Denny Overland Memorial Award

In 1997, the Wausau School District lost one of its finest when physical education teacher and coach Denny Overland died suddenly at the age of 47.  Overland had taught in the Wausau district for 23 years.  The Minneapolis, Minnesota native was head coach of the Lumberjacks hockey program from 1980 thru 1993.  Overland’s passion for hockey carried down into the youth ranks where he was also highly involved in the Marathon County Youth Hockey Association.  In addition to coaching hockey, Overland was involved with football, wrestling, tennis and youth baseball.  Horace Mann Middle School honored the late coach by naming their football field after him.  Overland spent his last four years teaching at Horace Mann.

When current Wausau East hockey coach Dan Bauer took over the Lumberjack program in 2002 one of the first things he did was eliminate most of the individual awards that had previously been presented.  In addition, Bauer created the Denny Overland Memorial Award to keep alive the memory of the former Lumberjack coach.

“Every program has a tradition and a legacy”, Bauer noted, “It is important to me that people who have had such an important impact on the game and more importantly the players, not be forgotten.  I believe Denny was one of those special people and this is just a small way that we can continue to recognize all he did for Wausau East hockey.”

The award is presented annually at the Lumberjack’s season ending banquet.  The qualifications for the Overland Award are described as the player who best exhibits character, hard work and leadership. 

“Hockey is a team game, so I have never been a big fan of individual awards”, said Bauer.  “Those that we do give out are based on character and not statistics.  On the surface it might appear that coaching is about winning and losing, but in my mind it goes far beyond that.  Denny had a similar philosophy.”  Overland believed the spotlight belonged on the team and not the coach.  He worked hard to keep the focus on the players.  He refused to let the local newspaper run his photo with stories of his East team, preferring to keep the focal point on the team.

The plaque that hangs at Horace Mann to remember Denny’s contributions states; “He stood for personal discipline and integrity as a way of life”.  Nancy Overland had this to say about her late husband.  “Den believed that we learn many lessons through athletics.  This is evidenced by the number of young men that still contact me and let me know what an impact Den made on their life.  Den believed in hard work, dedication to your team and that we should make a difference in this world each and every day.”

The 2004-05 recipient of the Overland Award was senior defenseman Dan Michalski.  It was the second consecutive year that Michalski was presented with the award.  A captain for the Lumberjacks, Michalski is now attending Michigan Tech where he has continued his hockey career as member of the Tech club hockey program.

“Dan is one of those players coaches love to coach,” admitted Bauer.  “He led by example on and off the ice and worked hard everyday.  He is the kind of young man that embodies everything we want our hockey program to represent.”

Past Overland Award Winners

2003—Adam Bever, Senior
2004—Dan Michalski, Junior
2005—Dan Michalski, Senior