By JEFF FEBUS

Relaxing in his office the morning after a pulse-pounding men's tennis victory at Kalamazoo College, Calvin tennis coach John Ross offers a quick statement.

"It's been a good week so far."

Indeed it has.

MILESTONE TENNIS WINS

On Tuesday, his Calvin women's tennis team secured a come-from-behind 5-4 dual match victory at Kalamazoo College to improve its overall season record to 12-1 and its league record to 2-0. The victory was also a major milestone for Ross as it marked the 600^th overall combined coaching victory of his Calvin career. At the close of Tuesday, Ross had 46 victories as head Calvin women's tennis coach, 255 victories as head Calvin men's tennis coach and 299 victories during his 13-year run as head Calvin women's basketball coach.
           
On Wednesday, Ross picked up win No. 256 of his Calvin men's tennis career and the win was anything but ordinary as it came in a dramatic 5-4 comeback win at Kalamazoo, 24 hours after his women's team had done the same. With his team trailing 4-1 in the match, the Knights reeled off four straight singles victories including a third-set tie-break win at No. 4 singles by sophomore Ryan Broek to clinch the overall match win. The victory was just Calvin's second over Kalamazoo in men's tennis and its first-ever triumph at Kalamazoo. It bumped the team's overall record to 10-2 and kept Calvin near the top of the MIAA standings at 2-0 in conference play.
    
"I was just so proud of the resolve of our team last night," said Ross after the win over the Kalamazoo men's team. "We've had to fight through some injuries this season and a bit of adversity but there was no quit with our guys. Both our men's and women's teams have developed some grit and that's always a key to a successful season."
 
Ross knows a thing or two about successful seasons. As Calvin women's basketball coach, he led Calvin to six MIAA regular season titles, eight NCAA III Tournament appearances and four trips to the Elite Eight of the NCAA III Tournament. His men's tennis teams have won over 65 percent of their matches including an MIAA regular season title in 2013 and a trip to the NCAA III Tournament in 2008. His women's tennis teams are 46-19 in his four years as head coach with the Knights currently are pushing for first place in the league standings.

TENNIS ROOTS

Ross was himself a collegiate men's tennis player at the NCAA Division III level, competing for the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh men's tennis team from 1987-1990 where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education.
 
He began playing tennis at a young age but had no formal team to compete on as a student at Manitowoc Lutheran High School on the shores of Lake Michigan. He frequently participated in pick-up city matches against the members of the Manitowoc Lincoln Public School boys tennis team, honing his skills so that he was able to be a four-year collegiate tennis player later at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
 
He caught his first coaching break while pursuing a master's degree in exercise physiology at Eastern Illinois University from 1991-1994. "They were looking for someone who would work for peanuts while serving as the head coach of the women's tennis team," said Ross. "I went for the job and got it."
 
Over a three-year period, he took the Eastern Illinois women's tennis team from the bottom of the Mid-Continent Conference (MCC) standings to a second-place finish. In 1994, he was selected the MCC's Coach of the Year. Ross compiled a 55-24 record at Eastern Illinois where the student-athletes in his program had a 100 percent graduation rate and a combined cumulative 3.3 grade-point average.
 
From there he earned his tennis professional certification, working at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, Texas. He worked with future tennis stars from around the world, including Lleyton Hewitt from Australia, who finished the 2001 and 2002 season as the No. 1 ranked player in the world.  He returned to his Wisconsin roots, serving as general manager and head tennis pro at Fox Cities Racquet Club in Appleton, Wisconsin from 1995-99. During that time, he served as an assistant women's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh under head coach Pam Ruder.

"I played high school basketball and also had a desire to someday be a head basketball coach," said Ross. "I had worked as an AAU girls basketball coach in the summers and coaching at Wisconsin-Oshkosh was my opportunity to get involved at the college level."

CONNECTING WITH CALVIN

His career made another turn in the summer of 1999 when he accepted the head men's and women's tennis coaching position at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. The position also included an assistant coaching spot with the men's basketball team. He filled both roles over the next four years. In the summer of 2003, Calvin College needed a head women's basketball coach and a head men's tennis coach. Ross proved to be the perfect match for both roles.

