MyParkTeam

Coach, 8th grade basketball, JV and Varsity Football

I first met Coach Foster in 2006 when he coached my son’s 8th grade basketball team. After a successful season, and a great first place finish at the Rochester Tournament, I can honestly say that I believe Foster to be one of the best coaches in St. Louis Park youth sports. I kept the scorebook during the season, and helped out at practices when asked, so got to really see Foster up close. He knows his x’s and o’s, but it’s his personality that makes him successful.

What makes coach Foster different from other coaches I’ve watched over the years is his ability to yell every minute of every game (the man has some leather lungs!), but his yelling is never disrespectful to the referees or players. It’s always encouraging, always has a purpose. For example, after a player makes a bad play—let’s call the player “John”—he might yell, “JOHN! JOHN! That’s not a good shot, son!” And like Jerry Tarkanian before him, Coach Foster always has his trusty white towel in hand, to wipe the sweat away during a close game, or to chew on in a not-so-close game.

I should mention, too, that Coach Foster is the boss at all times, and if a player doesn’t show him the respect he deserves, Foster will send him packing, no matter how talented the player may be. I was pleased to see Foster tell one of his best players to leave the gym after the player questioned his authority. “I learned how to deal with knuckleheads coaching in Minneapolis,” said Foster. “I don’t put up with that kind of stuff.”

Foster was born in Patterson, New Jersey on February 19, 1970, and moved to Augusta, Georgia in 1977. Foster was one of eight kids, four boys and four girls, and considered himself slightly lower than middle class because only his father worked out of the house, as a professional musician (piano player and PhD in music).

“Some of my brothers and sisters are also good at music,” said Foster. “But not me!”

Despite living in Georgia, Foster wasn’t an Atlanta Falcons fan, but, instead, loved the Pittsburgh Steelers. His favorite pro player was the Steelers’ Hall of Fame receiver, Lynn Swann (also my favorite football player as a kid).

Football was Foster’s first love, and he started playing recreational league ball at age 13. Foster also played basketball, but when he was cut from his freshman team at Glen Hills High School, he decided to concentrate solely on football.

Glen Hills High had a great football tradition, with several alumni making it the NFL, including Leroy Irving (Pro Bowl cornerback with the Los Angeles Rams ) and Jerry Ellison (Tampa Bay Buccaneer running back).

Foster made the Varsity football team as a sophomore as a defensive end and fullback, despite weighing only 150 pounds, but he would gain 20 pounds of muscle by his senior year.

“I think football is the ultimate team sport,” explained Foster. “Nothing against basketball, but with 11 players, you have to play as a team to be successful.”

After high school, Foster was recruited to play football by Morehouse College in Atlanta, but he was unsure of what career he wanted to pursue, so he joined the Army and served in the first Gulf War as a fuel truck driver.

After he was honorably discharged from the army in 1994, Foster went to school to become a cement contractor, and then decided to move to Minnesota where his brother was living. After briefly returning to Georgia due to homesickness, Foster moved back to Minnesota for good.

A few years ago, a friend of Foster’s recommended he apply for an open coaching job with the St. Louis Park traveling basketball program, and in his first year, coaching the 7B team, he won the state tournament.

“That was my biggest thrill coaching,” Foster remembered. “My guard, Marcus Edwards, hit a last second shot to win the state championship game. I’ll never forget it.”

Since then, Foster admits that in his heart basketball has caught up to football, and he likes to coach them both equally. Besides coaching the 8th grade basketball team this season (’07-’08), Foster coached defense on the JV football team, and was an assistant on Varsity. Foster dreams, one day, of being a high school head coach for football.

Foster works as a Recovery Analyst for United Healthcare, and lives in Minneapolis. Foster has three children: Bri-aunna, 13. who isn’t into sports; Le-Kendria, 11, who likes volleyball and softball; and Avre (AJ), four months, who will really love sports if his dad has anything to say about it!

From 1997-2006 Foster played semi-pro football with teams such as the St. Paul Sting, Shakopee Warriors, Twin Cities Titans and Minneapolis Lumberjacks. Foster was named the defensive player of the year in 2004 playing defensive end for Shakopee, and played in the Semi-pro All-Star game three times (2002-2004) at the Metrodome.

Foster’s biggest thrill as a player, though, occurred last year when his team beat the Racine, Wisconsin Raiders, 37-15, in the championship game at the Metrodome. Racine had been considered the best semi-pro team in the Midwest for 10 years before they were upset by Foster’s team.

Despite many injuries, including torn ACL injuries to both knees, Foster continues to play sports, and stay active.

“The best advice I can give to kids is to never give up and work hard at everything they do,” said Foster. “Reward goes to those who work the hardest. Give it your all!”

St. Louis Park is lucky to have a gem like Coach Foster in our community.