Decorah Boys Young at Heart

By KELLY BEATON, Courier Sports Writer

Decorah boys' soccer coach Kyle Nelson has been known to log a few laps on Cartoon Network's nightly "Adult Swim." He's no stranger, for instance, to spending quality time watching "Family Guy."

In other words, Nelson is fluent in the language of today's youth. And it's with good reason: he's still a member of that demographic.

So it was also with good reason that Nelson, a Decorah graduate who just turned 21 last week, entered his first practice as head Vikings soccer coach this spring with trepidation. But so far, the transition has been seamless. Nelson finds himself at the helm of a Decorah club that's 8-2 and ranked No. 4 in Class 1A, a year after reaching the state semifinals.

"Our biggest concern was being young and having to dealwith respect issues," recalled Nelson, a junior striker on Luther's men's squad, whose main assistant, John Schroeher, is 20. "But there hasn't been one issue with that. I feel, with a younger coach, we can relate."

There's no doubt Decorah is a united contingent these days. The Vikings are ransacking opponents at every stop on their schedule, with junior Mitch Cornelius (16 goals) leading the way. And they're all speaking the same language.

Some coaches quote Knute Rockne. Others Vince Lombardi. Nelson prefers to read from The Book of Peter ... Griffin.

"'Family Guy' stuff, everybody jokes about it," Nelson said of his club's affinity for the cartoon, centered around one of the more politically incorrect characters on TV. "It just helps break the ice. It keeps everybody relaxed."

As do all those wins the Vikings keep collecting.