Coach Flip, Carlton-Wrenshall Hoops Stay Strong Through Inaugural Season

Filipiak diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2023

WRENSHALL, Minn.- It’s now been over seven months since Carlton and Wrenshall’s boys’ basketball teams merged as one.

“The whole time really, I don’t think anybody’s talked about it much,” says Senior Carter Woodall, who attends Wrenshall High School. “It’s been more of just like, everybody’s here to play basketball, it’s what we do.”

“It’s a lot of fun. Every game is fun for us,” commented Sam Ojibway of Carlton.

Woodall and Ojibway used to be rivals on the hardwood, but now, they’re two integral pieces to the Raptors’ success.

“He’s energetic, he’s always talking, being loud,” said Ojibway of Woodall. “He just puts his head down and goes and gets a bucket when we need one. (We) were always like, kind of talking trash to each other in the past few years when we played.”

“I love Sam, Sam’s such a nice guy,” smiled Woodall. “He’s getting steals. He’s out there playing. Not focused on anything else but basketball. And it’s nice, I like that. We barely have days where, like, nobody wants to do anything. Like it’s always going.”

The team’s high energy approach can be traced back to head coach Shawn Filipiak.

“He’s always there to help people,” says Woodall. “Lots of constructive criticism. Not like, getting down on you about anything.”

“He’s really energetic,” says Ojibway. “He’s always in the drills jumping around trying to block shots.”

Coach Flip’s upbeat disposition makes it hard to believe that he received some life-altering news just 10 months ago after taking a knee to the groin during practice.

“The pain never went away,” says Filipiak “I went to the urgent care in Cloquet, and I went to get an ultrasound in Duluth. The next day, they call back and it was like, boom, ‘You have testicular cancer.'”

Filipiak’s cancer had spread into his lymph nodes, and doctors found a tumor in his back. Following around three months of chemotherapy, “Coach Flip” has persevered with the same kind of attitude that makes him a great coach.

“To be honest, I think that was probably the easiest thing I could have…It could have been a lot worse,” he admits. “I mean, it was aggressive, right? But looking back on it, through all those months, I feel like there was only a few days where I was really down. I mean, people brought me food that I’d never met before. They brought me frozen food. I don’t think I cooked for like a good month, so it was super great support from the community.”

In the last few months, it’s been all good news for Coach Flip, who in the next coming days, could be getting official word that he’s cancer free. “As of right now, I’m just taking it day by day. As you know, when someone tells you you’re cancer free, you feel pretty good. I just think once more people know it’ll really kind of hit me it hasn’t really hit me yet.”

Meanwhile, basketball has been a perfect distraction for Filipiak, who’s determined to get the most out of his players in the Raptors’ inaugural season. “I talked (to the kids) about peaks and valleys, the length of the season, how you’re going to have some ups and downs. And I just hope by the end of the season, we’re riding our high up on the peak.”