March 30, 2023 at 8:36 a.m.
Spring practice notebook
Nichols, Schmidt happy to get back to coaching teams
Spring practice notebook
Both coaches saw a number of their players during open gyms in the offseason, but that's all they could do. They could observe their players but could not instruct, according to WIAA regulations. That all changed Monday as practice began.
"We held some open gyms earlier on and it's so hard as a coach to not help out and coach," Schmidt said. "You see the kids, but it's good for them to just get out, hit some balls. Now, it's nice to be able to help them, coach, fix their swing a little bit, work with them, kind of see what they're doing."
Added Nichols, "I'm happy I can finally jump in and coach rather than just watch what's happening and just hit with them."
Nichols added he was pleased with the number of players who showed up for the offseason program, which really ramped up over the last month while other spring sports began their practices.
"January, February were a little slower. A lot of the students are in other sports but, as soon as hockey and swimming and those other sports ended, we had a solid 10-ish people just about every day - especially on those conditioning days, which was exciting to see they came for that," Nichols said. "They've already been working out, came in pretty hot from other sports and not it's just getting reps with the balls."
Both teams practiced inside the dome, and may have to do so for the foreseeable future, with no major warming trend forecasted over the next couple of weeks.
Tennis starts quickly
The Hodags' competition schedule is, essentially, a 7 1/2-week sprint that kicks off next week. Rhinelander will scrimmage Ashland in the Hodag Dome Tuesday and then host Lakeland in the Great Northern Conference opener next Thursday.
That has meant a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time this week for the team.
"It's a packed season. It starts a little later, which makes sense with all the snow, and then it's just go, go, go," Nichols said. "We have to take advantage of this first week and they worked really hard today. We're in a good place.
"I really want everyone to know basic grips, know all the shots and kind of figure out what to do and also the terminology when we talk about it, and then just get them accustomed to some of our common drills. With the scrimmage coming up real soon, also (focusing on) scoring points, so just fundamental shots, how to play the game and then we can work on fine-tuning and polishing the rest of the season."
Numbers are steady for the Hodags in the lower 20s, more than enough for varsity, varsity reserve and JV teams. Nichols has a couple of coaches to help him work with the groups this spring in Jerry Baier and Wil Losch. They take the spot of Nichols' younger brother, Ben, who returned to his alma mater Wausau West after last spring.
"Jerry came back with the girls' (team) and coach Losch brings a lot of experience and has been really developing the middle school team. He brings a lot and it's nice to have both of them here helping out," Nichols said.
The team got into the spirit of the season this past Saturday during the YMCA of the Northwoods' Clash of the Paddles pickleball tournament in the dome. The Y ran the event in partnership with the Hodag tennis team, with both groups earning a share of the proceeds.
"All the guys they come down, help volunteer," Nichols said. "It's also nice that all the courts are swept off right before hand. It's kind of a nice segue right into the season."
Golf: Dome on the range
With the forecast trending toward a late April, or perhaps even early May, opening date for courses in the area, Schmidt said he's more than happy to have a roof over the team's had for the first few weeks of the season.
"It's nice to have this nice facility, nice simulators and just a place where the kids can chip and hit foam balls and get some swings in," he said. "It's way nicer than being in the gym or being outside."
That's mainly what the group of nine players did on Monday, utilizing both of the dome's golf simulators, while also having stations set up for short game and putting.
"We've got the range on the other (simulator) so they can warm up and then here they take their 150-yard club and we're really working on (that)," Schmidt said. "The simulator kind of gives you a false sense of it, but we're playing on carry and trying to hit it 145 yards or so to be in that 150 range.
"They're just working on the swing. Some of them are just learning their swings. We've got two new freshmen this year, a senior that has never come out before. Then it's just nice to watch the other guys swing."
That pattern will continue for the next few practices. Schmidt's hopeful that the snowpack will subside to a point where the driving range at the Hodags' home course, Northwood Golf Club, will open in a couple of weeks. Until then, it will be a matter of keeping practices fresh.
"We'll do different chipping (drills) and stuff to mix it up a little bit, probably have a competition, do some competition stuff within our team for chipping," he said. "That's kind of the plan. We'll go through the clubs to see so when we do get out and play - hopefully we get out to the range before that down south trip and if not, at least being here we can figure out how far they're hitting their clubs."
Weather permitting, the team is planning a two-day competition in Wisconsin Dells April 13-14.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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