MONROE — In the softball community, wearing bows is a hit or miss — either a player is all out or they are totally against it. Since 2010, Monroe softball has been wearing bows thanks to the talents of assistant coach Donna Skogen.

“At first, I wasn’t sure about the bows,” 2020 graduate Grace Tostrud said. “I quickly grew to love them and looked forward to a new bow each game.”

Skogen, who began assisting the Monroe softball team in 2010, started making bows due to player demand. Aside from coaching softball, Skogen has been coaching cheerleading in Mount Horeb for 40 years. Softball players noticed the bows on Mount Horeb cheerleaders and wanted their own.

“Some of the girls remembered my cheerleader bows in Mount Horeb,” Skogen said. “They said, ‘You make the cool bows. We like the bows.’ So, I started making bows.”

Skogen makes new bows for each game day, using new ribbon each time so no bow is ever duplicated. Some bows follow a game or season theme. 

Traditionally, Monroe takes spring break trips south. When the team traveled to Disney, Skogen made bows that had Mickey Mouse ears or the castle on them. This year, Skogen made Tennessee bows for the team’s trip to Pigeon Forge. 

Each year, Monroe hosts a Cancer Tournament, and Skogen puts in special effort to make those bows. This year, the bows included green and blue ribbons to honor football coach Toby Golebiewski, father of first baseman Sophie Golembiewski.

Senior Night is another special occasion for bows, as Skogen adds personal touches to each senior’s bow, whether their favorite color or their name and number.

Skogen makes nearly 20 bows each game — enough for all the players, herself, assistant coach Noel Herbst and a couple extra. Unless players or parents provide the ribbon or money to buy ribbon, the material comes directly out of Skogen’s pocket. Each night before a game, she spends a couple hours on her creations.

“It depends on the bows. When we go to state or regionals — the bigger games — I always do a little more,” Skogen said. “It takes me 4-5 hours. On a normal day, when I put together a simple bow, it takes an hour and a half for 20 of them.”

While the bows provide excitement each game day, they stand for more than just a hair accessory.

“It’s more than just a bow in our hair,” Herbst said. “It’s the bonds and teamwork we have throughout the year.”

This season, the team displayed each bow on a bat. After each game, they’d place the new bow on the bat, which traveled with the team to each game. The bat and bows reminded the girls of the season’s theme — no one on this team fights alone. Similarly in 2022, the team placed each game-day bow around a home-plate shaped poster with a quote about perseverance on it.

In addition to team chemistry, the bows are a symbol of Skogen’s dedication to the team.

“She loves promoting the sport, but it’s more than that,” Herbst said. “She makes connections with the girls and supports them.”

Skogen uses her cheerleading background to lift the girls up during games in the dugout while Herbst and head coaches Dale Buvid (1984-2016) and Joe O’Leksy (2017-present) are on the field. In years past, Skogen would even celebrate big wins with cartwheels after the game.

“You could always count on her to cheer you up and cheer you on,” 2016 graduate Hannah Vetterli said. “She was always supportive. She always had our backs. I don’t remember much about high school softball, but I’ll never forget D.”

She’s left such an impression on the girls in the softball program that several of them collect and still display their bows, despite graduating many years ago. Hannah Vetterli and her sister Kirsten, a 2014 graduate, display their bows in a wreath, while others hang them up on their walls.

“I still have every bow she made,” Tostrud said. “They represent so many memories, and I’ll always be thankful for Coach D’s role in my softball career and impact on me as both a player and person.”

The relationship is reciprocal, too, as the softball players cheer Skogen up after stressful days.

“I love the sport. I love the kids,” Skogen said. “I can have an awful day at work or the farm, and I come down here and the kids make me feel better. I joke with people that the kids here are like my therapy.”

While Skogen doesn’t see an end to coaching or working at her salon in Mount Horeb — Charm Hair Fashions — any time soon, she knows that when it is time to give those up, she’ll still be making bows.

“I don’t plan on quitting making them,” Skogen said. “If I do retire from doing hair and coaching, one of my jobs might be making and selling bows to teams.”