Varsity Insiders With Randy Shaver
Sep 30, 2026 · 22 min · 10 segments
After almost 58 seasons and 442 victories, Verndale football coach Mike Mahlen still enjoys practices, game preparation and calling plays on Friday nights. He joins Randy Shaver to discuss his…
Randy ShaverHost
Have you stayed the same type of coach all these years? Or did you kind of, I don't know, did you change? Did you mellow? How did you kind of gravitate from year one to
Oh, really? Because when they were there, you know, we were hard, you know, and we worked so hard compared to the kids nowadays.
When I talk to Dwight Lundeen, he talks about his purpose, what his purpose is as a head coach.
Well, it's hopefully to have these kids grow up and be good people and learn football, learning, learning some of those things, learn to be prideful, learn to be, help other people.
And that's sort of the best part when the kids, you know, you see them go out and they graduate and they become coaches themselves or they become a, you know, a professional of some kind, it's a lot of fun to see that, you know, that they carry that.
You'd think you probably had a little part of that, that they might have learned something from you, you know, how many you hope you
Do you still get excited? Do you get butterflies all these years into this when you go out to walk out there for game night? What goes through your head for? Oh,
And yeah, we're really all week, you know, you're getting ready for the game and there's always some butterflies there or whatever.
If I didn't have, I guess I'd not be coaching anymore if I didn't have that feeling.
And like I said, it's you're out here to have fun, but the best way to have fun is to win.
Have you stayed the same type of coach all these years? Or did you kind of, I don't know, did you change? Did you mellow? How did you kind of gravitate from year one to
Oh, really? Because when they were there, you know, we were hard, you know, and we worked so hard compared to the kids nowadays.
When I talk to Dwight Lundeen, he talks about his purpose, what his purpose is as a head coach.
Well, it's hopefully to have these kids grow up and be good people and learn football, learning, learning some of those things, learn to be prideful, learn to be, help other people.
And that's sort of the best part when the kids, you know, you see them go out and they graduate and they become coaches themselves or they become a, you know, a professional of some kind, it's a lot of fun to see that, you know, that they carry that.
You'd think you probably had a little part of that, that they might have learned something from you, you know, how many you hope you
Do you still get excited? Do you get butterflies all these years into this when you go out to walk out there for game night? What goes through your head for? Oh,
And yeah, we're really all week, you know, you're getting ready for the game and there's always some butterflies there or whatever.
If I didn't have, I guess I'd not be coaching anymore if I didn't have that feeling.
And like I said, it's you're out here to have fun, but the best way to have fun is to win.
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