SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – There are many who make an impact in the lives of young people: a friend, a mentor or a teacher. Some can be all three: a coach. Many coaches this week have described the relationship among coaches in South Dakota high school Class AA boys basketball as a fraternity or a brotherhood. That’s why Wednesday morning hurt so much for those who knew the late Brandon Valley head coach Brent Deckert, who passed away after a 3 1/2-year battle with lung cancer.

“He had such a passion for the game of basketball and he was such a competitor and we love those moments that we got to share with him as a person and as a fellow coach, but he also taught us how to be servant-leaders to our own programs,” said Harrisburg Head Coach Scott Langerock.

It’s been an emotional few days at the State AA Tournament. Coaches, players and even referees honored Deckert on the first day of the tournament with shirts that featured his motto, “The Game Honors Toughness”, on the front. A GoFundMe was set up to create a fund for a scholarship in Deckert’s memory. A moment of silence was held before Brandon Valley’s first game of the tournament and coaches continue to honor and remember Deckert through stories of how he touched their lives.

Langerock remembered how Deckert went the extra mile to support the Harrisburg boy’s basketball program as they transitioned to Class AA.

“He was the first guy to call and say, ‘Hey, I’m bringing my guys over for an open gym in the summer’ just so our guys understood what AA basketball looked like and what kind of strides we needed to make to be competitive,” explained Langerock. “He was the first person to call or shoot a text when you’re down on your luck and give you that confidence and he really wanted the best out of everybody. If that was a pat on the back or whatever it needed to be, he was willing to do that. The lessons are it’s bigger than just yourself, it’s bigger than just your personal goals for your team. It’s, you want the best out of everybody and the world’s a lot better place for that.”

Sioux Falls Roosevelt Head Coach Mitch Begeman recalled that his father coached against Deckert when he played high school basketball at O’Gorman. He grew to respect Deckert and when he became a coach like his father, he said his interactions with Deckert put the late coach’s character on display.

“My first year as a head coach was a very tough year,” Begeman said. “We won one basketball game. To kind of just speak of the coaching fraternity that we have in the AA and of coach Deckert, he was just one that really was very supportive. When you go through tough times, you know you have certain people in your life and it was a group of people that I leaned on a lot, but he was one that definitely was reaching out to me, encouraging me to keep fighting. He cared so much about people, regardless of competing or not.”

Many coaches said that Deckert’s motto was very fitting because they believe Deckert not only coached like that but lived with toughness every day, especially in his battle with cancer. The game may honor toughness, but this week, the game honored one of the toughest to grace the sideline. Brent Deckert was a friend, a mentor, a teacher and a coach at Brandon Valley for 21 years. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Brent’s wife, Jill, and their family in this difficult time.

“It really puts things into perspective,” Begeman reflected. “Yes, we care about what we’re doing this weekend, but at the time we lost a brother, we lost a colleague, we lost a coach. That really puts life into perspective a little bit and we had to kind of take a pause and understand that basketball isn’t everything all the time.”

Brent Deckert’s Brandon Valley Lynx had a big win in the first round of the tournament on Thursday and their run will continue to the state championship game after a win over Harrisburg Friday night; yet another fitting way to honor his memory.

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