Full Bio
It was a moment as poignant as it was impactful.
And, for obvious reasons, its memory has remained indelibly etched in the mind of Pat Haws '72 over the decades that have followed.
It was a moment as poignant as it was impactful.
And, for obvious reasons, its memory has remained indelibly etched in the mind of Pat Haws '72 over the decades that have followed.
It occurred at the end of January 1973.
His father Terry Haws had been a successful coach at the high school level at both St. James and St. Cloud Cathedral before arriving at Saint John's University in 1967 as head wrestling coach and the only assistant coach under John Gagliardi in football.
He promptly built the Johnnie wrestlers into a national power. The team was coming off a championship at the National Catholic Invitational in 1972.
Terry, though, missed that meet after suffering a massive heart attack during the season. But he was back on the job the following year and was determined to accompany his wrestlers on their return trip to nationals in Cleveland.
He spent the night before he departed at the Twin Cities apartment shared by Pat and new bride Mary Ann. And he passed along some sage advice to his son, who at the time was just breaking into teaching and coaching at Holy Angels Academy following his graduation from SJU the previous year.
"He and Mom stayed over the night before they flew out, and Dad was really very ill," he recalled. "He probably shouldn't have been traveling.
"But while he was here, we were talking. And he said 'You want to coach, don't you?' I said 'Yeah.' And he said 'Then get to college as quick as you can.'
"He had coached a long time at the high school level. But he really enjoyed what he was doing at Saint John's. And that was his advice to me – to get to the college level as soon as I could."
It marked the last time Pat spoke to his father. In Cleveland just 36 hours later, Terry suffered another heart attack and died at age 49.
Pat took his advice and immediately applied for a job at SJU.
"I originally tried to get his job, but they hired another guy," he said. "It would have been coaching wrestling and being an assistant in football. I could maybe have handled the wrestling part. But there was no way I was ready to be an assistant for John Gagliardi. So it was fortunate they said no.
"But the Warner Palaestra was being built and it included a pool. My Dad and I had run the old Municipal Pool in St. Cloud near Lake George. So I knew about chlorine, water filtration and things like that. Jim Smith was the athletic director at the time. He and I talked and he said he could use me to run the pool.
"And then he said 'We want to start a swim team, could you also coach swimming?' I said 'yes' and that's how I got the job. All of a sudden I'm a college swimming and diving coach, but I've never seen a swim meet in my life.
"I remember I got a telegram of congratulations from Mike Augustin (the longtime sportswriter who covered the MIAC at both the St. Cloud Times and St. Paul Pioneer Press)," Haws added. "And it read something about 'Doc Counsilman.' I didn't know what he was talking about.
"But I came to find out that he was the guy that coached Mark Spitz. And he had written the definitive book on coaching swimming. So I got a copy and it became my bible."
"I remember telling the guys on my first team being the swim coach at Saint John's was the job I wanted most," he continued, his voice cracking with emotion. "And that we were going to be good.
"But I didn't know anything about swimming so they would have to teach me. And those guys are my heroes because they accepted that."
Despite his lack of experience, Haws built the SJU swimming and diving program into a conference contender. He remained at the helm until 1998. And in that time, his teams placed in the top three at the MIAC championships in 23 of 25 seasons – including 15 runner-up finishes.13781
The 1978 SJU swimming & diving team
There were also 11 finishes in the top 25 at the Division III national meet. And his swimmers earned All-American honors 40 times and won one national diving championship and one U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifier.
In 1978, he was persuaded to add head soccer coaching duties to his portfolio, which over the years also included coaching golf and tennis. The Johnnies, in the 11 seasons the program had existed up to that point, had gone through five head coaches.
"That spring, the swimming and diving teams earned its first All-Americans," Haws said. "John Gagliardi, who was the AD, said he wanted me to be head soccer coach. I said 'But John, I don't know anything about soccer.' He said 'What did you know about swimming? You've done well there. You'll do the same with soccer.'"
Haws brought stability, coaching a total of 32 seasons before retiring after the 2009 season. And he built the program into a national power, making NAIA or NCAA Division III national tournament appearances in 1979, '80, '82, '86, '89, '90 and 2005.
That included two trips to the national quarterfinals (1986 and '89).
Along the way, he compiled a record of 341-140-50, making him the winningest college men's soccer coach in Minnesota history.
He also turned into a powerful advocate for the sport, and for his players – 88 of whom earned All-MIAC first-team honors during his tenure and two of whom were All-Americans.
The head coach himself was twice named MIAC Coach of the Year.
"He did (champion soccer), but he would have if it was tiddlywinks too," said his son John '99, who played for his father before joining his coaching staff. "Those were his guys. He truly and deeply cared about them.
"He's a magnetic person and people like being around him. And he genuinely is interested in others. I think those are the qualities that made him not only a great coach, but a great husband and a great father."
Following his retirement, John was hired to take his place – extending the family's head coaching legacy in Collegeville to a third generation.
Pat took a couple of seasons away from the program so John could establish himself as the head coach, but he returned as an assistant in 2012 and remains on-staff today.
"My biggest thrill was just getting a job at Saint John's and being able to follow in my father's footsteps," he said. "Just to have been able to be here all these years has been an amazing experience and one I'm so grateful for.
"Saint John's has meant an awful lot to the Haws family over the years."
