Jaime Gaard Chapman was more than ready when she took the tennis courts outside Edina's Creekview Elementary on Monday morning. It was her first official practice as the head coach of the state's most successful high school athletic program, the Edina girls' tennis team.
Gaard Chapman played for the Hornets and now legendary coach Steve Paulsen during their run of 19 consecutive state championships in the early 2000s, graduating in 2003. She went on to play collegiately at Gustavus Adolphus and has coached at Benilde-St. Margaret's and Breck.
But the Edina head tennis job? She's always had her eye on that one.
"I left high school coaching about six years ago to start a small business, but I always said I'd come back if the Edina job opened up," she said. "Excited is the right word. I was excited to start today."
The timing, coming during the year of the pandemic, isn't optimal, but Gaard Chapman is accustomed to juggling several duties. She is head tennis professional at Interlachen County Club in Edina (not coincidentally, where Paulsen is the director of racquet sports). She runs a training business, Gaard Performance Academy. And does motivational public speaking when she gets the chance.
On top of all that, she was recently hired as the head girls' basketball coach at Edina, replacing Matt Nilssen.
"I think I'm well-prepared to maintain an extraordinary schedule and be real organized," she said.
A significant part of that organization has been preparing to coach a team during the COVID restrictions, something that Gaard Chapman said took "lots and lots of planning."
