STEPHEN, Minn. -- Basketball hoops are commonplace in driveways across the area. But jumping pits like the one that used to be on the Aakre farm in rural Stephen -- now that's another matter.
"That's the only family I know of in the 25 years I've coached track who had a jumping pit in their backyard," West Marshall boys high school track coach Garry Kotts said.
That pit has helped the sons of Leif and Cheryl Aakre develop into standout jumpers. Now the youngest of the four brothers, Erik Aakre, is dominating the triple jump in Section 8A meets this spring, as well as doing well in the long jump and the hurdles.
The jumping pit in the family's back yard was converted from an old wooden sand box. The runway was grass, with cones set up for the lines.
"We were getting too old to play in a sand box, so we made it into a jumping pit," Erik Aakre said. "Andy (his oldest brother) taught the jumping events to me back there. I thought it was the coolest thing.
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"My brother Brent and I would have our own track meets. We kept records."
All four Aakre brothers were state qualifiers in the triple jump. Andrew Aakre was a state champion in the triple jump, as well as the 110 hurdles, and went on to become a Division II All-American in the decathlon competing at North Dakota State. The three younger brothers all have qualified for the state meet in the triple jump, with Brent placing eighth at state in the triple jump.
"Nobody has had better form in the triple jump here than the Aakre brothers," Kotts said. "They have incredible technique. It's something they've worked at.
"Andrew was the best triple jumper of the four brothers. He was phenomenal. Erik is probably a better triple jumper than Nathan and Brent were. He's been consistently around the 40-6 to 41-foot mark, and he's getting closer to 42 feet. If he can hit that at state, I think he could place."
Erik Aakre, a state triple jump qualifier each of the past two seasons, has a season-best jump of 41 feet, 11 inches this spring. He hasn't been beaten in the triple jump, and has also won the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump in some meets.
But Erik Aakre doesn't just compete against current competition. He's jumping against the accomplishments of his older brothers.
"I don't hear any comparisons to my older brothers from other people," the senior said. "But I put (comparisons) on myself. I know how far they jumped. I make it a competition, trying to beat their best jumps. I haven't done it yet. But I think it helps me, pushing me to work harder."
The bid for a return to the state meet comes Thursday when Aakre and his West Marshall teammates compete in the subsectional in Baudette.
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As for the old jumping pit in the backyard, in which Erik Aakre learned the art of the triple jump, it is gone, just another area of grass in the back yard. As the brothers became older, they used it less.
"We got rid of it," the senior said. "We weren't using it anymore, and our cats started to think it was a big litter box."
