Lance Berwald

The Koz Coach Dan Kosmoski is retiring after 32 years as head coach at St. Olaf College. I’ve known Koz for over 40 years. We’ve played some pretty bad golf together. We’ve been fishing—Koz was catching, I was mostly just casting. One time Danny took me fishing and, as we got close to what he called one of his “secret lakes,” he pulled the truck over, handed me a bandana, and told me to cover my eyes. I asked why. He said, “Because it’s a secret lake.” To this day, I still don’t know the name of that lake—or where it was. Some things you just don’t question when you’re with Koz. We’ve been to a party or two, shared countless conversations about basketball, and had our fair share of deeper talks about faith and life. We also worked countless camps together—long days, short nights, a lot of whistles—and somehow Koz always had more energy than the players. Koz was a leader of men. If you played for him, you grew—not just as a player, but as a man. That’s his legacy. Not many guys go by three letters. I’m Piv, he’s Koz—and somehow that just fits. Oh, the stories we have… and maybe a few that are better left in the locker room. Enjoy retirement, my old friend. You gave so much to this great game. Basketball in Minnesota is better because of you—from Golden Valley JC to Gopher hoops, to building something special as an Ole. Ski-U-Mah and Um! Yah! Yah! Danny! Piv