.jpg)
WYNOT - It may be a new coach for the Wynot Lady Blue Devil volleyball team, but the name has a familiar “ring” to it.
Tristan Wieseler has been around volleyball and sports his entire life…yes he is the son of two of the most successful coaches in Wynot history, Steve and Tammy Wieseler.
Steve is still in the head chair of the Lady Blue Devil basketball program and Tammy was the architect of Wynot’s resurgence on the volleyball court before retiring from coaching volleyball after the 2022 season.
Sidney Messersmith took over until this fall and did an admirable job, but she followed her husband, Marcus to Niobrara where he is the principal of the high school after last spring.
Tristan has another job. He is the manager at the HyVee Pharmacy in Vermillion and volleyball is just his “side gig”.
“I love my job at the pharmacy. First of all, I am so blessed that HyVee has been so cooperative in allowing me to take time away from there to coach,” Tristan said. “But, it’s a different feeling and reward to coach athletes, you get so you just care so much and just want to see your players get better on and off the court.”
And he doesn’t need to look too far for advice.
“My mom and I have bounced ideas off of each other ever since I took interest in volleyball,” said Tristan. “Dad knows the mental part of coaching, teaching kids to work together and work hard, but mom and I have always connected with volleyball.”
“He’s always had a love and passion for the game that is hard to explain. He sees things others don’t,” said Tammy Wieseler. “He loves Husker volleyball and watches any college game on TV. He always tells me and I quote: ‘You know me mom, I could talk volleyball for hours.’ “He was assisting Sidney so this will be a change for him to be the head coach. He understands the intricacies of the game so that will help him develop practices and keep the team engaged. He brings new ideas and the latest concepts of volleyball that will certainly be new energy to the program.”
Tristan also appreciates learning from Messersmith.
“Sidney taught me a lot about teaching the fundamentals of the game,” he said. “She was a pleasure to be around.”
But he also knows how much he has learned over the years from his parents, who had a knack for making sure their teams peaked at the right time to advance to the State Tournament.
“My parents do things the right way and I want to do the same. It takes hard work to achieve all of the things you want to get in life and I want to pass that along to the players,” said Tristan. “We all take pride in our school and our community and I am glad to try to give something back to the place that has made me what I am today, it’s kind of an honor really.”
But the Wieseler in him knows that talk is cheap.
“Communication is important, but eventually you’re going to have to get to work,” he said. “My mom and dad taught me that and it’s a good way to get a job done. I’m the manager at my work and I feel comfortable being in charge, this is no different, just younger people.”
Which Tammy feels is another asset for Tristan.
“Times change and so do the ways you can get student athletes to buy in and work hard in your program,” said Tammy. “Tristan will work hard for the team and will expect the same from them for the program.
“Steve and I are very excited when young alumni want to come back to the Wynot community, especially to teach and coach. The fact that he is our son makes it special,” she said.
“I’ll just do what I know,” Tristan said. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it I guess. I look for us to put in the work and try to win the conference tournament then move on to get to state and try making a deep run there.”
Chances are, coming from a Wiesler, he just might get that done.
