When he took over as girls' tennis coach at Holy Family Catholic in Victoria three years ago, longtime tennis teacher Jack Roach saw a few things he liked in the team.
A Minnesota Tennis Hall of Fame coach and tennis professional, including two stints as coach of the University of Minnesota women's team, Roach saw a young team he could mold. The players had the requisite talent and loads of potential.
But, Roach knew, the Fire never would reach that potential without a major overhaul in one important area.
"They didn't have that mental toughness," he said. "The biggest thing I needed to do was give them confidence in themselves, make them believe they could win."
So he got tough himself. He extended practices and emphasized the physical aspect of the game. Most importantly, he stressed correcting technical flaws that had undermined their past performances.
Three years later, the results are in. Roach's assessment is proving to be spot on.
For the first time in team history, Holy Family has state tournament plans as the Class 1A, Section 5 champions. The Fire, the top seed in the section, lost only two individual matches in team tournament play. It defeated Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 7-0 and Annandale and Litchfield by identical 6-1 scores.
"I kept on 'em," said Roach of his hard-line approach. "I wasn't going to let them slide back. I wanted them to be thinking that, if they saw me walk by, they'd better be doing the right things. I would rather have them be afraid of me than like me."
While Roach thought he was adopting a them-vs.-me stance, his players were smart enough to see through his methods.
"Oh, he's playing that up," senior Katie Moakley said. "It's because of him that we've gotten this far. He's tough, but in a good way."
Senior Danielle Gannon, the top-ranked singles player in Class 1A, wasn't fooled either, brushing off the thought of Roach as a sour curmudgeon.
"He's the greatest guy ever," Gannon said with a laugh. "He cares about us more than any coach we've had. He gets his point across, but he's just a big teddy bear."
It was the lean years, Moakley said, that helped the team buy into the Roach approach.
"When Jack came in, we were in good shape, but we didn't know how to hit a tennis ball," she said. "He was a great teacher. Jack talked about strategies and pounded into our heads the mind-set that we can win. He taught us to think like winners."
With the belief in themselves came a newfound commitment. Suddenly players were working out on their own, hitting balls on their days off in hopes of improving.
"Even on Saturdays and Sunday, a bunch of girls are still getting together and hitting," Gannon said.
Ironically in this season of success, it was a loss that gave the Fire the final push over the top. Delano has long been the gold standard in the Wright County Conference, its string of conference titles stretching back a decade.
The Fire had been used to losing big to the Tigers — a Class 2A program — but this year the loss was missing its usual sting. Holy Family won two matches, more than any other team in conference play, and held the lead in another.
"We realized we could play with and compete against teams like that," said Moakley, who plays No. 1 doubles with her younger sister, Libby.
Holy Family (15-1) goes into next week's Class 1A tournament as underdogs. The team consists of mostly neophytes to the pressures of state tournament play; only Gannon, who lost to St. Paul Academy's Sonya Das in the Class 1A singles final last year, has tourney experience.
But they've been underdogs before. With their newfound confidence and the victories that have come with it, they're not satisfied with only making an appearance. Their dreams are bigger than that.
"I think we can go far," Moakley said. "We have the potential to beat all of the teams we'll face. I just wish we could play tomorrow."
Even Gannon, a year-round player and veteran of the USTA tournament scene, admits she's had as much fun playing tennis this season as she's ever had.
"Considering the rough journey we've had getting to this point, this year has been amazing," she said. "It's great to finally accomplish what we've been working towards."
