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It’s not just by coincidence that the success of girls sports at Cotter High School came when Amy (Burns) Flug was competing there in the mid- to late-1990s.
She was that good — and not in just one sport. During her senior year of 1997-98, Flug was all-state in three sports. She earned five varsity letters in softball, four in tennis and three in basketball.
Flug helped the Ramblers win five Hiawatha Valley League and two section titles in softball. CHS captured three HVL and three section championships in tennis, and she also teamed with Anna-Marie Brickner to win the Section 1A doubles crown twice.
And if you take the Rochester Lourdes basketball juggernaut of the 1990s out of Cotter’s league and section, it’s hard to say how far the three-year starting point guard could have carried it.
“Without a doubt, Amy is one of the best basketball players and softball players in Cotter history,” said Pat Bowlin, who coached her in those two sports. “Amy was a tremendous shooter and her signature move was the pull-up jumper from 15-17 feet.
“On the softball field, she was outstanding in every area of the game. She was known for her pitching and hitting, but her fielding, speed and power made her one of the best players in the state.”
As a freshman in 1994, Flug got her first taste of state tournament play when the tennis team earned Class A runner-up honors. She played No. 2 doubles her first two years, before moving into the No. 1 doubles spot with Brickner her final two seasons.
The Ramblers went on to win the section title the next two years and were state consolation champions in 1995 and ’96. As a doubles team, Burns and Brickner placed third at state as juniors and fourth as seniors.
“I didn’t play tennis in the summer once I got in high school,” Flug said. “I was in basketball leagues three nights a week and played softball a couple other nights and most weekends.
“The first sport I played when I was growing up was tennis, but basketball was my first love.”
Flug was an all-HVL performer and team MVP her junior and senior seasons of basketball. She was also selected the Winona Daily News Player of the Year for the 1997-98 season, plus earned third-team all-state honors by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. to top it off, she was named one of Minnesota’s top 100 girls basketball players that year.
“Our grade and a couple grades above and below us, we really had some good talent and we came together as a team,” Flug said. “That always helps when you’re competing. Pat Bowlin was a huge part in that, too.”
The Cotter softball dynasty started in 1997 with its first section crown. Flug was the starting shortstop on that team that wound up placing fourth at state.
A year later, the Ramblers were back at state again, this time riding the arm of Flug. In her first and only year as the team’s ace pitcher, she posted a 24-2 record, still a single-season record for wins.
CHS was the state consolation champions that year. Flug, meanwhile, earned all-tournament honors for the second straight year, and she also was selected to the Class A all-state team by the Minnesota High School Fastpitch Coaches Association. She went on to play in the state all-star game as well.
To no one’s surprise, Flug was named Cotter’s Female Athlete of the Year.
“The state tournaments are always such a great accomplishment,” Flug said. “But it’s a lot of the little things I remember as being so great. We always talked about the defense that Cotter played and the pride we had in defense in all sports.
“There are so many things you take away from high school athletics — teamwork, dedication, passion for what you are doing. You learn that hard works pays off.”
Flug took her talent and tremendous work ethic to Saint Mary’s University, where she started every game at point guard for four years (1998-2002). Her 101 starts is a school record and her 1,062 career points ranks seventh all-time. She is fifth all-time in career 3-pointers made with 86 and sixth in career steals with 180. Flug was the team captain and MVP her final two years.
Following her four years at SMU, Flug went to Wisconsin-La Crosse to complete her Master’s degree in physical therapy. She’s currently employed by Cornerstone Physical Therapy in Chippewa Falls, where she lives with her husband of just more than one year, Brian.
“There are so many character traits I’ve taken from those days in a Cotter uniform, through the classrooms at Saint Mary’s and La Crosse, and now into my career,” Flug said. “I don’t know who I would be if I didn’t have athletics to help me throughout high school and college.
“It feels great to be part of something with such great history as Cotter and Cotter athletics.”
