Don Lyons is still motivated by the grind of a baseball season. The veteran Denison-Schleswig coach joined elite company recently when he reached the 600 victory mark in a 14 inning win over Lewis Central. Lyons also spent more than 30 years coaching girls and boys basketball.

“In basketball you are preparing twice a week, in football you’re preparing once, and the thing about baseball is it’s an everyday thing,” Lyons says. “Guys have to go out there and compete. Their legs are sore, their arms are sore and they’ve been traveling in a bus, but you have to find the determination and courage to go out there and do those things.”

Lyons says everyday nature of baseball makes it a unique challenge as you don’t get to enjoy a victory very long or sit on a loss very long. Lyons is in his 26th year as the head baseball coach for the Monarchs and has enjoyed a lot of success in his career, including a class 3A state championship in 1994.

“It’s fun, it’s challenging and it’s rewarding,” Lyons says. He says he’s had a lot of good young men who have played for him. Denison-Schleswig also finished as the state runner up in 2000.