Waldal now coaching his granddaughters
BEACH — It’s normal for high school athletes to be coached by their fathers and mothers. Playing for one’s grandfather? That’s rare.By: Dustin Monke, The Dickinson Press
- Hailee Farstveet and Bailey Waldal
BEACH — It’s normal for high school athletes to be coached by their fathers and mothers.
Playing for one’s grandfather? That’s rare.
However, it’s routine for Beach freshmen girls basketball players Hailee Farstveet and Bailey Waldal.
“Sometimes, it can be difficult,” Farstveet said with a smile. “But most of the times it’s fun.”
Farstveet and Bailey Waldal laugh when asked if their coach and grandfather, Bob Waldal, treats them differently than the rest of their teammates.
“He’s not afraid to get after us,” Bailey Waldal said. “He treats us just like anyone else on the team.”
To Bob Waldal, coaching family is old habit. He coached daughters Carey, Jackie and Christy during their high school careers.
Jackie (Waldal) Farstveet, Hailee’s mom, starred on Beach’s state championship teams of 1989 and 1990. Carey Waldal, Bailey’s mom, was a standout for the Buccaneers when they finished fifth at the state tournament in 1988.
Carey went on to star for Dickinson State. Jackie and Christy played for the University of North Dakota.
Carey Waldal said she gets more nervous watching her daughter play than she ever did when she suited up.
“To me, I don’t want to say stressful, but being in the crowd watching versus being a player, you have no control over anything,” Carey Waldal said. “You have to wait for the outcome. It’s been a lot of fun watching my daughter and my niece and the group of girls they play with have been wonderful.
“To have their grandpa coaching them? Pretty neat, I think.”
Bob Waldal has the same feelings about coaching his granddaughters.
He remembers one of their first games, as third-graders, when the team scored just one point in the game.
Things have changed quite a bit since then.
Hailee Farstveet, a 5-foot-7 guard, and Bailey Waldal, a 5-6 guard, are typically the Buccaneers’ first two players off the bench.
Hailee, one of the team’s top reserves last season as an eighth-grader, averages 4.9 points, 2.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. Bailey averages 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in her first season playing extensive varsity minutes.
“I’m proud of the fact that they’ve worked very hard,” Bob Waldal said. “Coming up through the system, they’ve worked hard and put in the time. When players work hard and put in the time, it shows.”
The coach said the credit isn’t due as much to him as it is the girls’ mothers, who instilled at a young age how hard work can pay off in a state championship.
“Their moms also worked very hard, are very dedicated,” Bob Waldal said. “… Going to the state tournament, they wish their kids could have this kind of feeling that they went through. It’s a tremendous feeling.”
The girls get their second dose of the Class B state tournament when Beach (24-0) plays Kenmare (24-1) at noon today in the quarterfinals.
While the final countdown to the end of brilliant careers for Beach’s six seniors, it’s still only the beginning for Hailee Farstveet and Bailey Waldal.
While knowing they will transition into larger roles next season is exciting, Bailey Waldal said she’s going to miss this team.
“It’s just fun being able to play with the older girls,” Bailey Waldal said. “We won’t have our seniors to rely on. We’ll really have to step it up.”
Beach girls basketball under head coach Bob Waldal
1988 – 26-1 – Fifth place at state
1989 – 25-1 – State champions
1990 – 27-0 – State champions
1991 – 22-3 – Region 8 runner-up
1999 – 12-11 – Region 7 quarterfinalist
2007 – 13-10 – Region 7 quarterfinalist
2008 – 21-4 – Region 7 third place
2009 – 20-3 – Region 7 third place
2010 – 26-0 – State champions
2011 – 24-0 – To be determined
Overall record – 209-33
Tags: beach buccaneers, class b state tournament, sports, preps, basketball
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