 "Coming to a Christian institution was wonderful opportunity," said Ross. "When I got to Calvin, I found out very quickly that the school was very serious about its faith commitment and that was very refreshing to me."

Ross began to put down permanent roots, winning an MIAA title in women's basketball his first year as Calvin women's basketball coach in 2004 and leading his team to its first NCAA III Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 2005. Elite Eight appearances followed in 2007, 2012 and 2015 with his 2015 team finishing 30-1 overall, setting a program record for wins in a season. He was later named the Division III Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year by both the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and D3hoops.com. After the 2016 season, he decided to step away from the women's basketball program to focus on his role as men's tennis coach and as associate professor in the kinesiology department. His 13-year won-loss record was an impressive 299-67 (.813). When reflecting on his time as head women's basketball coach, he maintains that the relationships built with players and assistant coaches far outweighed the victories or championships won. "There are so many of my former players who still reach out to me today just to touch base or see how things are going," said Ross. "I've had a chance to coach with some of my former players which has been very gratifying. There are many Calvin women's basketball alumni doing great things in their post-collegiate careers."

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT JOHN

One former player under Ross who is now a colleague and coach is Calvin women's soccer coach Emily Ottenhoff who served as the starting point guard on Ross' 2009-10 women's basketball team that reached the NCAA III Tournament. Ottenhoff has fashioned a formidable women's soccer program at Calvin over the last six years, leading her team to multiple NCAA III Tournaments and receiving MIAA Women's Soccer Coach of the Year honors this past fall. She credits Ross for instilling her with coaching knowledge that has aided her career.

"Simply put, Coach Ross is an incredible person," said Ottenhoff. "It has been fun to see our relationship evolve from student-athlete to and coach to colleagues. We can joke around with each other and encourage each other all while at different stages of our careers. Coach Ross has won a lot, and he may not realize it but I'm always trying to listen to his pieces of advice, wisdom and watch his habits in how he's been successful in more than one program here at Calvin."

Ross continues to serve the Calvin women's basketball program as a volunteer assistant coach and director of travel operations. In his role, he works with players in practice, frequently scouts opponents for current head coach Mark Christner and handles travel logistics when the team is on the road, particularly during the non-conference portion of the season.

"John's impact on our women's basketball program runs deep," said Christner. "As a colleague, I have witnessed how hard his teams played and how cohesive they were. Now to have him assist us is a great gift. It's fun to watch him operate with our post players in positional breakdowns. He knows basketball, cares immensely about people and is a great friend."

In 2021, he added the duties as head women's tennis coach to his ongoing responsibilities with the men's tennis program. Both programs have picked up steam this season and are challenging for top spots in the conference. Ross credits a dedicated assistant coaching staff led by lead assistant Jon Goorhouse – another former Ross player – in aiding him with his dual head coaching responsibilities. "We have some long days," said Ross. "Sometimes we go for 3-4 hours straight in practice time going from one team to the next. My assistants help with that, and I've got some great student-athletes to coach which always provides motivation."

CLASSROOM SUCCESS

His hours of work extend to the classroom, an area that he is also passionate about. As an associate professor of kinesiology, he was honored with Calvin's 2022 Professor of the Year Award as voted upon by the Calvin student body. "I enjoy doing the prep work to get ready for class," said Ross. "I'm eager to share what I've worked on with my students. I know that in each class, there are individuals looking forward to learning something new. That is also a source of motivation for me."

His work in the classroom does not go unnoticed. "It's important to him that his students have a good class every single class," said Kerrie Berends, chair of the kinesiology department. "From the time he gets to campus, I see him in the classroom making a plan," said Berends. "People don't see that happen, but to me that shows he's concerned all the time that he's prepared, he's ready, that the students can hit the ground running the moment they enter class."

On the tennis courts or on the basketball floor, his student-athletes have also hit the ground running to the tune of 600 victories and counting. "To reach 600 victories in a coaching career is a tremendous accomplishment and I congratulate him on reaching this milestone," said Calvin Director of Athletics Dr. Jim Timmer. "John has served Calvin University in so many ways. He is a true teacher-educator, both as a coach and as a professor. Our institution is richer for his contributions. We are blessed to have him at Calvin University and are grateful for his hard work and dedication."