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Jan Groff is the new varsity girls tennis coach at Incline High School. She also will be a physical education, heath and foods teacher at the school.
Wednesday was Jan Groff’s first day at her new job as a teacher and varsity girls tennis coach at Incline High School.
It isn’t taking her long to get used to her new surroundings.
“I just have to pinch myself whenever I see the ‘Home of the Highlanders’ sign,” Groff said. “I’m just so at home here. I can’t wait to meet all the parents and everyone involved with the tennis program and the community.”
Groff has been an off-and-on Incline Village resident the past 20 years, since moving to Tahoe from Iowa in 1987.
After spending the past two decades working various jobs in the business and education sectors, Groff now is home, as she refers it, ready to begin what she hopes is her final job — teaching and coaching the Lady Highlander tennis squad.
“My dream is to retire from Incline High,” Groff said. “I’ve left and come back to Incline three times since moving here, and this is where I want to be.”
Groff recently was hired as new girls tennis coach at Incline High, where she also will serve as a physical education, health and food teacher. She comes to Incline after coaching and teaching the past nine years at Bishop-Manogue High School in Reno.
Former coach Aaron Parsons, currently a teacher at the school, stepped down as coach this year to focus his time on the many teaching responsibilities at the school, said IHS Athletic Director Dan Schreiber.
Schreiber said Groff’s experience will pay off for the team, not to mention she also will be a teacher.
“It’s a huge blessing when you can get a teacher and coach on staff,” Schreiber said. “It just means she can more involved with the kids and their academic careers. An on campus coach is so huge.”
Groff was born and raised in Mason City, Iowa, where she played tennis for three years at Mason City High School. After high school, she attended junior college at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City. She played tennis at NIACC before transferring to the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, in Wisconsin, where she graduated with a degree in education. From there, Groff took a job as a teacher and tennis coach at Dubuque Senior High School in Dubuque, Iowa, where she coached for six years.
Groff left the school in 1987 because of enrollment issues, and it was then she moved to Incline Village, where she attended Sierra Nevada College, eventually earning a masters degree in business.
After she earned the degree, Groff worked in the business sector for 12 years, intermittently living in Incline and in other areas in and around the Tahoe Basin. She got back into teaching and coaching in 1999, when she took the job at Bishop-Manogue, where she worked until last school year.
Now in Incline, Groff said there won’t be much of a transition, considering she has lived at the lake on and off the past 20 years.
“I feel so at home here; it’s been such a super duper transition,” Groff said. “It was good at Manogue; it was kind of like a lot of training because I was doing business for awhile. I’m looking forward to bringing all the experience and positive energy to Incline.”
Wednesday was Groff’s first day on the job, and she spent this week getting familiar with the faculty and staff at the school. She has yet to meet this season’s girls tennis team, something she said she is looking forward to come Monday, the first day of school and the first day of mandatory practice for all fall sports.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the whole team on Monday and getting to know the girls,” Groff said. “I’m excited for the season. I can’t wait.”
It isn’t taking her long to get used to her new surroundings.
“I just have to pinch myself whenever I see the ‘Home of the Highlanders’ sign,” Groff said. “I’m just so at home here. I can’t wait to meet all the parents and everyone involved with the tennis program and the community.”
Groff has been an off-and-on Incline Village resident the past 20 years, since moving to Tahoe from Iowa in 1987.
After spending the past two decades working various jobs in the business and education sectors, Groff now is home, as she refers it, ready to begin what she hopes is her final job — teaching and coaching the Lady Highlander tennis squad.
“My dream is to retire from Incline High,” Groff said. “I’ve left and come back to Incline three times since moving here, and this is where I want to be.”
Groff recently was hired as new girls tennis coach at Incline High, where she also will serve as a physical education, health and food teacher. She comes to Incline after coaching and teaching the past nine years at Bishop-Manogue High School in Reno.
Former coach Aaron Parsons, currently a teacher at the school, stepped down as coach this year to focus his time on the many teaching responsibilities at the school, said IHS Athletic Director Dan Schreiber.
Schreiber said Groff’s experience will pay off for the team, not to mention she also will be a teacher.
“It’s a huge blessing when you can get a teacher and coach on staff,” Schreiber said. “It just means she can more involved with the kids and their academic careers. An on campus coach is so huge.”
Groff was born and raised in Mason City, Iowa, where she played tennis for three years at Mason City High School. After high school, she attended junior college at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City. She played tennis at NIACC before transferring to the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, in Wisconsin, where she graduated with a degree in education. From there, Groff took a job as a teacher and tennis coach at Dubuque Senior High School in Dubuque, Iowa, where she coached for six years.
Groff left the school in 1987 because of enrollment issues, and it was then she moved to Incline Village, where she attended Sierra Nevada College, eventually earning a masters degree in business.
After she earned the degree, Groff worked in the business sector for 12 years, intermittently living in Incline and in other areas in and around the Tahoe Basin. She got back into teaching and coaching in 1999, when she took the job at Bishop-Manogue, where she worked until last school year.
Now in Incline, Groff said there won’t be much of a transition, considering she has lived at the lake on and off the past 20 years.
“I feel so at home here; it’s been such a super duper transition,” Groff said. “It was good at Manogue; it was kind of like a lot of training because I was doing business for awhile. I’m looking forward to bringing all the experience and positive energy to Incline.”
Wednesday was Groff’s first day on the job, and she spent this week getting familiar with the faculty and staff at the school. She has yet to meet this season’s girls tennis team, something she said she is looking forward to come Monday, the first day of school and the first day of mandatory practice for all fall sports.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the whole team on Monday and getting to know the girls,” Groff said. “I’m excited for the season. I can’t wait.”
