We're lucky to have coach RopsFor a man who has led his school’s team to its first state basketball tournament in 22 years, Luverne coach Tom Rops has endured his share of criticism this season.It started with a Star Herald letter to the editor from a disgruntled Luverne High School fan who blamed the coach for a loss to Redwood Valley in December. It continues with a letter to the editor from a Pipestone Arrow backer, which appears on the editorial page of this week’s Star Herald. The Pipestone fan takes exception to an exchange between Rops and Arrow supporters during the South Section 3A championship game in Marshall March 5.Although Mr. Rops is a big boy who can stand up for himself, I’d like to offer my support to a man I respect as a coach and a person.Many see the LHS mentor as a gruff, abrasive man because his voice echoes in the gym, but I’ve seen a different side of his personality.Yeah, one of Tom’s noticeable characteristics is being what I call a high-strung individual. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. He displays his coaching passion through his emotions, and it’s geared toward turning his players into the best possible team they can be.What the casual fans don’t see is Rops’ lighter side, which I’m subjected to every time I conduct a post-game interview in his coaching office.Win or lose, he graciously takes the time to give me everything I need to do my job. I’ve seen him interacting with his family members many times before or after our interviews. He strikes me as a great father and husband who doesn’t let what happened on the court influence his mood when it comes to his family. In fact, the coach always has something nice to say to my curious son, Nick, who likes to sit in on some of our post-game discussions on occasion.To be honest, I didn’t see the December home game against Redwood Valley. Looking back at the game story in our records, it appears the Cardinals let a 17-point lead slip away during the course of the game.According to one LHS fan, the loss was a result of poor coaching technique. Rops, claimed the fan, disrupted Luverne’s momentum by yelling at his players and telling them to slow down the pace of the game.It seems to me controlling the tempo of the game has been the key to Luverne’s success during the postseason. And, whatever happened on that December night in Luverne, I’m sure all of the blame can’t rest on the shoulders of the coach. Remember Rops is the leader of 16-, 17- and 18-year-old boys, not men. How a teenager reacts to certain situations is an unpredictable prospect at best. And, to challenge the ability of the coach to that end is nothing short of absurd.As for the point made by the Pipestone fan, I can’t condone Rops’ response. After talking to the coach about the issue, I understand why he said what he did.It appears the Arrow fans sitting right behind the LHS bench were letting coach Rops and the Cardinal players know that they were there in a not-so-friendly manner. They went as far as to question the coach’s decisions (among saying other not-so-kind things that Rops didn’t want to share with me) and belittle some of the Cardinal players during time-outs. Rops simply took enough of their harassment. Regrettably, he made a bad decision in letting the fans badgering him know how he felt about it.Although I wish he would have handled the Pipestone situation differently, one bad decision made in the heat of battle will not change my opinion of Tom Rops. He deserves a lot of credit for the great job he has done with the 2004-05 LHS team, and we’re lucky to have him as the head coach of our basketball program.