On the morning of the Class AA State Girls Tennis Tournament, Bemidji head coach Kyle Fodness took his team out for breakfast.
He directed the Lumberjacks to Tony鈥檚 Diner on a brisk day in Minneapolis. As they walked to the local eatery, a few of the players looked back at Fodness and assistant coach Pat McNallan.
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鈥淎 few of them said to us, 鈥楬ow far is this walk? We鈥檝e been walking forever,鈥欌�� Fodness recalled.
McNallan quipped back to the girls and said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 about 8, maybe 9 miles away.鈥�
While the Jacks were convinced they trekked a third of a marathon to their destination, Fodness and McNallan sat back and laughed.
Tony鈥檚 Diner was less than a mile away from Bemidji鈥檚 hotel.
鈥淚 remember hearing the girls say to their parents, 鈥榃e had to walk for miles to get there this morning,鈥� Fodness continued. 鈥淧at and I just laughed and laughed. They were trying to tell their parents we made them walk all that way for breakfast. Just a funny little prank from a really fun season.鈥�
Fondness said he catches himself thinking back to the 鈥渢housands of moments like that鈥� from last fall. He attributes those memories to a group bonded by their ability to keep things light.
The Jacks went 26-0 in the regular season and the Section 8AA Tournament en route to Bemidji High 歪歪漫画鈥檚 first team section title since 2021.
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Like most coaches do come a season鈥檚 end, Fondness began his offseason routine. However, his process is a little different.
Once the Lumberjacks hung up their rackets for the winter, Fodness kept his out. He shifts his approach to the Bemidji State women鈥檚 tennis team, where he also serves as head coach.
When the snow melts in the spring, Fodness grips his racket even tighter, serving as the head coach for the BHS boys tennis team as well.
Three programs. Two schools. One head coach.
Installed in 2020, the Pioneer Sportsperson of the Year recognition is meant to annually recognize a sports figure who significantly went above and beyond within the Bemidji community鈥檚 sports scene.
Aside from the dozens of wins, triumphant moments and breakfast-walking memories he made along the way in 2024, Fodness鈥� willingness to give his time to the people around him is why he is the fifth winner of the Pioneer鈥檚 Sportsperson of the Year.
Following footsteps
It doesn鈥檛 take long in a conversation with Fodness for him to name-drop one of his life鈥檚 biggest influences.
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His father, Mark, coached tennis in Bemidji for 41 seasons. He accumulated over 400 wins between the two BHS teams and the women鈥檚 program at BSU.
Mark was also a beloved and widely respected teacher at Bemidji Middle 歪歪漫画. The New Ulm native graduated from Bemidji State in 1982 with a degree in social sciences before earning his master鈥檚 in curriculum instruction and middle school emphasis from the local university in 1995.
In 2019 Mark retired, handing over the tennis programs to his son. His final season as a head coach was in the spring of 2020, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Six months later, Mark died suddenly of a heart attack at 61 years old.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get to pick what lessons are put in your lap,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 awful to hear as an athlete or a coach because of the amount of preparation you put in. That ball is going to bounce how it bounces, and you don鈥檛 have control over that. But what lessons are you going to learn from it? It doesn鈥檛 mean you want to learn it, but there鈥檚 always a lesson, even if you don鈥檛 learn it right away.鈥�
Fodness didn鈥檛 just lose his dad. He lost a mentor and a best friend. But since his dad鈥檚 passing, Fodness has taken his unexpected lessons 鈥� big and small 鈥� in stride, molding him into the coach and the teacher he is today.
He does it while channeling the memories of his late father.
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鈥淭he amount of times I catch myself thinking back to something my dad used to tell me, then thinking, 鈥楪osh, he was right again. How was he always right?鈥� It鈥檚 a lot,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淚t would drive me nuts as a kid. But I enjoy those memories, and if I鈥檓 even half or a quarter as good as my dad was in those situations, I鈥檒l be pretty great at whatever I鈥檓 doing in life.鈥�
Making time
Serving as the head coach for three programs requires a lot of hours.
On top of his roles in BHS and BSU athletics, Fodness also hosts a bevy of summer sessions for local tennis players.
鈥淚 like staying busy,鈥� Fodness quipped. 鈥淚 certainly love doing it. The thought of walking away from any of those teams, I can鈥檛 even imagine that. I think I鈥檇 say that for the next 50 years. There are days when it鈥檚 tough, days when I wish I could focus on one thing more 鈥� whether for tennis or for school 鈥� but I get to be part of really great groups, and I love it.鈥�
Six months after his dad died, Fodness won his first section title as a head coach with the 2021 BHS boys. He won his second the following school year with the BHS girls in the fall.
