And because of his dedication to the youth and their activities that he so thoroughly enjoys, the South Dakota High School Coaches Association has named Henriksen Sportscaster of the Year.

“This one touched my heart because it is from the coaches association,” he said. “I get to be part of that fraternity.”

Jim Dorman, who is the executive director of the South Dakota High School Coaches Association, said Henriksen is a deserving award winner. “He is a well known figure in the broadcasting environment,” he said. “His honor is because of his promotion of all athletics across the state of South Dakota, not only in his present position with Sports Max, but before that with public broadcasting and radio.”

Every other year a broadcaster is selected for the honor. Coaches from around South Dakota submit nominees. The top four or five nominees are then put on a ballot and voted upon by association members.

This year’s ballot also included Doug Fiedler, who was a nominee for boys track and field after pushing his Quarriers to the state title in May. Larry Buffington of Gayville-Volin received the award.

Dorman said his peers are recognizing Fiedler across the state for developing a good program.

Fielder said it is an honor to be nominated by your peers. “Being nominated, it reflects more on the team than on me,” he said. “We don’t have the kind of success we have without good athletes.”

Henriksen received a call from Dorman a couple of weeks ago notifying him that he had received the honor. “I was floored,” Henriksen said, who didn’t even know he was in the running. He will receive the award at the South Dakota High School Coaches Convention later this month.

The Nebraska native got his start in radio in the Fall of 1976 as a disc jockey and sports announcer at Dana College in Blair, Neb. Since then, Henriksen has been at various stations in South Dakota. Possibly his highest profile, came in 1988 when he worked the morning shift with Chad McKenzie at KELO Radio. He also worked with Craig Mattick at KWSN announcing sporting activities each year. Since 2006, he has been hosting Sports Max, a show that was started by Tom Maxwell many years ago. He also is part of the South Dakota Public Broadcasting team that broadcasts state athletic events each year.

There are many announcers that have made an impact on Henriksen, but he lists two that stick out. One was Norm Hilson at WNAX Radio in Yankton, who Henriksen said was very encouraging. The other was Danny Olson who for many years did sports on KSOO.

“He was helpful early in my career,” Henriksen said.

He recalls his father visiting while he and Olson were broadcasting an Augustana football game early in his career. Henriksen had stepped out for a moment and his father asked Olson if his son really had a chance to be a good sportscaster. Olson reassured his father that he could be.

Henriksen likes the radio atmosphere because it allows him to tell stories and to dig into colorful characters in South Dakota. He also said that when on television he tries to talk as minimal as possible, while on the radio it is totally different because he has to paint a picture for everyone to see.

“I am a firm believer that it needs to be interesting,” he said. “I try to focus on the positives. It is important to remember the kids aren’t there for us. It’s a kids event and we have a chance to be part of it.”

Fiedler actually found out about being nominated for the award from his son, who read about it in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. This is the first time Fiedler has been nominated for any type of award after the Dell Rapids boys team captured the Class ‘A’ State Track and Field Meet in Rapid City in May.

“We knew we had a chance to win the state,” Fiedler said. “Sometimes you win the state with two or three kids. We won it with a lot of different kids involved. We had some great individuals, but we never would have done it if not for the team.”

Fiedler has been around track and field almost his entire life. His father, Jim, was the track and field coach at Clark High School for 35 years. So after graduating from Clark High School in 1986 and then South Dakota State University in 1991, it was only natural that Fiedler got into a track and field program.

He was the head boys and girls track and field coach at Montrose High School from 1991 until 1997. He came to Dell Rapids in 1997. He has been the head boys track and field coach since 2001.

“I have always been around track and field,” he said. “I enjoy seeing the kids proving and having success.”

And the team had that the ultimate success at this year’s state track and field meet winning with 90 points. Runner-up Harrisburg ended with 59 points. With the girls finishing sixth, the Quarriers earned the combined school team title.

As a coach, Fiedler said it is important to make the boys believe that they can compete at any level. “We had a lot of kids step forward,” he said. “Once we had a lot of success, it just took off.”

Fielder admits that does help to have speed. “You can’t coach speed,” he said. “Myself and my assistants keep the kids healthy and put in them in the best positions we can to succeed.”

The Quarrier coach lists his father, as well as Ken Greeno, who is the Montrose School principal and track and field coach and Jim Schroeder, a Quarrier assistant, as mentors to learn from.

“They have been around track and they are people I can bounce ideas off of,” he said.

Those ideas involve workouts, training and re-assurance that I’m doing the right thing, Fiedler said.