CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — A high school girls basketball coach in Minnesota has reached a major milestone in his career. 

New London-Spier’s girls’ basketball coach Mike Dreier recently became the first prep girls basketball coach in state’s history to reach 1,000 wins. But that’s not the only thing making him special. 

The veteran coach, who is in his 43rd season, was just about to retire before Earl Rich, his foster son, begged him to stay. 

“I was considering being done a few years ago and he came back around and told me that I had to coach his daughters. And I said, ‘I don’t think I can do that.’ But the next thing I know, I was, and it’s been great.”

Rich said he wasn’t giving up his dream, especially when he knew his four daughters could play for him.

“I just told (Dreier) to come down and look at this group of girls and see what he thinks. And when he went down there and looked at them … I think that gave him a little bit more admiration to keep going.”

Rich spent a decade in foster homes before he met Dreier, his seventh grade coach.

Dreier recalled when he heard Rich would have to move to another school district after his sixth foster family decided to give him up. 

“I was in the teachers’ lunchroom, and the choir teacher came in and was just ranting and raving about how Earl was going to have to leave New London to go to a bigger school nearby in Willmar. And for whatever reason, I said he could live with me, you know, I’m by myself, it’s no big deal.” 

Rich said he was shocked to hear that Dreier would take him in. 

“I was sort of shocked because I didn’t know what to think but then once reality hit, I was, like, you know what? This could be a really, really good thing for me. And, you know, basically from there on forward.”

Dreier ended up fostering Rich through his sophomore, junior and senior years of high school. Rich said Dreier provided him with a lot of loving support and guidance through the years.

“We spent a lot of time in the gym, and he gave me the avenues that I needed as far as a father goes.”

When Rich decided to return to his hometown for work, he reached out to Dreier to see if he would be interested in being a coach and mentor for his girls, just like Dreier was to him. 

“I love coaching kids that really want to be there and really care and Earl’s daughters are all that way, Dreier said. “So it’s been really an enjoyable time for me to work with them and for me to get to know him better because of them.”

Dreier said hasn’t decided when he will officially throw in the towel, but he said coaching will always be his main passion.