AAU Coach of the Year: Andy Berkvam

‘Different.' If we had to use a single word to describe Andy Berkvam's coaching style that might be it. Perhaps ‘unique' or ‘unusual' or ‘innovative' would suffice. Some might even say ‘wacky' and we mean that in the nicest possible way. Whatever adjective you choose to label the veteran basketball coach one thing is for certain: All Andy does is win. He proved that once again this summer by leading North Tartan 2025 Nike to the 15U AAU State Championship and several other tournament victories. Berkvam has won a ton of awards over the years, including a berth in the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. We're happy to bestow one more honor: Prep Girls Hoops AAU Coach of the Year.   “I would describe his style as fun and high-paced,” said [player_tooltip player_id='252381' first='Maddyn' last='Greenway'], who ought to know. The 2026 point guard played up one year on Berkvam's team this summer and enjoyed the experience immensely. Coming off a high school state championship, Greenway quickly adapted to the Berkvam way and took home another crown.   One of the biggest adjustments Greenway and the rest of the girls (and their parents!) had to make was getting used to the way Andy handles substitutions: two groups of five going in and out of the game in rapid succession. Every player plays a ton. Every player is a part of the group's success. That's a shock to the system for a player like Greenway who seldom leaves the floor in high school basketball. Ditto for the majority of her teammates. “We sub in really quick but he does that so we can go as fast as we can when we are in,” said Greenway. “It was hard to get used to but with all 10 players playing at a high level it was super fun because there wasn't a let down when we subbed. It made the game really fun when we were pressing and causing teams to make mistakes. It resulted in a lot of easy points.”   Defense has long been Berkvam's trademark. Sure he had a talented crew. Players like Greenway, [player_tooltip player_id='212489' first='Sophie' last='Hawkinson'], [player_tooltip player_id='346165' first='Hadley' last='Thul'] and [player_tooltip player_id='296513' first='Bree' last='Bowman'] are accustomed to scoring in bunches. [player_tooltip player_id='252383' first='Lanelle' last='Wright'], [player_tooltip player_id='307818' first='Mylea' last='Monahan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='262910' first='Tori' last='Schlagel'] are as skilled as anyone at creating offense for their teams. But on this squad everyone defended with passion. That's what made it all work. “I would describe it as high-press zone pressure and then fall back into half-court zone or heavy man-to-man pressure,” Greenway said. “He has fun tactics that he does with every team. It has worked and it's really fun to play.”   “Coach Berk has several different defensive schemes and strategies but they were all high-pressure, high-energy sets,” Hawkinson explained. “We would often switch in and out of different defenses which was good because it didn't allow the other team to get comfortable or get a flow going. Even though the defenses were different than what we had played in the past it fit well for our team because we were all athletic. It didn't take us long to get the hang of it and once we did it really helped our team take off.”   Take off they did. The unit went 39-5 on the season. Three of those losses were to EYBL teams in older age groups. To win the AAU state championship they dethroned a really tough, multi-time winner in Minnesota Stars Borowicz.   Andy is "old school"   A crumpled legal pad. That's where the magic happens. The scribbles might be hard to decipher but there's some really clever stuff that ends up on those pages, often cooked up in the middle of the night and then trotted out the next day at practice. Innovative drills. Defensive wrinkles. Even a potentially hair-brained idea or two.   Berkvam is definitely passionate. He gets animated on the sideline. And loud. Andy is old school. He likes hard-nosed, physical players. He values grit over flash, toughness over talent. The thing that always impresses us the most is how he seems to get the maximum level of performance out of his players who almost always come to believe in themselves more than they did before. We certainly saw that last summer.   The coach took a diverse collection of 2024s and brought them together as one. There were perhaps a half dozen other teams in the age group who had as much or more talent but Andy cajoled them all the way to a state championship. It was impressive. It certainly helped their quest to be college basketball players and it helped them flourish as individuals. It was the same with this year's group.   “I really enjoyed playing for Coach Berk. It's a season I will remember for a very long time,” Hawkinson said. “He helped me grow as a person and player and really helped expand my game. He had very high expectations for everyone but was always fair and consistent in his coaching and feedback. He pushed us hard in practice but also allowed us to have fun. That perfect balance gave us incredible team chemistry which I believe was the key to our on-court success.”   