STAPLES — As soon as she could walk, Ronnie Noska was swinging a racket.
Tennis is a family affair for the Staples-Motley junior. Five of her mom's six siblings play. Her grandpa had a big influence on her career.
But that’s not the only reason she stuck with it.
“I've always been a very hard worker, and tennis isn't something that will come easy for anybody, even if you're super talented,” Noska said. “Just the competition with yourself — not even competing with other people, but the mental clarity you get from exercising and just the competition you have with yourself — and it's something that you can always work at 100%. And you might not get a lot out of it, but you just have to keep working.”
Noska, KAXE’s second-ever North Star Student, is one of the top-ranked tennis players in the state. She’s a four-time state qualifier, including a fourth place finish in doubles and twice as consolation runner-up in singles.
Noska was nominated by her coach Nikki Paskewitz because of her amazing career — and the fact that she’s got one more season full of fun and achievement ahead of her.
Paskewitz has coached Noska throughout her varsity career, the last two years as head coach. But Paskewitz also remembers a little redhead running around tennis camps when she was a student assistant.
Noska's grit and determination permeate throughout her career. In the team section semifinals, she was down five points in her first set. She fought her way back, winning a key match for the team to advance to the finals.
In her eighth-grade season, Noska made the consolation final at state, and she and her competitor ended up being the last girls playing tennis in Minnesota.
“I ended up losing the match, but it just put so much motivation to want to win that match into, ‘The next match is coming up,’” Noska said. “It was just a fun, hardworking five hours.”
Noska said she was born wanting to win. Her parents used to tell her she was the rough one in the family, always wanting to wrestle. That attitude is part of the reason she prefers playing singles.
“If we lose or something happens like that, it's not the end of the world, but you don't have to be upset with somebody else,” she explained. “Which you shouldn't be, but like if you have to be, it's better just be upset with yourself and fix yourself because you can't really fix the other person.”
Over the years, Noska’s mental game has grown the most.
“She puts a lot of pressure on herself in all areas of life to be her best,” Paskewitz said. “And I think her just being able to take a step back and find joy in the things that she's pushing herself in and doing it for herself has been really fun to watch.”
Noska’s always been a leader on the court, Paskewitz said, but as one of the only juniors on a team with no seniors, it’s been great to see her also lead academically and relationally.
Noska knows she took tennis very seriously from early in her career. Taking a step back and learning to have fun has allowed her to connect with her team more.
“Being able to go out with teammates on a weekend and go and have fun and hang out and do stuff like that has really got our team together and just put everything together as a whole,” she said. “We’re more of a family, I would say than a team. We’ll always have each other.”
There’s still hard work ahead, but for her senior season, Noska wants to relax and enjoy it.
“I don't want there to be stress. I just want to be calm and relaxed and just like have fun and enjoy part of it, because it's not something that I'd be able to get back,” she said.
When Noska’s not on the court, you’re likely to find her out in a blind or hanging out in her dad’s machine shop.
She hunts with her cousins and friends all fall long — duck, goose, grouse, pheasant and deer.
“Which is hard because of tennis. I can’t get out there all the time,” she said. “But I think I missed three mornings all duck season up until deer season — and obviously like, sections and state I had to miss.”
In the spring, she shoots with the trap team. Last year, she qualified for the state tournament.
She also balances that with a full school schedule. Her fall semester, Noska took around 18 college credits as she works toward getting her associate’s degree.
“I did end up halfway through [duck season] having about eight hours of homework to do,” she said. “So, we slept in the canoe overnight, and at 3 in the morning, I was on my MacBook doing my homework out in the lake.”
A full, college-level course load isn’t easy, but Noska said she wants to make the most of the opportunities she has.
But she isn’t sure college is in the cards, even with some schools recruiting her for tennis. She’s considering veterinary sciences, but she doesn’t love her classes now and can’t see herself sitting through more school.
“I’m thinking of a trade, something like that, like getting my CDL [commercial driver’s license],” she said. “ ... I took shop class, small gas engines and wood shop. Those are my favorite classes. My dad owns a machine shop, and so I’ve been around those people and stuff like that, and it’s really just something that I really enjoy.”
With her Sitka jacket and hands-on hobbies, Noska isn’t necessarily your stereotypical tennis player. But Paskewitz said that’s what makes her success so fun.
"I'm really excited for what's coming for her and for our team, too,” she said. “She just works really hard and has for a really long time.”
North Star Student is a series from the KAXE News Team, featuring Northern Minnesota students who deserve to be recognized, whether because of athletic accomplishments, artistic endeavors, academic achievements or other efforts.
