Marshall Helmberger
REGIONAL— For Lon Lamppa, known affectionately as “Lonnie” to his many friends, the memories of a lifetime spent coaching kids have largely faded away— except for in the minds of the countless young people whose lives he touched over the years.
Lonnie wasn’t just a coach to the many athletes he worked with beginning in the 1980s until his retirement in 2015. He was a mentor, a friend, and, to some, like a second father.
He had a different approach to coaching and sports that went well beyond imparting the knowledge and skills of the game, recalls Brian Larsen, who Lonnie coached in both baseball and basketball at Tower-Soudan. “It was a different kind of relationship,” said Larsen, who years later still recognizes Lonnie’s influence and how it’s encouraged him to be more active in the lives of his own children and their own sports programs at school.