An impeccable resume   AAU attracts a wide variety of coaches. There are the dads who want to coach their daughters so they put together a squad at the younger ages and try their luck. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. At the other end of the spectrum are the college coaches who bring a ton to the table in terms of teaching and leadership. And there are the high school coaches who love the game enough to want to do it year-round with high-level players. Berkvam's high school coaching resume is about as good as it gets.   The former physical education teacher was the girls coach at Lakeville North for 23 years where his wife Marne was the long-time principal. When he took the head coaching position the Panthers had won three or four or five games a year seemingly forever. They were bad. When he left Berkvam had won over 400 games, been to the state tournament 10 times and garnered three state championships. Along the way he coached a ton of great players who went on to do amazing things, including current Minnesota Lynx star Rachel Banham.   In 2013 Berkvam left Lakeville behind and returned to his alma mater to coach the boys team at Northfield High School where he had earned a spot in the Raiders Hall of Fame as a player before going on to what was then known as Mankato State University. After six seasons of coaching boys, Andy hung it up in 2019 and is now focused on girls AAU. This North Tartan team will go down as one of his favorites. With all of the aforementioned star talent, plus the size and strength and length of kids like [player_tooltip player_id='330743' first='Abby' last='Hoselton'], McKenna Johnson and [player_tooltip player_id='296530' first='Gracie' last='Winge'], it was a special group. Andy says they got along as well and liked each other as much as any team he has ever coached. I'd say the feeling is mutual.   RUNNER-UP   Maddy Wolkow & Blake Nicols – The Wolkow-Nicols team coaches two Minnesota Fury squads: 2023 Premier and 2026 Blue. That's not easy to do but their energy, passion and commitment to the AAU game are exceptional. The Premier team, in its final season together, had an outstanding year. They went 34-16 but only lost six times in the last two months. Led by [player_tooltip player_id='108341' first='Anna' last='Lenzen'], [player_tooltip player_id='186142' first='Nicole' last='O'Neil'], [player_tooltip player_id='108326' first='Emy' last='Wolkow'], [player_tooltip player_id='108334' first='Haley' last='Bryant'], [player_tooltip player_id='186115' first='Jordan' last='Langbehn'] and company, the team collected championships at the Lake Slam, Summer Jam, the Meltdown and Summer Finale. The 2026 team, which is currently loading up on new talent for next season, won the Spring Showdown and Ball Til You Fall in Wisconsin.   HONORABLE MENTION   P.J. Hill – Minnesota Stars 2026 Hill was a formidable outfit that went 34-5 this summer, never losing a game in their own age group. Among those victories was their fourth AAU state championship and six tournament wins. [player_tooltip player_id='478363' first='Maddy' last='Blaylark'] and [player_tooltip player_id='478390' first='Sinae' last='Hill'] were both selected for the Class of 2026 All Star squad.   Marisa Gustafson & Mark Gustafson – 2017 Mahtomedi grad Marisa and her dad Mark did an incredible job with the Minnesota Heat's top 2023 team. They exceeded expectations week after week, going 27-13 on the season and winning three tournaments. Along the way their core players such as [player_tooltip player_id='339120' first='Kloey' last='Lind'], [player_tooltip player_id='457827' first='Alexis' last='Moberg'] and [player_tooltip player_id='436090' first='Marina' last='Lafreniere'] all improved significantly.   Emma Purfeerst – In her first year with the Minnesota Rise, the Bethany Lutheran College coach did an excellent job with the top 2024 team. They won three tournaments and competed well with top teams everywhere. Veterans [player_tooltip player_id='304916' first='Kristi' last='Kottke'], [player_tooltip player_id='304915' first='Rachel' last='Kottke'] and [player_tooltip player_id='178265' first='Kadence' last='Hesse'] made the 2024 All Star team.   RECENT WINNERS   2021: Keefe Zelinske, Southern Minnesota Fury   2020: Tara Starks, Metro Stars   2019: Marqus McGlothan, DTA Academy   2018: Dan Wolfe, Minnesota Rise

‘Different.' If we had to use a single word to describe Andy Berkvam's coaching style that might be it. Perhaps ‘unique' or ‘unusual' or ‘innovative' would suffice. Some might even say ‘wacky' and we mean that in the nicest possible way. Whatever adjective you choose to label the veteran basketball coach one thing is for certain: All Andy does is win. He proved that once again this summer by leading North Tartan 2025 Nike to the 15U AAU State Championship and several other tournament victories. Berkvam has won a ton of awards over the years, including a berth in the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. We're happy to bestow one more honor: Prep Girls Hoops AAU Coach of the Year.