Meet the Coaches


Head Coach: Mike Downie
This will be my second year coaching girls basketball, I previously coached boys for 4 years. I work at Pine Island Middle School. My wife and I have been married 15 years, we have 2 sons in the Pine island school district.  I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful program for years to come.  
Varsity Asst: Heidi Dunker
Heidi has coached girls basketball in Pine Island for the past three seasons. She loves sharing her love of the game with the girls and is excited to be the Varsity Assistant coach for this upcoming season. Heidi is a Wisconsin native, but has lived in Minnesota since 2004. She graduated from Lake Mills High School where she was a tri-sport athlete playing basketball, running cross country and track and field. She played basketball at the University of Wisconsin Platteville where she graduated with her BS in Business Administration. She works at Mayo Clinic in Human Resources. Heidi and her husband reside in Oronoco with their two kids. 

Junior Varsity coach: Rob Warneke
High school math instructor for Byron, have coached Junior varsity and varsity girls at Byron, 2nd year coaching JV girls in Pine Island.  Rob and his wife have 4 children, 3 graduated from Pine Island, and their youngest is a senior this year.  Rob has also coached football and is currently coaching track and field at Pine Island.


9th grade:  Summer Cavallaro

8th Grade: Tessa and Eric Weis

7th Grade: Tony Talbot
I am from Dodge City, KS.  I worked for Walmart for 32 years which moved us across the midwest including Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin before settling here.  I have been in this area for the last 21 years and I have had children in the pine island school district for that same amount of time.  I am married and we have seven children. Five girls and two boys ranging from 7-26.  I coached 13-14 yr old baseball for several years in Kansas.  I helped coach the sixth girls last year. I love basketball and I am a huge KU basketball fan.  My uncle used to play for them.