New Brainerd Girls’ Volleyball Head Coach Leading Team’s Youth Movement

Brainerd girls’ volleyball ushered in a new era Tuesday night against Sauk Rapids-Rice.

After Rick Kuehlwein, the Warriors’ head coach of eight years, stepped down last season, Tana Johnson officially took over the reins.

While Johnson’s new role is still fresh to her, coaching is nothing new. The newly minted varsity volleyball head coach spent roughly 20 years coaching volleyball in the Brainerd School District for kids from sixth grade to junior varsity.

“The biggest adjustment is probably the time that I’m putting into it right now and the amount of people I’m in contact with throughout the summer, throughout the day,” she said. “It’s definitely not a two-hour-a-day job, and just getting girls ready for the level of play that they’re going to see at the varsity level.”

Johnson isn’t just prioritizing building relationships with her fellow Warriors—she’s also instilling confidence within them.

“The girls that I have on the varsity team right now either have not played at the varsity level, or they played the last couple of years not having a winning record,” she elaborated. “It really doesn’t have anything to do the score right now at the end of the night. It’s just their personal best, is what we’re trying to get to right now.”

And although Warrior volleyball graduated seven seniors last year, the team has players brimming with promise and athleticism, including left side hitter Cora Clough and libero Sophia White.

“I think it’s good that we have a lot of girls that are well-rounded in a lot of sports,” Clough said. “I think it’s just good that we have a lot of talent.”

“It’s really cool to see how versatile they are, of all the girls,” offered White. “We have a lot of hitters that can do a lot of things.”

Brainerd girls’ volleyball is looking to improve upon last year’s seven-win campaign and inch closer to the program’s first winning season since 2021. While the team will looking toward its front court hitters to establish themselves, the Warriors believe that the main key to success will fall on serve-receive.

“I feel like with our serve-receive especially, we have a lot of strong defensive players this year,” stated middle/right side hitter Natalie Smith. “It’s all about figuring out how to connect serve-receive and front row and work together.”

“I think we can do it,” Clough added. “In practice, we do it all the time. It’s just nerves, and if we get that down, I think that we can beat anyone we play.”

The Warriors are 0-1 on the season after falling to Sauk Rapids-Rice. They’ll go for their first win on Thursday against Alexandria on the road.