Janzen is among top TC alums

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 01 March 2011 16:31

In terms of professional success, Dennis Janzen is among Tabor College’s most outstanding alum.

His Fresno Pacific (Calif.) University volleyball teams don’t just win a lot, they win nearly all the time, including four consecutive NAIA volleyball championships. In this day and age, it’s rare to see one school dominate.

Janzen lettered in tennis and soccer while attending Tabor in the 1970s, but he has distinguished himself as a volleyball coach, and he has helped put Fresno Pacific on the map.

“Dennis has been more than a highly successful volleyball coach at Fresno Pacific,” said Fresno Pacific president Merrill Ewert, another Tabor alum. “He has helped place the university on the national stage with his teams’...

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Janzen is TC model of coaching success

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 22 February 2011 17:14

If there are Tabor College alumni with more success in the coaching profession than Dennis Janzen, it’s a short list.

His coaching resume is beyond ridiculously amazing as the head volleyball coach and athletic director at Fresno Pacific University. For those not familiar with the connection, Fresno Pacific is Tabor’s sister Mennonite Brethren school in California.

There isn’t room in this column to cover all of Janzen’s success, but here’s the CliffsNotes version:

• Six NAIA volleyball championships, including four consecutive from 2007-2010.

• Four-time national volleyball coach of the year.

• 20 appearances in the national tournament (national tournament best), 17 consecutive.

• From Dec. 4, 2008, to Oct. 29...

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Hoops coaches mixed on home-court edge

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Wednesday, 02 February 2011 03:07

Most local basketball coaches agree that playing home games is preferable to road games, but it’s unclear how significant that advantage is.

Hillsboro High School boys coach Darrel Knoll says crowd noise at key times can give a team an extra boost. Playing games in familiar surroundings is helpful, according to girls coach Nathan Hiebert, but he says, “I think some schools have a better home-court advantage than others.”

“It’s always nice to be in front of the home crowd,” Knoll said, “But how much of an advantage it is varies from team to team. That being said, I do enjoy playing in front of the home crowd.”

Hiebert said, “How emotional a team plays will affect if home-court advantage is important or not.”

Tabor...

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Football coaches say home field makes a difference for athletes

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 18 January 2011 16:38

Home-field advantage is a prevalent concept in sports. According to one research paper on the topic, “Home advantage is the term used to describe the consistent finding that home teams in sport competitions win over 50 percent of the games played under a balanced home and away schedule.”

The concept makes sense. You know your field or court better, fans are cheering for you, and the result should be that you will perform better.

In fact, extensive research says that home-field advantage, while advantageous, is not as significant we think.

According to an article by John Paulsen, who compared the winning percentage of teams during three regular seasons, the NBA has by far the biggest home-court win percentage with 59.8 percent...

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