Edina's Championship Culture Continues

In convincing fashion, the Edina girls tennis team won the school's 142nd state championship last week with a victory over Mounds View at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center.

I'll give you a moment to soak that in. That's 142 state titles in a variety of high school sports.

Whether you count Edina East and Edina West's titles before the two schools merged is irrelevant. The fact is, this community knows how to win. They know how to build programs. They know how to hire and retain good coaches. They show no signs of slowing down.

Girls tennis alone has 14 state championships in a row, and that's not even their longest streak. They tallied 15 straight during a 1978-1992 stretch (which included three Edina East titles not recognized by the Minnesota State High School League).

Steve Paulsen, the girls tennis coach, came aboard in 1992.

"I thought that championships just went along with the program," Paulsen said jokingly to Patch contributor Sara Marsh.

Indeed. I'm not sure where all of these trophies even go–and that doesn't include the second- and third-place trophies, consolation plaques and banners.

John Soma, in his second year as activities director, reinforced the uniqueness of this first-ring suburb.

"It's just the culture of the community we have here," Soma said.

That statement is truly indicative of the entire athletics program's attitude and expectations, and the proof is in the pudding.

Last year, we saw the legendary Art Downey lead the boys' swimming and diving team to its third consecutive state title and fourth this decade.

We witnessed the boys hockey team beat a seemingly unbeatable Minnetonka Skippers team in the state finals at Xcel Energy Center. The Skippers were loaded with Division 1 talent and sat atop the statewide rankings all year. They lost two games all season–both were to their neighbors from Edina under the guidance of former Minnesota North Star, Curt Giles.

The boys cross-country team has yet to win a state title, but it could be only a matter of time as they finished in third place at this year's state meet, which took place on Saturday. The runners were also recognized in the top 50 of ESPN Rise's nationwide cross-country preseason rankings.

Everything from the eight titles the girls alpine ski team tallied in the last 20 years to boys soccer and their three consecutive titles from 1999-2001, Edina's student athletes have been guided by stellar–and consistent–coaching. Another key to their success.

"The coaches obviously know the Xs and Os and have a great history themselves, but the reason they're so good is that they really care about the kids and the teams," Soma said. "They're really trying to coach and change lives versus just win a title."

Edina has always been a tight-knit community–and you can hear it in their voices. Soma said it best.

"Even though we're a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis, it's like living in a small town out in greater Minnesota," Soma said. "It's a special place."

We in the Patch sports department intend to bring you the very best coverage to help keep you informed of this historic preps program, and we hope to hear from you as well.

From a locally-based news publication to a nationally-acclaimed athletics program, let's get started.