athle tics
Coaches’ kids
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here is a unique connection between a coach and a player; it’s a bond much like family. At Wisconsin Lutheran College, for the Tullbergs and the Millers, it is family. WLC women’s tennis coach Pam Tullberg has coached her daughter, senior Hannah Tullberg, and the Warriors for the past three years. “It can be difficult to watch your own child in the middle of a hard-fought match and know that she is relying on you to give some great revelation,” said Pam. “The desire to make the struggle go away is strong as a mother. As a coach, I had to give my advice and step back to let her put it into action.” Even though Hannah grew up around the sport, she didn’t start playing tennis competitively until her sophomore year (2007) at WLC, when Pam was an assistant coach. Pam then took over as head coach in 2008.
senior Whitney Miller, even though they are involved in different sports. “I give Whitney encouragement from a coach’s perspective,” said Dennis. “I am very honest with her in terms of analyzing her game, and I don’t sugarcoat my comments. Yet she knows I am her biggest fan.” Dennis did coach Whitney’s 7th and 8th grade basketball teams. “It was a real treat to work with her and her teammates. My wife told me that rule number one was to make sure I didn’t make any of them cry!” Now that Whitney is in college, Dennis is a sounding board that a daughter and player needs, yet he isn’t afraid to show some tough love.
Whitney Miller
“It’s a really special opportunity that I have, being able to see him on campus every day,” said Whitney. “It makes the joys and frustrations that I go through as an athlete easier to handle because I always know that he understands where I’m coming from.”
“I think my mom did a fantastic job maintaining a sense of professionalism without neglecting her role as a mother,” Hannah said. Hannah Tullberg Coach Pam Tullberg “Her coaching is genuine and authentic, making it easier for me to go Warrior Golf Invitational from daughter to player.” he 23rd-annual Wisconsin Lutheran Pam gives credit to her daughter for College Roger Fleming Memorial making it work. “Hannah made it easy for Warrior Golf Invitational welcomed 96 me to stay in the coach mode,” said Pam. participants to Bristlecone Pines Golf Club “She called me ‘Coach’ during the serious in Hartland, Wisconsin, on July 27. times and when the match was over and
Coach Dennis Miller
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the pressure was gone, I often became ‘Coach Mom’ – still respectful, but said with a bit of playfulness.” “I had no idea that my mom was so good at coaching,” added Hannah. “Although I am her daughter, I was there to learn tennis and she was there to teach me.” Even when the parent isn’t the child’s college coach, he can still make a difference, as is the case in the Miller family. Dennis Miller, head football coach and vice president of student affairs at Wisconsin Lutheran, has been influential in the basketball career of his daughter,
The team of Gary Drska, Mike Drska, Josh Fischer, and Chuck Wierschem combined to shoot a score of 58 to win the outing by one stroke. Dennis Miller, Ben Murphy, Scott Severson, and Adam Volbrecht were right behind them with a 59. This was the first year the outing was in The Class of 1997 was represented at the 2009 Roger Fleming Memorial Warrior Golf Invitational with memory of former WLC head men’s golf the following foursome: Scott Frey, Matt Krug, Seth coach Roger Fleming, the first full-time Borchardt, and Brett Valerio. faculty member called to Wisconsin Lutheran College in 1977. Proceeds from the event benefit WLC scholarships and athletics. The 24th annual outing, which again will be held at Bristlecone Pines, is scheduled for July 26, 2010. Wisconsin Lutheran College | 19