In the summer of 1982 Mike Cowan and a few other hockey enthusiasts made a proposal to the WIAA for a senior class tournament that would be held after the high school hockey season.

The inaugural event would have six teams--four from the WIAA sectionals, one WAHA team, and one private schools team.

The proposal was not initially well-received by the WIAA, but thanks to Cowan's persistence, the Wisconsin Senior Class Tournament took place at the Waupun Community Center March 18-20, 1983.

The North Central sectional was coached by legends Pete Susens and Steve Freeman. The former now owns the most career high school wins in the state while coaching at Wausau West, and the latter is a fixture at the D3 college level as a coach at UW-River Falls.

The Northwest sectional was led by coaches Steve Kirley and Gary Harker. Kirley has coached for many years at Hayward high school while Harker won three state high school titles at Superior and went on to coach several seasons at UW-Superior.

The private school coach was none other than Jack Stoskopf of Stevens Point Pacelli, who would later go on to fame at SPASH.

The Janesville sectional was headed by coaches Vic Levine and George Gwozdecky. Levine is the proud owner of six state titles while coaching at Madison Memorial, while Gwozdecky is the long-time coach at the University of Denver.

Mike Dibble and Joe Baldarotta coached the Madison squad. Dibble played at the UW in the mid-70s while "Baldie" earned a state title for Madison West in 1983 and then led the powerful UWSP team to an NCAA D3 title and two runner-up finishes.

My hockey history from this period is a little sketchy...no, a LOT sketchy, so excuse me for not knowing all the names.

The records show that the Private School team defeated the Northwest sectional 9-4 for the first SCT title.

And so it began, 28 years ago.

This year, the 29th edition of the SCT will take place in Waupun the weekend of March 25-27. The teams will be staffed by 160 of the top senior players in the state, many of whom will go on to play hockey at the next level, whether it be juniors, college, or maybe even for a select couple--the NHL.

This is a good chance to see some great hockey players and to have some fun.

If you are not busy at the end of the month, travel down (or up) to Waupun to catch some of the best players in the state. It's also a great opportunity to meet with coaches and parents in the food tent, which is a must-see.

Hope to see you there!