<div> Lakeville North could be one of the best teams in Class 4A girls basketball when the ball goes up in November 2022. The Panthers for certain will have one of the state’s most experienced coaching staffs. The 2023-24 season will mark Andy Berkvam’s return to the Panthers sideline after a 10-year hiatus. Berkvam, who coached Lakeville/Lakeville North teams to state championships in 2001, 2002 and 2010, has never actually been away from the sport. He coached the boys team at Northfield High School for six years, then coached in the North Tartan girls AAU program, and last year was associate head girls coach at Minnetonka High School. The drive to be a head coach again was strong, and it led Berkvam back to the school district where he’s spent most of his professional life. He succeeds one of his former players, Shelly (Soule) Clemons, who led Lakeville North to the state tournament seven times in 10 seasons as head coach. The Panthers won the South Suburban Conference championship and finished sixth in the Class 4A state tournament in 2022-23. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Soule stepped down shortly after the state tournament, and it coincided with Berkvam’s search for a head coaching position. A reunion with Lakeville North seemed natural. “I was looking. There were a couple other possibilities, and I think I had a good chance of getting one of them,” Berkvam said. “But I spent 32 years teaching in Lakeville and right now I’m doing a long-term substitute program at Century (Middle School). “Coming back to Lakeville North made the most sense. I was lucky. This is a perfect fit.” Berkvam emphasized that returning to coach at Lakeville North isn’t something for the short term. “It’s not a one-year thing,” he said. “I’ve been coaching 11 months out of the year and still have a lot of energy. I’m 60, and I could see myself coaching another 10 years.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> He won’t even be the oldest member of his own coaching staff. Assistant coach Jim Schreffler, 80, also is returning after working in the Panthers’ program during Berkvam’s first Lakeville stint. Lakeville programs have thrived on being coached by people with Lakeville connections, and Berkvam has hired three former Panthers players as assistant coaches. In a letter to Lakeville North players and parents sent in March, Clemons wrote “... I am at a place in my life where I no longer have the passion and the drive to put in the time that it takes to lead this program the way that I’d like to and the way that it deserves. This program is special, it deserves someone who is willing to put their everything into it, all day every day.” “We’ve talked, and Shelly knew I wanted to be a head coach again,” Berkvam said. “Shelly did a great job. I hope she can come back to coaching someday. For now, I think she plans to enjoy being a mother.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Although he would seem to have little left to prove as a coach, that’s not how Berkvam sees it. He said he’s still as motivated to help players improve their skills and enjoy the game as he was during his first Panthers practice in 1990. But there have been some changes. As a young coach he was driven to win, but as he’s gotten older Berkvam said he’s been able to put the results in perspective. “I’m still as competitive as I’ve always been,” he said, “but I think my friends would say I’ve gotten a little softer. The longer I’ve coached, the more I’ve realized it’s about the relationships you make along the way.” Berkvam inherits a talented roster that includes returning All-South Suburban Conference players Trinity Wilson, Gabby Betton and Gracie Winge as well as Elayna Boe, who was honorable mention all-conference. Wilson and Betton also were honorable mention All-State. He coached a few of next year’s Panthers in AAU ball at North Tartan and has seen the rest of the players on multiple occasions from a seat in the bleachers. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> He also will see a lot of them in the next few months during camps and the June-July summer waiver period. The Panthers have a strong core with Wilson, who Berkvam said is one of the best low-post players in the state, and veteran guards Betton and Winge. Two things Berkvam wants the players to work on are strength (“We always prided ourselves on being one of the strongest teams in the state,” he said) and shooting. Berkvam said Schreffler, who also coached at Minnetonka last season, is one of the best shooting instructors he knows. Berkvam’s teams won 419 games in 23 seasons during his first run as Panthers girls basketball coach. They won nine section championships and seven conference championships to go with four appearances in state championship games, three of which were victories. He was inducted into the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Panther Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> It all started because Berkvam came in second for a coaching job he pursued. Lakeville High School needed to hire a boys basketball coach in 1990 and Berkvam applied. But the job went to John Oxton, who remains as Lakeville North boys basketball coach today. The school also had an opening for a girls basketball head coach and the administration asked Berkvam if he was interested. He accepted, and a hall of fame career was launched. And next fall, it resumes. <nbtemplate data-content="eyJhcGlLZXkiOiAiZDgxM2Q5Yzg3NTI3N2IzNWU0YzRmZDM0NTAyMjJkNmQiLCAiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiAiU3Vic2NyaWJlIHRvIFN1biBUaGlzV2VlayIsICJldmVudCI6ICJtcF9zdWJzY3JpcHRpb25fYnV0dG9uX2NsaWNrX2V2ZW50IiwgInVybCI6ICJodHRwczovL2FwZzA0Lm5ld3p3YXJlLmNvbS9zczcwdjIvZWNtL2NvbW1vbi90ZW1wbGF0ZS5qc3A_c2tpbj1pc2ombndtb2R1bGU9c3NvJmluaXQ9bm9uc3ViJm53cGFnZT1zc28mcnBhZ2U9aHR0cHMlMjUzQSUyNTJGJTI1MkZhcGcwNC5uZXd6d2FyZS5jb20lMjUyRnRuY21zJTI1MkZhdXRoJTI1MkZiZWdpbiUyNTJGJTI1M0Zwcm92aWRlciUyNTNETmV3endhcmUlMjUyNnJldHVybiUyNTNEaHR0cHMlMjUyNTNBJTI1MjUyRiUyNTI1MkZ3d3cuaG9tZXRvd25zb3VyY2UuY29tJTI1MjUyIiwgIm1lZGlhSWQiOiAxNTkzMzAwLCAidGl0bGUiOiAiQW5keSBCZXJrdmFtIHJldHVybmluZyB0byBOb3J0aCBnaXJscyBiYXNrZXRiYWxsIGFmdGVyIDEwLXllYXIgaGlhdHVzIn0=" data-id=MediaPlatformAmplitudeButton></nbtemplate></div>

Mountain View, CA

Lakeville North could be one of the best teams in Class 4A girls basketball when the ball goes up in November 2022. The Panthers for certain will have one of the state’s most experienced coaching staffs.
                The 2023-24 season will mark Andy Berkvam’s return to the Panthers sideline after a 10-year hiatus. Berkvam, who coached Lakeville/Lakeville North teams to state championships in 2001, 2002 and 2010, has never actually been away from the sport. He coached the boys team at Northfield High School for six...