Jacob Rozell
Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with “Koach” Scott Nesbit. His love for tennis began at nine years old. Before coming to the Hill, he was a history teacher as well as a tennis and soccer coach. He then became a tennis-teaching professional in Chicago, working for various colleges and tennis clubs. After earning his masters’ degree in physical education and sports administration from the University of Illinois, he came to St. Olaf College. This led to him teaching in the Kinesiology department, and coaching the Ole Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams for 30 years before retiring from coaching only two years ago. He has been at St. Olaf since 1989 and has made a major impact on the community here since starting.
Even though he is no longer a coach, he continues his passion for teaching. This semester, he is teaching Tennis, Lifetime Sports and Games, Racquet Sports, Fly Fishing, and Inclusive Fitness. Lifetime Sports and Games was invented 20 years ago, so Nesbit could teach something different each day. Racquet Sports currently includes tennis, ping-pong, badminton, and pickleball.
“Racquet games are part of my DNA. When I’m on the court, I feel at home,” Nesbit said.
Fly Fishing was born out of his passion and he loves to catch with the various creations that he and students make into flies. Inclusive Fitness was his way to bring people together through using familiar games and adjusting them to bring students into a life of sport.
Nesbit’s favorite experiences, either coaching or playing, have been a huge return on investment. When his team plays another team that has handedly beaten them, the opponent expects to beat them, however they fail to recognize that this time they aren’t playing the same team.
There’s new players, improved skills, and most importantly, a crazy amount of spirit. No one allows the team to give up as they aim for the impossible: beating a team that is “better” than them. Throughout his career, Nesbit has accomplished exactly that — about 10 times — and each experience has been unforgettable. Suffice to say, Nesbit roots for the underdog.
There are two major lessons that Nesbit aims to teach early on: having a fun perspective, and knowing that winning is not always good for your game. He always tries to remind his players with “the Shannon,” a family dog flag on his “Game Mobile” — a blue wagon for equipment that he travels with. When his students see Shannon, Nesbit believes it brings perspective back into their eyes and reminds them that they are there to have fun — just like Shannon does when playing.
“Winning can only take you far, but it will not take you farther,” Nesbit said. “Losing is staying consistent and as a player, one needs to take risks and even lose a match.”
If you do not see him on the court or in the water, he could be in his office trying to pick out his socks for the day. He is not picky about equipment but he is about his perfect pair of mix-matched and different sized socks. Nesbit could also be on the phone, reminiscing with his next door neighbor Greg. They came through the ranks together after making the junior varsity team in ninth grade and have accomplished a lifetime of victories and memories together.