Valparaiso High School is proud to announce a special basketball event honoring legendary Viking basketball coach, Virgil Sweet. On December 27th, the Vikings will host Virgil Sweet Night when they play their longtime arch rival, the Chesterton Trojans. A reception will be held in the main lobby prior to and during the junior varsity game starting at 5:30pm.
Coach Sweet came to VHS in 1954 and wasted no time putting the Vikings on the Indiana basketball map. In 1957 his squad won the first of 11 straight section titles. In all, the Vikings would win 14 sectional and two regional championships in Coach Sweet’s 20-year career. In addition, he would develop a national reputation as the inventor of what came to be known as the Valpo Free Throw Method. Coach Sweet is also one of the founders of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, the largest high school organization of its kind.
Many of Coach Sweet’s former players and coaches in the Valpo system went on to become successful head coaches at the high school and college levels. Since Coach Sweet’s retirement from coaching in 1974, four former assistants or players, Dale Ciciora, Skip Collins, Bob Punter, and Joe Otis have directed the Viking basketball program.
The Vikings have won 51 sectionals; ranking them 10th all-time in IHSAA history and 37 of those have been since Coach Sweet’s arrival in 1954. Valparaiso High School is inviting all of Coach Sweet’s former players and coaches to attend this celebration of a true Indiana coaching legend. There will be an area in the lobby designated for former coaches and players to sign in.
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