Eagles Coach Takes Team Under His Wing

Nett Lake Coach inspires his team on and off the court.

The Nett Lake elementary basketball team is only ten years old, but already these eagles have soared to new heights.

When the Nett Lake eagles hit the court, people notice.

“We’re just a small little elementary team and there’s people saying Oh there’s the eagles, the eagles are here,” said Travis Morrison whose kids play on the team.

Just ten years ago, there was no elementary basketball team here until coach Brandon Benner saw some potential.

“He’s a good coach. He always drives us everywhere. He does that kind of stuff for us,” said player Lane Kneen.

Brandon’s spent most of his life in Nett Lake, coaching for nearly all of it.

“You bring the best out of the athletes not only on the court but you get to help mold them into good people that you would like to have in your community,” said Benner.

Brandon doesn’t just take care of these eagles on the court, he takes them under his wing off of it.

“It’s a great program and I like it a lot,” said Kneen.

“It just changes the way you think about yourself and others,” said player Sean Morrison.

For good performances while playing and in the classroom, coach has taken his players to Timberwolves and Vikings games. He even bought them meals out of his own pocket if money’s tight for a family.

“He does way more than a coach should do. We get kind of spoiled because we don’t have anyone that puts so much into it,” said Morrison.

The community supports the program by paying for uniforms and more.

“I can’t do this alone. It takes dedication from everybody,” said Benner.

Coming up on March 28th, the eagles will go to their biggest nest yet, a game against Red Lake at the Target Center.

“It makes me happy to see the kids happy you’ll see at any practice or any tourney how happy they are,” said Benner.

Brandon gets each player ready to fly.

“It’s a sense of pride because we hold ourselves to a standard and we keep it,” said Morrison.

The program is getting so big that will be starting a girls only program soon.