Northern

2017 National Coaches Day

USTA Northern | October 06, 2017


On September 19, 1972, former President Richard Nixon signed proclamation 4157 declaring October 6, 1972, as National Coaches Day. Nixon said, “Coaches are highly qualified teachers in highly specialized fields. But more than that, they are friends and counselors who help to instill in their charges important attitudes that will serve them all their lives. A coach can help a young person learn how to win gracefully and how to grow from defeat. A coach can help build moral fiber on which our future as a nation depends.”


Today, the best coaches are committed to helping young athletes develop into more confident, talented, and disciplined student-athletes. They don't coach for the money, for the victories, or for the personal accolades - they coach because they are passionate about helping young athletes become better athletes, and more importantly, better people.

 

USTA Northern is proud to recognize the following coaches as part of National Coaches Day in 2017. Each honoree was nominated by individuals in their community. Read all the great things about how these coaches are impacting lives on a daily basis both on and off the court.
 
Pat Allar
Williston Fitness Center
Minnetonka, Minn.


“Pat works with all levels very well and is cordial and welcoming toward participants in her sessions” – Don Bateen

“Pat is patient, engaging and helpful in teaching me to be a better doubles player.” – Rich Fine

“She has proven herself as an untiring and creative coach for her senior tennis players at Williston. Her patience, good humor and skills have made us grand tennis players in our later years. Cheers to Pat.” –Linda Havir

“Coach Allar works with senior citizens who are often tennis beginners, hard to teach and gifted with their own way of doing things. Tennis is happiness, and to encourage it through creaky joints and sometimes deficient strokes takes a thoughtful person. Pat is that.” –- Mike Hendley

“Pat has a critical eye to detect how a player can improve his/her stroke or serve and then focus on drills to work towards better skills.” -- Sue Kirchhoff

“I have been coached by or have taken lessons from Pat for over 15 years. She is dependable and always able to identify any struggle I may be having at the moment. She always has very practical advice and has a way bringing it all back to the basics. I always leave the court feeling more confident in my skills.” – Donna Ruekert

“Always encouraging and supportive, Pat tailors her lessons to meet the individual needs of the player. Her instruction is always simple and helpful. In group lessons, she makes it a point to recognizes opportunities for each one of us and does it all with a smile and amazing attitude.” – Kathy Ruhland


“You can tell pat enjoys her job. She really cares about making you a better player.” – Amy Rutherford

“She takes the time to ask and really listen to what you want to work on for skills and strategy. She is very good at pin pointing what you need to change in a skill to make it more effective in your game” – Connie Weinstein

Molly Ambrose
Williston Fitness Center
Minnetonka, Minn.

“Molly is a mother of four children, owns her own business, but yet is quite often one of the first pros to fill in for others when they need help. She is a team player and loves the opportunity to share her love of the game. Her positive energy and contagious enthusiasm for the game and the kids is overwhelming! You will ALWAYS be able to hear Molly as she cheers on her students … no matter what court you are on. – Felicia Raschiatore

 

Paul Christen
Mandan High School
Mandan, N.D.


“Coach Christen always knows what to say whether the team is winning or losing. He is one of the most dedicated coaches I have ever met!” –Kenna Heidt


Doug Dexheimer
Spearfish High School
Spearfish, S.D.


“Coach Dexheimer has had a tremendously positive impact in our community and at Spearfish High School. He begins to inspire kids at a young age during the many summer tennis programs he coaches. He keeps tennis fun for the kids, while at the same time, coaching them in the basics of the game. He also invests in the younger generation during the winter tennis camps. His desire to create a solid, city-wide tennis league is coming to fruition. This is evident in the many people who play tennis for the enjoyment of the game. The middle school program has grown tremendously over the past couple of years. Coach Dexheimer encourages many students to join the high school tennis team. He cares most about the improvements that all of his players make throughout each season, rather that the final score. He has a full spectrum of coaching ability and will coach an athlete on the physical changes they need to make during their matches. At times, the athletes may have to make mental adjustments as well, which Coach Dexheimer also helps them with. What speaks volumes about Doug’s coaching ability is the superior sportsmanship his athletes display on and off the courts. Each player is calm and well-mannered and their sportsmanship shines through for all to see. At the end of each match, tennis camp or rec program, Coach Dexheimer can be found picking up trash that has been left behind. That is a true testament to his positive character traits. Not only does Coach Dexheimer teach tennis, he also inspires other to perform better and work hard to achieve their goals.” –-Joe Doerges

Craig Gordon
USTA Northern Lead Faculty Coach
Farmington, Minn.


