Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Humboldt's Dean Clasen talks to a Wildcat runner during a meet earlier this season. Clasen has been coaching since 1979.

HUMBOLDT — For over 40 years, the medals and the championships have been nothing more than the icing on the cake for Dean Clasen.

His coaching and teaching is centered around teaching life lessons and enjoying the process.

“Win or lose, it doesn’t affect your job and how you do it. The experiences that you have — the disappointments, the frustrations and the training — those are the important things,” Clasen said. “Nobody remembers the medals you won down the road. It’s the character you show.

“We want to make you a good person first.”

The life cycle of a high school athlete is an interesting one, and no one knows that more than the long-time area coach. Students join a program as a 14-year-old youngster, and leave as a more mature 18-year-old version of themselves.

“It’s really gratifying to see the progression from a freshman to a senior,” said Clasen, a coach for Humboldt High School. “When I first started, we had some young bucks who were really competitive and wanted to start the world on fire. They just didn’t have enough matches.

“Teaching them and developing them into a better version of themselves (on and off the course or track) is great to see.”

Leadership has been in Clasen’s blood since starting as an assistant track and basketball coach at Webster City in 1979. He has been at his final destination, Humboldt, for over 30 years.

Clasen had a six-year stint in South Hamilton, where he was the girls track coach for six seasons. He started his first team with six girls in the program.

Clasen, who is originally from Rock Rapids, came to Humboldt in the 1988-89 campaign and took over the girls track program that spring. He became the Wildcats’ boys and girls cross country coach in 1998 and has been there ever since.

The 2020 track season was the final one at the helm for Clasen with the girls track program. He took a step back to help and mentor the program’s current head coach, Spencer Ross.

“I was going to retire last year, but I stuck it out another year because of COVID (cancelling the season),” Clasen said. “Spencer came in and has done a fantastic job. He came in during his second year (as an assistant) and started taking over workouts. He has done a fantastic job and is very knowledgeable.

“After over 30 years, I need to move on. I have a part-time job at Humboldt Mutual Insurance Association, and being a member of the Nokomis Woodworking Club, I have to give justice to that as well. Both were factors. My wife (Linda) has been extremely patient. She likes to travel; it’s about time we do that. Linda has been a really big factor in what I have done. She is so supportive.”

The veteran coach still plans on leading the Humboldt cross country program for a few more years.

“With cross country, I’m playing it by ear,” Clasen said. “I can’t just quit cold turkey.”

When a runner starts in Clasen’s program, the coach makes sure every ounce of energy goes into making their experience a productive one.

“The biggest thing for me — and a lot of kids land in this category — is when that light bulb comes on,” Clasen said. They aren’t as strong and are usually still growing (as underclassmen). Then they shoot up and get slower and frustrated for a while.

“Being able to convince those kids to stick with it for the long-term and have some success and mature (by the time they’re juniors and seniors) is what it’s about.”

When Clasen began his stint at South Hamilton, he quickly realized the overlap between cross country and track.

“When I got to South Hamilton, Vern Hill really helped me out,” Clasen said. “We had six girls and I asked him what I could do? He said you can’t have track without cross country. So we started cross country. I didn’t know a doggone thing about the sport at the time, other than the meets that I worked at Webster City.

“I went to a lot of track clinics for over 35 years and talked to people. They shared information that allowed me to get better. I also did a lot of reading and research. There is just so much to it. Running is like a road map. There are a lot of ways to get to the same destination. As long as you believe in what you are doing and explain it…the kids will buy into it.”

Being around student-athletes who work hard and live up to their potential is one of Clasen’s biggest rewards.

“Going back to the early 2000s, that group enjoyed running. We went into the district meet without anyone in the Top-10,” Clasen said. “We won the district, running with each other (between 11th and 20th). We showed them what a team could do.”

Clasen also enjoys seeing his former athletes grow and mature in college and the real world.

“I’ve watched them develop,” Clasen said. “I can take them where they need to be, and if they have a good experience and enjoy it here, they will continue to do it. That’s the fun part — seeing them continue.

“I have some (former Wildcats) who are older and running in marathons. It’s great to see them continue.”

Clasen fondly and vividly remembers the 2017 North Central Conference championships.

“The year we won the NCC in 2017 was absolutely perfect,” Clasen said. “I stood across the field and watched the girls celebrating.”

Clasen retired as an Industrial Arts teacher at the Humboldt Middle School in 2013. His focus, still to this day, is maximizing the overall experience for his student-athletes.

“We had some good people through the years not able to get in the Top-5 at state,” Clasen said. “But lately, we have had our best performances at the state meet. You can’t do anything about anyone else. As long as you have your best performance, that’s all you can ask.

“You take that as your win.”