game

“It was super hard,” Volkert says. “Part of me wanted to cry and quit. But she knew what I was capable of and she expected me to do it. I’ll remember that moment forever. She forces you to get uncomfortable and grow — both on and off the court.”

Nelson is famous for her fiery, direct style. This year a recording of a half-game interview went viral when she was asked what her team needed to do to turn a lackluster game around. The coach rattled off the team’s short-comings: “Number one: Give us a presence in the paint. Number two: How about play defense? We didn’t play any defense … and then, rebounding is terrible.” She paused briefly before heading into the locker room. “So, did I cover it all?”

As passionate as Nelson is on the court, she leaves basketball in the gym. Her office door is always open for advice or encouragement.

Volkert saw that side, too, when she faced a frustrating junior year. She didn’t understand her role on a team with a strong group of seniors. As she broke down in the coach’s office, Nelson advised the point guard to put her concerns into perspective.

“She said that if you pick up a rock and hold it in front of your face, it will look like a boulder. If you hold it far away, it will look like a pebble,” Volkert says. “She told me that nothing was too big for me to handle, and those words still help me in all aspects of my life.” elson’s former players joke that the coach has gotten soft over the years. She agrees that her style has evolved over the decades. While she holds her players to strict standards, she’s more likely to treat them as individuals. Each player is a family member with her distinct gifts and motivators.

Perspective is good for a program that not only wins, but draws adoring fans and athletes who do well in the classroom. This year’s Dragon program was one of two schools that played in the national tournament and also landed in the top 25 schools for game attendance and athlete GPA.

“My players have coached me in so many ways. Every day they inspire me to do better,” she says. “You need to listen and allow them to make mistakes. After all, they’re 18- to 22-year-old people who are trying to figure life out.”

Those mistakes and life lessons can be difficult. Meghan Roehrich, a 2015 graduate of MSUM, transferred to the university her sophomore year. Over the next three years, Nelson kicked her out of a practice for not listening and benched her during a game for talking back during a huddle. Even as the team fell behind in points, Nelson refused to put her back on the court.

“She wants to win, but she demands respect,” Roehrich says. “She taught me to never settle.”

Roehrich is now a registered nurse at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis. She, like many other alumni, regularly touches base with Nelson, even if it’s to just say hi. “It brightens my day when I see her calling,” Roehrich says.

Outside of her coaching duties, Nelson is a creature of habit. Every day she goes to Moxie Java in Moorhead where she purchases coffee and a bagel. When she orders, staff hand over a jar of peanut butter that she has purchased and leaves stashed behind the coffee shop counter. She walks at least 10 miles each evening, and dotes on her three dogs and three cats. In the summer months, she’s more likely to be found on a golf course than a basketball court.

Likewise, lessons to her players are just as consistent: Be confident. Believe in yourself. Go after what you want. “Honestly, I want them to know it’s okay to be selfish during this point in their life,” she says. “Sports teaches you that.”

The Dragons had their most successful season yet this past year. They sealed their third straight NSIC conference title and won their first NCAA tournament win since 2009. That being said, it wasn’t a pretty season. In Nelson’s words, the team had to “grit a lot of things out” — fight for every basket, every possession, even when they were exhausted.

MSUM and the Paseka School of Business have made me a well-rounded person. I’ve established relationships with faculty who helped me excel in the classroom and created a solid base for business success. Assistant Professor Wooyang was an incredible mentor because he made me believe I could do more than I thought possible.”

– Drew Sannes, Business Administration ’16, Master of Business Administration ’18

Yes, the coach knows how to break down the opposition’s plays with surgical-like precision. She also knows how to coax her players to leave it all on the court.

“She’s done a great job of relating to her players. They play their hearts out for her,” says Lori Fish, head coach at St. Cloud State University, which plays the Dragons each year. “To sustain the level of success she has is incredible. Her teams are well-prepared and well-coached. She makes you bring your A-game.”

Allison Swenson played for Nelson from 2003¬–2008. She is now assistant coach for the Dragon program. As a player, she appreciated Nelson’s blunt style. Now she sees the softer side of a coach who writes thank-you letters to fans and alumni and sends notes of encouragement to other coaches in the league.

“She has a bigger heart than people give her credit for,” says Swenson, who calls Nelson a “burnt marshmallow” — crispy on the outside with a soft, sweet inside.

In fact, opposing coaches reach out to the veteran coach when they need advice. Just as she will answer her former player’s texts and phone calls, Nelson will respond to fellow coaches anytime. “Karla’s always looking for what’s best for women’s basketball and our league,” Fish says. “She cares about the game and is always working to make things better for the rest of us.”

When Nelson first started as a coach, the fear of losing motivated her to work harder, push longer. Losing no longer scares her; it’s part of the game. And winning means so much more than the final points on the scoreboard.

At the end of each season, the team gathers for one last meeting. Then the seniors are invited to the hallway that leads into the locker room. The team watches as each senior picks her spot on her wall and signs her name. It’s a bittersweet moment, this sacred time when all the work, the sweat, the drive is over. At that moment, all that is left are memories of an incredible career playing basketball, growing, winning. And with that, Nelson sends her women out into the world.