Winfield Olson

Windfield “Whitey” Olson was a counselor at Lincoln High School from 1965 until his retirement in 1996.  Olson holds a B.S. degree from Moorhead State University and a master’s degree from Bemidji State University.  After teaching in Bertha-Hewitt and Littlefork-Big Falls, Minnesota, he began a career in Thief River Falls in the fall of 1965 as a social studies teacher, coach, and counselor.  In 1966 he became a full-time member of the LHS counseling department, where he served as head of the department from 1971 until his retirement.  In the 1987-88 school year, he received the “State Secondary School Counselor of the Year” award.

In addition to his counseling duties, he contributed much of his time to coaching various sports at LHS.  He was the head boys basketball coach from 1965 to 1971, an assistant varsity football coach from 1965 to 1968, and a 9th grade football coach in 1975-76 and 1978-79.

However, Olson’s most significant contribution to the Prowler athletic programs was in tennis.  He coached the boy’s tennis team from 1969-1988.  He started the girls tennis program in 1974, and he coached them in 1974 and from 1979 to 1988.

During his 19 years with the tennis programs, he coached for a combined boys and girls record of 221 wins and 93 losses in dual meets and had five Region 8 and Region 8AA team championships, six District 31 championships, six Sub-Region 8AA championships, and eight Sub-Region 8AA runners-up.  He had 27 individual participants compete at the MSHSL State Tennis Tournaments.  He also had 22 invitational tournament championships.

Olson is a member of the Minnesota State Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame.