Since 2006, the Minnesota Football Coaches Association (MFCA) has presented the Jerry Kill Power of Influence Award. According to Bubba Sullivan, chair of the MFCA’s selection committee, the award is given to “a head football coach who has positively influenced and changed the lives of his athletes, students, and community members through his coaching, mentoring, and teaching.”
Two Harbors’ own Tom Nelson was recently selected as this year’s recipient of the award, presented annually to one coach statewide. Nelson has been coaching in Two Harbors since 1991, beginning as a 7th grade basketball coach. He has served as the head coach of the football team for 25 years.
In a previous interview, when asked about his tenure, Nelson shared, “I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m thrilled with how it all worked out and that I was able to stick around. It’s a dream come true. It’s been wonderful.”
The American Football Coaches Association and the American Football Coaches Foundation established the Power of Influence Award, which focuses not on wins or losses but on the lasting legacy a coach leaves within the school and surrounding community. The MFCA’s selection committee, composed of ten current and retired coaches, chooses a winner from a pool of nominees.
Nelson was nominated by Justin Voss, who previously coached at Two Harbors High School. Voss served as the defensive coordinator and offensive line coach alongside Nelson and also held the role of Youth Director for the school’s football program. He is currently the head football coach at North Branch.
There are many reasons why Nelson is an ideal candidate for the award, which honors coaches who embody the “life-changing qualities of respect and inspiration,” and who inspire “student-athletes and others to emulate their honesty, patience, and modesty.”
“Coach Nelson is a very deserving winner who has positively impacted so many athletes as well as his school and community for over three decades,” said Sullivan, who is also the former head coach of the Northfield High School football team, in an email exchange.
One standout way Nelson has impacted the community is through the volunteerism initiative he and others in the program began over twenty years ago. It started with football players donning their jerseys and picking up garbage around town. Today, the students accumulate countless volunteer hours, often using their strength to help community members move, among other opportunities to lend a hand.
“One of the big reasons we did it was to try to instill something in the kids to serve their community but also tie them into the community,” said Nelson, in a story featured in November. “People are really appreciative of it, and I think it’s really pulled the team and the community together.”
Another of the many reasons Nelson is so deserving of the award is his role in providing opportunities for players from other schools to play football in when their schools lack the numbers necessary for a full season of play. Currently, players from Silver Bay and Duluth Marshall are part of the Agates team.
“I am honored, grateful, thankful, and overwhelmed,” Nelson posted on Facebook after learning about the award. “It is – has always been – and will always be – about people throughout this journey.”
His post went on to read, “Every kid who has or who will ever play for me, every coach who has or will ever coach with me, every supportive parent, every supportive alumni, every supportive fan…..and on and on. Doing it together and building something we can be proud of — That is what the entire goal has been since Day 1 when Dave Mac took a chance on me 25 years ago and hired me.”
Nelson is in good company with previous winners:
- 2025: Tom Nelson – Two Harbors
- 2024: Beau LaBore – Stillwater
- 2023: Bryan Strand – Barnsville
- 2022: Rodney Lossow – Minneapolis South
- 2021: Steve Jipson – Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley HS
- 2020: Charles Adams III – North High School
- 2019: Dave Louzek: Moose Lake-Willow River
- 2018: Tom Lenarz: Cloquet
- 2017: Jeff Schlieff: Spring Lake Park
- 2016: Don Seipkes: Henning & Ottertail Central
- 2015: Jon Bakken: WEM
- 2014: Bubba Sullivan: Northfield
- 2013: Mark Froehling: Farmington
- 2012: Paul Mork: New Life Academy
- 2011: Jeff Ferguson: Totino Grace
- 2010: Dwight Lundeen: Becker(2022 National Winner)
- 2009: Dave Nelson: Minnetonka (2019 National Winner)
- 2008: Dave Hylla: Proctor
- 2007: Mike Mahlen: Verndale
- 2006: Ron Stolski: Brainerd (2005 National Winner)
Sullivan pointed out that there are three national winners on the list. “That’s pretty amazing for our state and says a lot about the quality of football coaches we have in Minnesota,” he wrote.
In true Tom Nelson fashion, he was quick to share the credit for winning the award, which he will receive at the MFCA banquet on March 29th.
“All I ever wanted to do was to give this town and the people who love it, a reason to be proud of THEIR Agate Football Program again!!! So many people (YOU!) have had a hand in this thing one way or another!” he posted. “I love Agate Nation!!!! There is no other place I would ever want to be!!!”
Congratulations to Two Harbors Head Football Coach, Tom Nelson for earning the Jerry Kill Power of Influence Award for 2025. Much deserved.