He had to wait a few years before notching his third section title, but a driven group of girls led him to his third championship on Oct. 12, and they did it in undefeated fashion.
鈥淚t was a blast,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淎ll seasons are a blast, but it was weird how much fun that season was. I鈥檇 have people coming up to me saying the same thing, noticing how much fun the girls and us coaches had. It was hard work, but that鈥檚 what it is at its best. It was a good culmination of fun, hard work and just an incredible group of people involved.鈥�
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Unsurprisingly, Fodness refuses to take any more of the credit than he feels he deserves for reaching the state tournament.
鈥淚f you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,鈥� Fodness continued. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 one attribute I have that I would say is really good for me as a coach it鈥檚 that I know I don鈥檛 know anything. I鈥檓 well aware of it. I think it鈥檚 important to have humility within yourself because then you鈥檙e never afraid to lean on other people or ask those around you for help.鈥�
Sometimes, though, others look to Fodness for help.
In July 2023, Fodness volunteered to help residents move out of the Red Pine Estates after the city ordered an evacuation. In January 2024, Fodness could be seen at a Bemidji Area 歪歪漫画 Board of Education meeting with his teaching peers, rallying for better pay for local educators.
However, in Fodness鈥� eyes, he鈥檚 just trying to match the efforts of his counterparts.
鈥淚f I quit coaching, it would take me 25 years to do the things that other teachers and faculty do for the community and their peers,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淚 feel really fortunate that I can do a little bit of what they do. As soon as I start feeling pretty good about myself, I look around at the people next to me and realize that I need to keep going to try and match what they do.鈥�
Fodness also noted the efforts it takes to run an athletic department, both at BHS and BSU. He compared his local efforts to going out for a run, saying it鈥檚 easier to keep pushing himself further when those around him set the pace.
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鈥淲hen you see them giving their time to 8,000 different things in a week, it鈥檚 pretty remarkable,鈥� Fodness added. 鈥淵ou look at the coaches and Britt (Lauritsen) at BSU 鈥� all of the people in the athletic department 鈥� you look at all of the people at the high school who do so much, then there鈥檚 me who can make it to one or two things. It鈥檚 nothing in comparison to them.鈥�
For the kids
Coaching various ages and skill levels somewhat simultaneously poses challenges for any person at the helm. However, teams coached by Fodness share at least one consistency: the aim to have fun.
鈥淭here are certain things that stay consistent, no matter the sport,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 been soccer, basketball, football, coaching or teaching seventh grade, the big thing is you want to have fun every day you want to get better every day. In my classroom, the rule is that you and I are going to learn a little every day, and we鈥檙e going to have fun doing it.鈥�
He takes the same approach on the tennis court.
鈥淵ou do different things to accomplish that depending on if you鈥檙e at the high school or the college level, but you鈥檙e still trying to enjoy yourself and get better while doing it,鈥� Fodness continued. 鈥淭he methods change, and that鈥檚 the easier thing to figure out. But the goal every week is for the players to feel like they got better and enjoy doing it.鈥�
Making his transition from an athlete to a coach has also helped forge his big-picture perspective as a coach.
鈥淚鈥檝e really learned how to laugh at myself, and that makes it more fun,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淪ometimes, you just have to recognize that things are going badly. You can say, 鈥榃ell, that was terrible. I mean, that was truly awful.鈥� But you can also follow that up by saying, 鈥業鈥檓 never going to play worse than that.鈥� The same goes for coaching, and to have success in the long term, you have to have a little bit of that ability to laugh at yourself.鈥�
Fodness will likely experience more deep postseason runs before his time with the Bemidji tennis programs ends. He will likely get more chances to laugh at himself in his low coaching moments.
But ultimately, Fodness wants to be known for something more.
He recalls childhood moments walking through retail stores with his dad. He鈥檇 see his former students approach him, shedding praise on the tenured teacher for the impact he made on them in the classroom.
鈥淚f you make a mistake that comes from a decision that you thought was in the best interest of the students, you can sleep at night,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I could鈥檝e had more fun or made more money doing something other than this, but if you go with teaching and coaching, you can put your head down at night knowing you could鈥檝e done worse things in life.鈥�
Previous Sportsperson of the Year winners
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