Boys tennis: New Willmar Cardinals coach back for a rebuild

Apr. 11—WILLMAR — After 13 years away, Brandt Lager is back patrolling the courts for the Willmar boys tennis team.

An assistant coach for the Cardinals from 2009-12 under coaches Loren Holter and Jim Anderson, Lager jumped into the head coach role this spring. He replaces Forrest Rice.

“I actually coached Forrest,” Lager said. “He was on the team the last year I coached.”

Lager added: “I just got the opportunity. When I coached before, my joke was that I’d have four kids in between and get back into tennis.”

Well, Lager has his four kids now.

“I’m back at it,” he said.

Now, he’s hoping to rebuild a Cardinals tennis squad that went 1-9 in the Central Lakes Conference last season and lost in the opening round of the Section 8AA-South tournament.

Lager has tried to get players back that previously played tennis. He also recruited athletes looking for a spring sport while acting as a site supervisor during boys basketball games at the high school.

“They’re picking it up pretty quick,” Lager said about the newcomers to tennis. “It’s been great to teach a lot of these kids the basics. They’re learning it fast. I think we have a pretty solid lineup right now.”

Said senior captain Ryan Newberg: “The one thing I can say is I’m very excited for our team. Lager is a phenomenal coach. He’s teaching us how to play tennis. He’s really good with the newer guys. He really knows how to build a program. … All the kids that have joined the team this year, I am already extremely proud of them for their progress.”

The Cardinals got the season underway Thursday with a non-conference match against Redwood Valley, losing 6-1. They’ll take on Redwood Valley and Montevideo in a triangular Saturday in Redwood Falls.

Newberg was the lone All-CLC performer for Willmar last season. He’s back at the No. 1 singles spot. In Thursday’s meet, he was joined by his brother, junior Carter Newberg. There’s also sophomore Samuel Loerzel and freshman Mason Munkholm.

One aspect of Ryan Newberg’s game he’s hoping to improve this season is not letting his opponents dictate the match.

“It’s time that I start picking my shots, making the opponent move around more, getting up to the net and serving a lot harder,” Newberg said. “I’m hoping to make a nice run in sections and hopefully make it to at least the second round of sub-sections, possibly even state. That’s my biggest dream.

“I want to show these Cities schools that Willmar has talent and that we should not be underestimated.”

Along with his play on the court, Lager has leaned on Newberg’s leadership abilities. He helped lead captains practices during the warm periods in March.

“They were setting nets up and taking them down every day,” Lager said. “There’s good leadership there (from the captains).”

“Even if I’m not a professional coach,” Newberg said, “they (the new players) appreciated just trying to get some guidance.”

When snow knocked out the first week of practice, the team watched tape to better understand singles and doubles tactics to try to gain a mental edge. It helped junior captain Nehemiah Van Horne sharpen some things as a doubles player. He was paired with senior Miguel Garcia at No. 1 doubles in the season opener.

“Before when I had some other doubles partners, we weren’t really communicating as much,” Van Horne said. “Now there’s signals you can use that we were trying to use before. But now that there’s somebody holding us accountable for it, it’s going to be a lot easier and a lot better.”

The No. 2 doubles team on Thursday was senior Jared Barrera and sophomore Lucas Riemersma. The No. 3 pair was sophomore Preston Kath and eighth-grader Camden Lager. He’s the oldest of Brandt’s four children.

Even after being away from the team for 13 years, the players are encouraged by the start of Brandt Lager’s rebuilding goals.

“I think it’s great. Since we had all the new guys come in, it looks a lot more hopeful for the rest of us,” Van Horne said. “Before when we only had nine kids, we knew that once Ryan’s grade graduated, it was going to be a lot of super new freshmen or eighth graders that would be pulled up. So it’s good to know that the program is gonna have a consistent future once we graduate.”