Off Season Training Opportunities
As we enter this off-season we challenge our players to focus on their craft and what they can do to improve, we want to emphasize the importance of off-season training. It's the perfect opportunity for our players to enhance their skills and readiness for the season. Bigger, stronger, faster, & smarter....
Minnetonka Football is committed to meeting our players where they are and providing a range of off-season training options. We encourage our young athletes to participate in as many sports as possible and we also want to provide opportunities for self-development and improvement. Current offerings are detailed below.
Click on images below to learn more!
The Power of the Weight Room....
Join head football coach Mark Esch and head strength coach Taylor Moon for these weight room training sessions. Participants will learn movement mechanics and weight room movement patterns that allow them to build upon previous training. If your son is new to the weight room this is an excellent opportunity to get him started.
Click Image Below to Learn More / Register
Tonka Strong Winter Camp W/ Coach Esch & Head Strength Coach Moon
Click image to register for Tonka Strong Winter Training.
Time: 6:00 pm to 6:45 pm
Dates: (Tuesdays) January: 7, 14, 21, and 28
February: 4, 11, 18, and 25
March: 4, 11, and 18
Location: Pagel Weight Room (2nd Floor)
Who: Current Year 6th, 7th, 8th Grade Athletes
Cost: $129
Safety Concerns About Your Child Playing Football....
A good game is a safe game and TFA is working to prevent injury whenever possible. Click the safety button to learn more about our approach.
Keys to injury prevention are:
- Proper coach training
- Proper equipment fitting
- Proper tackling technique
- Concussion awareness and medical preparedness
- Fostering an environment of safety appreciation
TFA on Facebook
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COACHES - WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK
TFA Coaches - we want your LMAA feedback. Click on the image to submit feedback on the game, your opposing coach and / or your game officials / referees. Please be as objective as possible and keep subjective comments out of the feedback loop. Thanks again.
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Minnetonka High School Football Skills Camp
Who: Current 8th, 9th, 10th, & 11th Grade Football Players
Dates: Wednesdays - 8 days total
Camp nights run Jan 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, Feb 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th.
Time: 5:00 to 6:00pm current 8th/9th and 6 to 7pm for 10th/11th
Current 8th/9th graders (Lombardi, Shoemaker, Opsal, & Mueller)
Current 10th/11th graders (TJ Dean & Line of Scrimmage)
Location: Tonka Dome
Cost: $149
At Minnetonka Football, we are excited to offer some great opportunities for our athletes to work their football specific skills this off-season.
For current sophomore and juniors (juniors & seniors fall '25), we are excited to partner with TJ Dean, Line of Scrimmage, and staff. TJ will work on taking your football skills to the next level by working on ball skills, route running, defensive back drills and all the skills necessary to compete at the Varsity level. We’ve also secured coaching for offensive and defensive linemen for this winter camp. Line of Scrimmage will instruct our current 10th/11th grade players.
For current year 8th graders and freshman our Defensive Coordinator Coach Matt Lombardi, O Line Coach Dave Shoemaker, Offensive Skills Coach Opsal, and D Line Coach Matt Mueller will run a similar camp to TJ Dean and the Line of Scrimmage training. Coach Lombardi and the Minnetonka Staff will bring their expertise, work football specific skills, and bring the “Minnetonka Mindset” to each and every session.
These are great camp & training offerings and an excellent opportunity to connect with the Minnetonka Football Coaching Staff. This training is all optional, and we offer it to our athletes to meet all their development needs. Skill development happens in the off season. Bigger, stronger, faster, & 'smarter'.
Click 'We Build Champions' Logo Above to Learn More / Register.
OUR MISSION FOR FUTURE SKIPPERS
Participate in as many sports as you possibly can. Fight the pressure to specialize in any one sport and trust that the lessons learned in different sports crossover and help you far more than hurt you. Respect the season you are in and dedicate yourself to your team and your coaches. Learn to compete with class and improve from your successes and failures.
You are the Future of Minnetonka Football.
Go Tonka!
Have a question about Tonka Youth Football....
...send us an email at: tfafootballtonka@gmail.com
Westside Football Classic Tournament
5th Grade - Class of 2026 - with their 3rd Place Trophy
2017 6th Grade Team with their 3rd place trophy.
