Jansen wants to continue Ronning’s legacy as the new Alexandria girls’ tennis head coach

After 20 years of girl coaching, Dave Ronning took a step back this summer when he resigned – opened the door to his assistant coach, who had been in charge for three years. The excitement of taking on a new challenge struck the night before the first exercise.

“I think I was awake before five in the morning to check things out,” Jansen said Wednesday of the exercise. “I think I was on the field an hour before the start of training. I wanted to roll, and now that we’re there, those nerves are gone.”

Jansen grew up in a tennis family. Growing up, her older sister practiced with her before entering South Dakota State University.

“I was lucky enough to be the youngest of two siblings who played a lot of tennis,” Jansen said. “My sister really got me involved in the game. Before she left for South Dakota, I was kind of her training partner. She got this game bug out of me and then I played at a competitive level in high school.”

Despite his success as a high school tennis player, Jansen played basketball at the university. After graduating from Foley High School, he attended the University of Minnesota-Morris.

“Basketball was my second love,” Jansen said. “I thought about playing tennis in college, but I followed the basketball trail. When I got my first job as a teacher, I was always kind of waiting in a school with tennis. I wanted to get back to coaching. Foley has a good tennis tradition love tennis inside me. ”

Ronning and former assistant coach John Schmidt helped create a stable program for the cardinals. Jansen’s goal is not to change it, but to continue it.

“Dave and John have been the best mentors I could have had,” Jansen said. “They’ve been helping me all summer and answering questions. They send me text messages every day after practice and ask how things are going. They’re from Alexandria tennis. We wouldn’t have the tennis programs we wouldn’t do. Without them names Ronning and Schmidt, I’m not here. I just want to continue the same traditions they started and take advantage of the same mentality of what it means to be on the Alexandria tennis team. ”

Alexandria girls tennis captain Hakyma Von Bargen hits a return shot on August 18, 2021 in practice. Von Bargen is one of three captains leading this Cardinals this season. (Jared Rubado / Alexandria Echo Press)

This year’s senior class was in Jansen’s first season in the Freshmen coaching team. Familiarity with the new system has facilitated the transfer of coaching to Captains MaKenna Aure, Hakyma Von Bargen and Ella Halvorsen.

“He’s the core of energy in practice,” Aure said. “I’m having a bad day at rehearsals, and Jansen is going to pick me up and give me moral support.”

“He walks the line of a positive and encouraging coach while ensuring that we are here to do things,” von Bargen said. “We know him and he knows us. He knows how we play and what works best for us. He got to work with Ronning and Schmidt, who are just good tennis coaches.”

One reason Jansen is caught up in the game of tennis is the inclusion offered by the sport.

“I love tennis, it’s a sport for people of all ages and backgrounds,” Jansen said. “This is a sport that is a great equalizer. There is no prototype tennis player. In this team we have girls who are basketball players, hockey players, softball players who all belong.”

The Cardinals lost almost their entire university lineup to graduation last fall, leaving holes to fill before the first triangle of the season on August 25 in Bemidji.

“It’s going to be a difficult thing to fill these big shoes like Brianna Holm and Whitly (Netland) and Kaylee (Svee),” Aure said.

Jansen looks forward to seeing which new faces make an impact early on.

“The special challenge this year is that 20 girls are trying to fill these places, and that’s pretty unique,” ​​Jansen said. “It’s a pretty unique season when you have so many girls who can get a chance to play. We have 30-40 girls constantly who come to play tennis every year. We can be running in our lineups. We want to try different girls in different places because no one does not enter at the designated place. “

Aure, Von Bargen and Halvorsen are three of only a few of the upper classes on the list. They have taken on a new role as leaders during the first three days of training.

“I’m excited because I want to set a good example for these girls,” Halvorsen said. “I just want them to have a good role model, and I’m glad I can have it for them.”

Ella Halverson hit the top on August 18, 2021 at the Alexandria Girls Tennis Training. Halverson is one of the three Captains of the Cardinals and wants to replace a large number of age groups from 2020. (Jared Rubado / Alexandria Echo Press)

“It’s a little stressful, of course,” von Bargen said. “It’s fun to see that everyone is having fun here and that they’re looking for things from us. When we had captains’ practices, many of them showed up.”

The Cardinals season ended in Bemidj’s hands last year in the 8AA quarter-finals of the season. Alexandria finished the season 9-3, but Aure, the only returning member of the university team, is looking for more.

“The goal is the state,” Aure said. “I have unfinished business when I played doubles with Anna (Doherty) last year.”

Halvorsen also hopes for a trip to the University of Minnesota for a state tournament, but wants to make sure Alexandria’s tennis culture returns after a 2020 season plagued by a pandemic.

“We want to go to the state, but we also want a good team atmosphere,” Halvorsen said. “This is the first year back from Covid, and we really want to be on the team again. We want to see people go out and encourage their teammates with the same energy they brought to their match. We want them to be part of this Community.”