Peterson invites Husky Nation to ‘Huddle up’

Huddle up, Husky Nation.
That, in essence, is the invitation Aurora football coach Kyle Peterson has offered to family members of this year’s team, putting a new twist on a familiar post-game tradition.
Home and away throughout his 24-year tenure at Aurora, 10 as the head Husky, Peterson has gathered his team in the end zone for a post-game chat. I’ve listened in to several of those candid conversations as I await my opportunity for a post-game interview, and always enjoy the inside insight of a program focused first and foremost on encouraging our youth and helping the Huskies get better as a team.
I couldn’t help but notice that the post-game huddle was bigger after Friday’s final preseason scrimmage. In addition to players, coaches, trainers and one tag-along newspaper guy, a large gathering of family members strolled out from the stands to listen in to what Coach Peterson had to say. I thought that was unique, perhaps an upbeat finale to the preseason grind, so I asked the coach how that came about.
Turns out the enlarged post-game huddle is not just a one-time gig, but a regular addition to the 2024 season. Coach Peterson explained that he was inspired by a couple of recruiting trips he took last fall with his son, Kellen, to Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa.
“For a little bit of history, Dordt had the longest losing streak in NAIA football history and had lost like 50 some games in a row,” he said. “They hired a new coach and immediately went from 0 and forever to .500. He didn’t change the players. He changed the culture.”
Joel Penner most certainly made a lot of changes in the way the Dordt Defenders go about their business, and whatever he’s doing is working. His team finished 9-3 last season and advanced to the second round of the NAIA Championship Series. One of the many changes Penner made was to make the post-game huddle a family affair.
“He had their entire families, grandmas and grandpas and girlfriends, even some fans, come down to be part of that post-game huddle,” Peterson recalled. “The first time I saw it I was like ‘Well, this is kind of different’ and I thought it was kind of weird.’ The second time I saw it, it kind of clicked, like I knew exactly what he was doing. They talk a lot about family at Dordt and he was really bringing all aspects of a player’s family, and the football family, into that post-game huddle so that they could hear his message, and so that everybody was hearing the same message. I thought that was a powerful thing.”
Peterson admitted that it may be asking some parents to get out of their comfort zone a little bit to walk out on the field and listen in to the post-game conversation, but he’s committed to the change. What I’ve noticed over the years is that win or lose, this coaching staff is constructive, encouraging and specific in steps that need to be taken for improvement. The message is always focused on what lessons can be learned to make each player better the next time out, ultimately building on a strong foundation of a program that makes this community proud.
Huddle up, indeed. It’s time to play, watch and enjoy some high school football.
Go Huskies!
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net