Following the conclusion of Perham’s 71-53 victory over Barnesville, girls basketball head coach TJ Super was quick to heap the praise on his players and assistant coaches. It is how Super would have it and how it was whether it was career win No.1 at Cook County or career win No. 250 like it was on Dec.
20 at the Hive.
Super was quick to credit a pair of coaches in Cook County, who helped him get his start in coaching in Kim Linnell and Jon Jacobsen. He also praised his assistants in Perham, Michelle Bormann and Robbie Cox. Super’s first coaching job was with Cook County in Grand Marais where he amassed a record of 110-49 during his six seasons with the Vikings. After some growing pains in Perham, Super has amassed a 140-133 mark with the Yellowjackets, turning a program that won just two games his first year into a Section 8AA and Heart O’Lakes Conference contender year in and year out.
“Michelle has been here for the majority of this run and the first couple of years were pretty rough, but we had a lot of support in the community and the parents were really good,” Super said. “The girls were good, but we lacked a little bit of talent here and there. We play in a good area, and we have good youth coaches and people that donate time in the program to get to where we are and these girls that are playing in high school had good parents and coaches that volunteered their time. The program is in a good spot. I am kind of the guy that reaps the benefits at the end. All the other people do a lot of the work beforehand.”
Super has been around the game of basketball his whole life. His father and both of his uncles were 1,000-point scorers in high school in Mentor and continued their basketball career in college.
“My dad is in the Hall of Fame at Moorhead State for his role on the 1971 Dragon team that set school records,” Super said. “My mom being a teacher, we had keys to the gym and spent a lot of time in the gym as a family when I was very young.”
Super’s sister, Krissi, went on to have an outstanding basketball career as well. She scored 2,800 points in her high school career and won three National Championships at the University of North Dakota.
Along with his sister, the Supers ran the Super Hooper Basketball camps for elementary boys and girls in Northern Minnesota. They ran the camp for 12 years, going across towns in the Northwestern part of the state.
Super said the Perham program is in a good spot where girls feel comfortable being themselves.
“That’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of,” Super said. “Our coaching staff does a really good job, especially our favorite coach Michelle Bormann, to make the girls feel comfortable and really be themselves in practice and in games. And actually when we are doing anything with our team.”
Super said it feels good and winning No. 250 means that you have been around a long time. It means that you have had some talented players that can figure it out.
“You want to get to the point where your team wins a lot every single year. Our program is in a good spot,” Super said. “Over the last three or four years, we have kind of been to that point and it feels like this team, if I get out of the way, will get a lot of wins. They are talented. When you look at the program all the way down to our elementary, we have a lot of good girls coming and hopefully we can find ways to piece it all together. Perham girls basketball looks like it is in a good spot where there will be a lot of wins in the future hopefully.”
T.J. is a 2001 graduate of Greenbush/Middle River High School and participated in Cross Country, Basketball, and Baseball for the Gators.
He is the son of Tom and KayDell Super of Middle River.