“For the past 7 years, Craig has given his time and energy as a USTA coach in growing the game of tennis in USTA Northern. His passion lies in the development of the orange-ball player as he has been the Section's lead Early Development Camp faculty coach for the past 3 years. He spends numerous weekends away from his family in leading our camps. He also does an amazing job training and educating coaches so that they have the ability to pass the information along to other coaches, players and parents.” – Pat Colbert

Wendy Hastings
Menomonie High School
Menomonie, Wis.


“Wendy is a very experienced and passionate coach. Over her three decades of coaching - 34 years to be exact - she has sent many singles and doubles teams to the state tournament. Wendy has had 30-plus players every season in her career. She was also the boys head tennis coach for 10 years. Wendy has written and secured many grants for her program. She is truly the heart and soul of Menomonie Tennis!” – Greg Emerson

 

Erik Kringlie
Valley City State University
Valley City, N.D.

"Erik founded and continues to volunteer coach the Valley City State Tennis on Campus Club team. For over 11 years, he has welcomed new and returning players to the small, rural campus and has created a culture of tennis as a lifetime sport. His tireless efforts of coordinating practices, traveling to tournaments, fundraising and road trips to play indoor tennis during the winter months are often unnoticed by our tennis community. He coached the 2014 team to their first trip to TOC Nationals in Arizona. VCSU has had received the USTA Northern Tennis On Campus Club of the Year and Organizer of the Year awards. Erik lives and breathes tennis, whether it's coaching JTT, high school or college tennis." --Susan Kringlie
 

Scott McPherson
Bismarck Legacy High School
Bismarck, N.D.


“Scott McPherson serves as both the boys and girls coach at Legacy High School. Prior to coaching at Legacy, he was a long-time coach at crosstown rival Century High School. Scott has had a very successful career in coaching tennis and has won numerous coaching awards, while having many athletes compete for state championships. Scott has been very active in promoting tennis in the community through encouraging his players to play in tournaments, JTT and lessons. Scott's teams have been counted on many times to assist with the local Band Day Parade tennis float or helping with the Tennis Block Party. Scott has been an active member of the Bismarck-Mandan Tennis Association, the local Community Tennis Association where he has served on the youth committee. Scott is also a board member on the North Dakota Tennis Association. Scott participates in local leagues and tournaments. Scott is an asset to the local tennis community. His good natured demeanor and positive attitude make him a favorite with his athletes and respected by his fellow coaches.” – Kevin Allan

Lee Meier
Crookston Tennis Association
Crookston, Minn.


“Lee has been a charter member in our tennis association since its inception. Lee volunteers his time every week to coach and drill the adults in our community. Lee has also been an assistant tennis coach for Crookston High School for over 20 years. Lee does this because of his love for the game and to help get adult interested in tennis.” – David Geffee

Jack Nelson
Washburn H.S./InnerCity Tennis
Minneapolis, Minn

“I have been coached by Jack Nelson for many years and he has always been so great. He has a lot of tips and tricks to help you improve your swing, serve and return. He makes playing tennis even more fun and anyone would be very lucky to have him as their coach.” – Fiona Mullin

“Jack Nelson should be recognized during National Coaches Day because not only is he a good coach and helps us realize our tennis abilities, but he makes it fun in the process. For example, almost everyone on our team has at least one nickname from him and everyone on the team constantly teases (light heartedly of course) him. Jack also goes out of his way to make our experiences better. If your racket breaks, he always has a spare. He also repeatedly brings us food for after our matches and makes sure that it doesn't conflict with anyone's allergies or choices as to what they eat. Jack Nelson goes above and beyond as a coach and truly connects with each and every team member.” - Sierra Krueger-Wolfe

“Jack has helped me improve so much as a tennis player. He knows how to motivate us and is tough on us when he needs to. He also knows how to make practice fun and something to look forward to. He wants us to succeed, but he also doesn’t put an excessive amount of pressure on us to do so. At our last match of the season, he brought fried chicken afterward and a ton of other food. Not many of us had done super well that day and the chicken certainly cheered us up.” --Olivia Goehring
 

“He is an amazing coach and has taught the whole team so much. He supports us, and when we needed help, he would take the time and work with us separately. He helped me when I had to switch to my left hand by creating special exercises just for me specifically for hands and backhands. But the best part was along with the drills and the practice we had to do, he made it fun for everyone on the team. Everyone on the team was positively impacted by Jack and we would not be as good at tennis if we had a different coach.” - Eva Allinder

“Jack is a wonderful coach as his teaching methods are great. On top of that, he is so caring and thoughtful outside of practice. For our last match he even brought fried chicken! We can be quite annoying, but he puts up with us and even let us put on the ugliest hat in existence on him.” --Caroline Claeson

 

