GRAND MEADOW — The last four years have gone about as good as it can get for Grand Meadow football team and their head coach Gary Sloan.

The Superlarks, who are on a current 36-game winning streak, have played in the last four Class nine man state title games and they’ve won the last three state titles. This past weekend, Sloan was recognized as the The Minnesota Football Coaches Association 2015 coach of the Year.

Sloan said he considers the award as a recognition of his whole program and he was quick to credit GM assistant coaches Aaron Myhre, Anthony Stejskal and Deke Stejskal for being a boost and all three were present at Saturday’s banquet.

“I know a lot of guys that have won it in the past and they’re some big name guys. I don’t really put myself in their category, but it’s a big honor,” Sloan said of winning coach of the year. “It’s all about the team. Our program isn’t going to be nearly as successful as it is without those three [Deke, Anthony and Myhre] and you’ve got to have the players to go along with it too.”

Sloan, who has a career record of 178-72 overall, has coached for 23 years in GM and he’s seen the highs and lows that a program can go through. When he first arrived GM, the Larks averaged 10 wins per season in Sloan’s first four years, but he also had some down years over time.

Sometimes smaller schools have a tough time garnering the respect of big time programs and Sloan was glad to have a little more recognition brought to the Larks. Having his sons Tyler and Trevor on the program over the last four years was icing on the cake as well.

“When I first started coaching we did really well and you get kind of spoiled thinking it’s going to be easy. Then you go on harder times,” Sloan said. “To have this kind of a run and have it at the same time my own kids were involved is kind of a dream come true.”

When Sloan coaches his team, he tries to teach them lessons that go beyond football. His squads rarely run up the score and they try to play the game while having respect for their opponents.

“We try to do things the right way. That’s the phrase I use all of the time,” Sloan said. “That means so much on the football field, but it’s also in the classroom, when you’re in town and when you’re in other towns. It’s a few simple words that are a motto that you should live your life by. I feel like we’re doing a pretty good job on both ends of that.”

GM has not only made strides on the football field, its school is also in a good place. GM’s school is currently in the middle of an expansion and the enrollment has gone up in the past few years.

“I think our school has so many good things going for it and so many good things to offer,” Sloan said. “We provide a lot of good things and financially we’re in good shape. I think our entire school is well respected and it’s fun to be a part of that.”

While the Larks have gained a lot of notoriety for their three straight state titles, Sloan said he still looks back at the 2012 as being an overlooked squad. That team got to the state championship game and inspired a lot of the younger GM players who would become fixtures for the Larks for years to come.

“That 2012 team, that’s the one that really kind of catapulted us into the fray and really got us going,” Sloan said. “That senior class that year was a very, very good class. I wish people would look at that class and give them a little respect too. Each year you pass the torch from one to the next.”