WELLS &045; A year ago last fall, United South Central girls’ basketball coach Dale Koestler considered making wholesale changes to his team’s offense.

“But I chickened out,” said Koestler. “It was a week before the season.”

And it’s not like there was a glaring need for change. Koestler’s Rebels have been one of the most successful teams in the area since USC was formed in 1991.

Nevertheless, this past fall, after consulting with his captains, Koestler decided to make the move, scrapping the trusty old pattern offense in favor of a motion-type strategy.

The result was a positive one.

The 2002-03 Rebels surpassed most people’s expectations while finishing 20-6 overall and 9-4 in the Gopher Conference.

It means Koestler is the Tribune’s Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year.

It’s not the first time Koestler has earned the award and probably not the last. This past season was his 12th at USC, where his teams have compiled a record of 189-111. Including four years at Alden-Conger, where his teams went 59-22, Koestler has a career record of 248-133.

The 2002-03 Rebels were picked by at least one publication to finish fourth in the realigned Gopher Conference, which they joined after many years in the South Central. They finished second behind section champion Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton.

“I think it was a great season,” said Koestler.

But it wasn’t a typical season, starting with the offensive overhaul.

“It was a situation where they had to learn a lot, and I had to learn a lot,” said Koestler. “We worked on it a little last summer, but the real teaching started in November. It really worked well for us. Overall, the kids did a nice job with it. It was a lot of fun.”

The new offense allows the players more freedom, according to Koestler, and makes the Rebels more difficult to defend.

“We could to right into our offense without calling a play,” he said. “Before, we had to pull it out, call a play, and go from point A to point B.”

Things didn’t always run smoothly, though, and during Christmas break Koestler asked his players of they wanted to go back to a pattern offense.

“The girls wanted to stay with this,” said Koestler. “The big thing is the girls worked hard at it, they had fun with it, and they were proficient at it.”

It’s not the offense that Koestler will remember most from the season, though. It’s the players.

“The biggest thing I’ll take from this season is the girls,” said Koestler. “They’re a super bunch. I usually do enjoy the kids, but this year is one I will remember for a long time. It was a lot of fun, and not just because we were winning, although that always helps. We just had a super group of girls, with smarts and ability.”

And personality.

“There are days when you go to a job and you’re not real fired up about it,” said Koestler. “Everyone has them. At midseason, a lot of times, you just struggle for something fresh. We had personalities, kids like Lacy Schumann and Kerri Mueller, who were always smiling and kept everyone else smiling. It made it fun to go to practice every day. It’s hard to explain. It was just fun being around them.”

Opposing coaches describe Koestler as a gentleman and a tough competitor.

&uot;He’s a real good guy to talk to, to get good ideas from,&uot; said Alden-Conger coach Mark Henrich. &uot;He’s very gracious, and I guess you would say humble too. They have good teams, but they don’t take it to you, they don’t rub your noses in it. He’s very prepared, his teams are always ready. He has a good program over there.&uot;

&uot;Dale does a fantastic job with his kids,&uot; said NRHEG coach Mindy Sparby. &uot;The big thing is, he always has a group of disciplined players. He just does a great job with what he has to work with.&uot;

Koestler admitted it was satisfying to try something new and see it work out.

“After a while, as a coach, you think you’re doing some things right,” he said. “The thing with me is I never think I know it all. I’m constantly trying to get better, even after 16 years. This year, with the motion, it really stretched me with what I was doing.

“That’s the great thing about basketball,” added Koestler. “There are 500 million ways to play it and teach it. There are so many variables, so many things you can do.”