Coach adjusts to Midwest town

Before coming to IU, coach Randy Bloemendaal used to think Bloomington was only miles of cornfields.

In his second year as IU head coach, leading a No. 53 ranked team, Bloemendaal now knows there is more than corn in Indiana.

Racket in hand since age 11, Bloemendaal always believed he would be a player, never a coach.

“It was just never something that had entered my mind,” Blomendaal said. “Then once I did it, I caught the bug in coaching and kind of fell in love, and here I am today.”

Bloemendaal said a push from his college coach and the void feeling of team unity also persuaded him to go into coaching.

“When I was out playing all those tournaments, I missed the team part,” he said. “I try to take pride in other parts of the game ... but my passion is being around the team.”

Sophomore Lachlan Ferguson said Bloemendaal helped him understand how to reach his full potential while always remaining fair to the other players.

“He never makes rash decisions or statements he hasn’t thought about,” Feruson said.

Before IU, Bloemendaal coached men’s and women’s tennis in the same season. He spent eight years at his alma mater, Division II Lees-McRae, and two years at Division I Charleston Southern. While at Lees-McRae, he was named CVAC Coach of the Year six times and is a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Coach of the Year.

Despite the awards, coaching two teams was difficult for Bloemendaal.

“One team could win, and you could be really happy, and the other team could lose and you’re like, ‘Wow, we never should have lost that,’” he said. “You’ve only got one head on your shoulders, so it’s hard to show all that at one time. It was tough.”

Yet, IU assistant coach Scott Linn said Bloemendaal possesses a mind for the game. Linn said that in a sports world obsessed with instant results, Bloemendaal does not value the quick way out.

“He values the long-term effort of giving him the best you can be,” Linn said. “Sometimes to do that you have to go through stages of development, and if you’re looking for immediate gratification a lot of times athletes don’t do that.”

But Bloemendaal said coaching is a learning process he continues to analyze. He calculated that he spends seven hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months a year coaching. His duties include recruiting new players, practicing with his team, scheduling trips and filling out paperwork.

Bloemendaal said he is fortunate to have Linn plugging away with him.
Thirty-two-year veteran Lin Loring, the IU women’s tennis coach, also helps Bloemendaal occasionally.

“Coach Loring’s been a huge help because he has a wealth of knowledge, especially at Indiana,” Bloemendaal said. “I learn from everybody, but any time you’re around somebody who’s won multiple championships, I think that’s a tremendous opportunity to grow even more.”

In January, Bloemendaal reached his 200th career victory against Gardner-Webb. He joined the team in 2005 as an assistant coach.

After four years at IU, Bloemendaal now knows the true terrain of Bloomington.

“What a neat place, Bloomington. I fell in love with that immediately,” Bloemendaal said. “It’s just a wonderful institution to represent. The students here are just very passionate about athletics as well. To me, it looked like the sky’s the limit. You can go after Big Tens. You can go after national championships, and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish here.”