7th Grade - Class of 2024 - with their 2nd Place Trophy
Tonka Football
Check out the Volunteer Tab for Opportunities to Fulfill Your Required Shift(s)
It takes a village and without you as volunteers, we would not be able to function. Thank you for your dedication.
HEAD COACH DAVE NELSON RETIRING
MINNETONKA’S LEGENDARY HEAD FOOTBALL COACH TO RETIRE
DAVE NELSON HAS COACHED IN MINNESOTA FOR 42 YEARS, INCLUDING 18 AT MINNETONKA HIGH SCHOOL
Over the years, Coach Nelson has carved out a lasting legacy, not only on the field, but as a mentor and role model for students. In 2014, he was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. His successful and impactful coaching career has spanned 42 years.
“It has been a privilege to lead the football program at Minnetonka High School for the past 18 years,” said Coach Nelson. “I would like to thank our coaches, administration, support staff, youth coaches, parents, and especially our players for making Minnetonka such a special place.”
Prior to joining Minnetonka, Coach Nelson spent 18 years as Blaine’s head coach where he won a state title in 1988. In 2004, he led the Skippers to the first state title in program history, capturing the Class 5A crown with a 23-14 win over rival Wayzata. Additionally, the Skippers won Classic Lake Conference Championships in 2004, 2006 and 2009 and made it to the Class 6A State Playoffs in 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2018. His 2017 team played in the 6A State Championship. Coach Nelson’s 267 career wins rank him among the winningest high school coaches in Minnesota state history.
Ted Schultz, Director of Athletics and Activities at MHS said, “It has been an absolute honor to work with Dave Nelson. Not only is he a hall of fame coach, but he is a hall of fame person. He is one of the best to ever walk the sidelines in the State of Minnesota. Coach, thanks for investing in the Minnetonka Community and building better men through the game of football.”
Coach Nelson says none of his accomplishments would have come to fruition without the influence of his father, Stan, who coached at Anoka for 26 years and was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1983. Watching—and later playing for—his dad convinced Nelson early on that coaching and teaching was what he wanted to do, something he shared with his father when he was just an eighth-grader.
“I looked at his life and it seemed like he was always happy,” Coach Nelson said of his father. “I saw the influence he had on others and I said to myself that I wanted to try to do that as well. He wanted me to be a dentist.”
Throughout his career, he’s helped to shape the lives of each kid who came through his doors, teaching them the value of hard work, earning what comes to them, and doing everything with class and integrity because, according to Coach Nelson, “at the end of the day it’s your character that matters most.”
To that end, he started the “Men of Character” program at Minnetonka High School several years ago, and it continues today. He was also a leader for students who participated in the Tonka Leadership Challenge, a program he ran for five years, in which he provided guidance to live life with care, respect and commitment toward others. Additionally, he has collaborated with Student Support Services to organize the annual “We Are One” football camp that matches children with special needs with MHS football players for a fun, inclusive event, focused on community.
“High school students are at a very critical age in life,” Coach Nelson said. “Trying to develop them as young men is really important. It has to be about more than just winning football games. Hopefully, they’ll look back on every season and know they became better young men for their experience.”
Coach Nelson is also very involved with the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and serves as the Assistant Executive Director. He is proud of his involvement with Tackle Cancer, a Minnesota Football Coaches Association initiative that has raised more than $2M for the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund over the past eight years. He has not only had a positive effect on his players, but on the Minnetonka football community as a whole. When he first came to Minnetonka, the Skippers had won just nine of 37 games in the previous four seasons. He was committed to changing the culture of the program.
“We wanted to make Friday nights in Minnetonka special and to make them a community event,” Coach Nelson said. “We wanted to make our players part of something special.”
Accomplishing his original vision and watching the Skippers football program grow into what it is today—one that has won five section championships and a state title during his tenure—Coach Nelson said has been one of the most rewarding parts of his career. That also includes improved facilities that rank among the best in the state and a revitalized youth football program that has resulted in more kids playing the sport than ever before.
Dave and his wife Maureen have three children (Sarah, Ashley, and Jesse) and 10 grandchildren—all Skippers!
The search for a new head football coach is already underway.
In the news... Tonka Youth Football
Please click on the image to below to watch a review of the Tonka Youth Football on the local evening news...