“This man is the reason I keep playing tennis. He kept me going. He took the time to coach me and always had the patience. He always knew how to make the girls smile and could tell when any of us were sad. I would not have kept playing tennis if he wasn't my coach. He made an impact on my life and I could never forget it. Tennis is now the highlight of my day and I know I can always go to him if I ever need anything. He made our team more than just a team. He made it our family.” --Isabel Frye

“Jack Nelson is so committed to our tennis team. I have so many memories of him telling us jokes, giving us advice and leading our team. The photo I attached below was at our match against Southwest, and I had a party hat I got from a garage sale. I asked him to wear it during the match, claiming it would make me less nervous. He was definitely hesitant at first, but everyone was laughing at him on the courts. We were all laughing with him about how funny the hat looked on him. Though I wasn’t able to win a match, I still had so much fun this season because of him. If you’re reading this Jack, thank you!” -Rosalind Foppe

 

“Jack has a big heart and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for tennis with kids and teens. He emphasizes learning and fun over winning in the hopes that his students will find joy in playing for a lifetime. My daughter has enjoyed playing for him at both InnerCity Tennis and Washburn and always comes home from practice laughing and telling stories. She had a tough season for JV, never winning a match despite coming close a few times. Jack was her biggest cheerleader and did all he could to keep her confidence up!” –Angela North


“Coach Jack coaches three of our four boys at InnerCity Tennis. He is universally loved, not only by his students, but also by his staff. The reasons he is so highly regarded by everyone are 1) he is a really good coach, 2) he absolutely loves coaching the kids (it shines through with his very innovative coaching techniques - that include the tasteful use of jars of pickles, super soakers, etc.) and 3) his genuine interest in the students he coaches. In the summer, early morning tennis is an activity that all our boys are excited to do - so much so, that when we asked who they wanted to invite to their piano recital, the only person who everyone universally agreed upon was Coach Jack. As a parent, I was a little reluctant to follow through with the invite, reasoning that Coach Jack must have had more important things to do that afternoon. Somewhat cautiously, I extended the invitation. Should we have been surprised when we arrived at the recital? There was Coach Jack, dressed in his coaching outfit and ready to attend the recital! As an aside, when everyone filed into the auditorium, our youngest son (ironically, also named Jack) patted the seat next to him in an effort to lure Coach Jack to sit next to him. The scene was priceless. We are lucky, as a community, to benefit from the many talents of Coach Jack. It is a great honor to recognize those among us who are truly great. Coach Jack is one such person.” --Todd Hinrichs

 

“Coach Jack is the reason why our three boys love tennis. They had taken lessons at InnerCity Tennis before, but it wasn't until their summer with Coach Jack that they started to LOVE the sport. Coach Jack is inspirational and FUN! He is a great role model for sportsmanship and good friendships as well. He has become a much loved member of our community. There is no better coach out there. Coach Jack is the absolute best!” –Sonja Hinrichs

“Jack Nelson was one of our summer coaches for the InnerCity Tennis summer Tennis in the Park Program for over 8 years at our Lynhurst Park site. He is currently Washburn HS JV women's tennis coach. Jack infuses fun into tennis and he takes time to get to know his players, and keeps in touch with his players throughout the year. Our Lynhurst summer players come back each year to play because of Jack. We even hired a few assistant coaches for our Summer Tennis in the Parks program who were former students of Jack's. Jack characterizes the many core values of ICT, in particular, enthusiasm. He always comes with a smile and wonderful stories of how he engages with his players! Thank you to Jack Nelson who has transformed the many young people's lives because of his commitment to teaching tennis, mentoring, building character, and "developing and unleashing the potential of youth on and off the court..." -- Bao Thao


Marc White
Cameron Indoor Tennis Center
Minot, N.D.


“Coach Marc teaches not only the fundamentals of tennis, but a true love for the game. My six-year-
old son spent nearly every day this summer taking lessons from Coach Marc as part of a free city-wide program. From his patient instruction on the basics of tennis, to his fun "timeout for tennis trivia" portion of the day when the kids learned about everything from Bjorn Borg to world geography, Coach Marc knows how to get kids engaged and inspire them to love the sport of tennis. He continues to make a profound impact on my young son (who insists he will be a Wimbledon champion one day), and I'm incredibly grateful for his dedication and influence.” –Carolyn Moore

Nedda Zetah
Long Prairie Grey Eagle School District
Long Prairie, Minn.


“Nedda is an exceptional coach! She is dedicated to tennis and her players and every single day, bringing a positive attitude and a drive in helping her girls grow and learn. Nedda also grows her program by offering youth tennis lessons in the summer, inviting our younger ladies to learn to love tennis!! She is active in her community, constantly thinking of others and giving of herself. Nedda is dedicated to teaching, devoted to coaching and committed to make her community a better place.” – Jennifer Strom


 

 

 

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