball team earned an Academic State Team Gold award from the Minnesota State High School Coaches’ Association this past Spring, maintaining a team cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher.

“We had a very short Spring with the cancellation of softball,” Warriors head coach Chad Augedahl reported last week. “We got started off with one week of practice before the state decided to shut down all of spring sports, (so) the girls had a difficult time with not being able to participate and having a normal routine. We had a few discussions and we told the girls that this is beyond our control, and as hard as it is to accept losing a whole season, (we) need to stay positive and this was something the entire state was dealing with and not just our section...

Caledonia Public Schools athletic director Scott Sorenson said that “This is an incredible accomplishment that shows the hard work and dedication these young ladies put forth in the classroom. Honors like these, to me are just as great if not greater than winning on the field of play. Keep up the great work and let’s get another this Spring!”

Augedahl added that “We had only one senior on the roster this season so the main objective was to tell the underclassmen that we will get another shot next season and to prepare and practice and look forward with a new appreciation for being able to get on the field again.

“As for Lydia Lange (the only senior) it was not the way your final year is supposed to end, but she understood and dealt with it very well. The underclassmen fortunately got some summer ball in this year so we maintained a healthy attitude all summer long and even though it wasn’t the same as a school sport which the girls worked the entire off-season to prepare for, it was a little ‘pick me up’ and everyone enjoyed just being on the field with friends and teammates again.

“As for the academic achievements of our girls, this is something to be very proud of. They do take a lot of pride in their grades and their schoolwork, which is abundantly clear from the GPA they accumulated as a group... Grades are important to being able to just play sports - but more importantly to just transition into adulthood after high school. 

“The group we had this year went through a lot of adversity and changes with having to deal on a day-to-day basis of not knowing what is next, or when it is  going to be normal again.”