MEET THE COACHES

SHERYL DEUTSCH

(HEAD OF CAMP)

 "I started coaching in 1975 while I was playing college basketball at St. John’s in Winfield.  I started with the middle school team at the Lutheran School in Winfield.  I then coached volleyball and basketball for 16 years at Holy Cross Lutheran School.  After that I went on to coach High School volleyball and basketball at Trinity Academy High School.  I have run this camp for 37 years at Camp Okoboji.  We started with just basketball then added volleyball.  A few years ago we added soccer.  I have spent my entire life at Camp Okoboji.  My dad was Dean of Cub Weeks so I spent 3 weeks every summer at church camp.  My life has been spent around athletics coaching, administrating and being a parent and grandparent watching.  I have been a High School Activities Director for 25 years.  I love sports!!"

MANDY MATTHEW

(Basketball)

Mandy Matthew played basketball for Holy Cross Lutheran School, Wichita High School (KS), Emporia High School (KS) and Wartburg College (IA).  She has played in state and national tournaments. She began coaching during high school.  Mandy has coached at many different levels, including assisting at the varsity level at Denison High School, Denison, IA, and St. Mary's High School, Storm Lake, IA.  Mandy currently coaches Junior High Girls' Basketball at Concordia Jr/ Sr High in Omaha, NE.  
Mandy and her husband, Paul, have been married for 17 years.  They have two girls in junior high at Concordia.  Mandy works full time as a registered nurse with the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice Team. Mandy also serves at her church as a youth leader.

CARI KOSTER

(Soccer) 

Cari Koster, played premier soccer throughout childhood and teen years including four years as a high school Varsity starter. At Missouri State university, Cari walked on to the Women's Soccer Team as a Junior and Senior. In recent years Cari has coached both boys and girls middle school teams at Holy Cross Lutheran School in Wichita, KS. Her boys team won the league for the first time ever in fall 2018. She has been the Okoboji soccer camp coach since summer 2016 when soccer was added to Sports Camp

SARAH SCHMID

(Volleyball)

Sarah Schmid has played nine different sports competitively since third grade. She competed in basketball, volleyball, and track in high school, and rowing at the Division I level at Kansas State University. She has coached OSC for the last six years and has been attending camp for nine years total. She has reffed basketball and volleyball for preschool- seventh grade for three years. Fun fact: Schmid's favorite movie will forever and always be Finding Nemo.

ALI WALTON

(Basketball)

Ali Walton started playing basketball in third grade. After playing competitively for seven years, she became injured during her freshman year of high school basketball. That injury resulted in the loss of her ability to continue playing basketball, but God decided to use that for something so much greater. She began coaching a few years later and coached middle school basketball for five years at Holy Cross Lutheran (KS) and coached high school girls' basketball at Trinity Academy (KS) for one year. Walton started attending OSC when she was going into fifth grade. She attended camp through ninth grade, returned in high school as a counselor, and has returned as a coach ever since the beginning of college. She currently resides in Nashville, TN and does digital marketing for Sony Music's Christian record label. 

KRISTINA LASKA

(BASKETBALL/VOLLEYBALL)

Kristina Laska began playing volleyball, basketball, and track when she was in seventh grade. She competed competitively all the way through high school. This year will be her tenth anniversary at Okoboji Sports Camp. Currently, she is working as a park manager for the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.