1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Nebraska Women's Tennis Coach German Dalmagro is back on the show: January 22nd, 2026, 11:00am

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

Dalmagro is back on 1-on-1. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Coming at you live from the heart of Lincoln America, a 937-the-ticket and the ticketfm.com. Sponsored by the Downtown Lincoln Foundation. Here is your host, Derek Pearson. It is 11.01 in the city. 26 degrees. Enjoy every high that you've reached today because you're not going to see it for a while. We'll be highless. We're going to be cold for the next.

few days, weather in flux. So prepare accordingly, grocery store, socialization, and otherwise. Appreciate you all hanging out with us for the next hour. It's a good one, and we appreciate you considering us. Sorry, to have your text line is 402. 464-5-6-85. You want to be a part of what we're doing. You have questions for the coach.

Please cue them up, tee them up. And some of you have already done so. and we will certainly ask Coach Del Margo some of these questions because there's lots going on. All the video streams, Facebook, YouTube, X, Allo Channel 961. You can download the ticket app as well. And Amazon Prime. Bach kind sir.

Two things in order. First, sir, how the heck are you on a Thursday? I'm doing pretty good. Except for all the daunting weather news. I hate the cold. I thought we might be able to escape. it this winter, but here it comes. You live in the Braskin. What do you, thinking, sir? Can't skip it. No, what are you thinking? You can hide. You cannot escape.

Bach, if you would, please, guys, sir, pay the bills. Yeah, the show is sponsored by Hamilton Telecommunications, bringing you the latest quality technology and communication services since 1901. Whether it's residential or business, Hamilton has the answers. Visit Hamiltontel.com for more info today. Thank you, kind sir. Bach, I will allow you, I need you in on this very thing because our guests today, as Thursdays

do, we bring in Husker Women's tennis coach, Hermann Del Magro, and coach, first of all, how the heck are you? I'm doing great. I'm doing great. Enjoying a warm coffee in this cold weather. It's about to get colder, but I'm doing great, doing great.

Just you know, just working, working with the team. We have a little hiccup for this weekend, but we can certainly talk about him. But no, I'm doing great, doing great. As we shall. We shall. But first, Bach got to experience his first Husker Women's tennis event. Right.

Bach, give coach your review. Yeah, I went to the to the match on Friday night, James Madison. I was planning on staying a little longer. Unfortunately, my son, a four-year-old was doing four-year-old stuff. So he was, he would not sit down. and sit still. So I'll have to make it back again. But it was very cool.

I mean, we got a birds live. You sat right next to DP, felt like a scout with the, where you can sit and look. You get a great vantage point and saw your girls in action. Saw you in action. Saw you coaching out there. So it was very cool. Well, I appreciate it.

Thanks for coming. Yeah, for the support. You know, we welcome anybody who wants to come support. So it's great. What do we say to families? So Dad Bach, of the. four-year-old. So he's trying to explain to his son. Okay, this is when you can talk. This is when

you can talk. What do you suggest for fans? You know, I have three young kids too, you know, so you probably see them running around most times. And they don't want to listen to me. So they don't want to say when you can be quiet or no. They just want to run around and and be themselves. But, no, I think it's, I think it's noise enough when all the matches are going on, this noise going on constantly that you don't have to be overly quiet. I think sometimes when it comes to the last match, and when the point is not in play, you can say something, but when the point is in play,

it kind of feels like you have to be quiet. But when multiple courts are playing at the same time, you can kind of be part of the noise, you know? Like, now, if they're screaming on top of the lands, you know, or just like, you know, those that you can, you can hear those more, you know, specifically. But other than that, you can just, you know, just kind of beat themselves.

And I tried to tell our team, I was like, we got to get used to some type of distraction. We can't always expect it or want it to be too quiet. You know, we need that noise. I think it helps you, I think it's helpful. Yeah, it actually, I think it helps you distractions when it's a little bit of noise, constant noise, then when it's no noise at all, and then suddenly you hear something. You want the crowd.

You want, you want 1500, Husker fan. Absolutely. But you want that. And it's a free event. Yes, it is. Great location, plenty of parking. I love what they did Sunday morning. Saturday morning and Sunday morning because they had

Kris cream donuts and coffee. Yeah. Like I was like, wait a minute. Well, okay, now you're spoiling people. Yeah.

We try to do that. And then on sometimes some Friday nights or some evenings, we'll have pizza, you know, at times, you know, have some giveaways and, you know,

we'll try. I think it's that now the most of the matches, the concessions will be open. So you can grab a beverage, you know, and a few snacks. And so, yeah,

no, it's a good atmosphere. Again, you know, like you keep mentioned, is free admission, but I also think it's a good problem. Oh, absolutely. Which is fun, you know, it's a, it's a fine environment.

It's a, it's a healthy sport, you know, so it's something that you want to get into. I think it's pretty cool to go watch and support. And, you know, these young women put a lot of hard work. So I think it's, you know, they feel very appreciated when people come and support. I think it's that thing that when you see it, it will draw you more to it. And I try to explain that to people, that being around it and you see it, everybody at some level, you know, pickleball has a success based on the base principle. Yes.

Tennis has a universal appeal. And everybody can enjoy it at some level. And I just think getting people in the building will help grow the sport in this town. I agree with you. So, yeah, let's get more people in the building. But no, it's good. It's good. It's a fun.

Obviously, I'm a little more biased to it. But it's fine. It's a good sport, good environment. And, you know, and we hope we work hard to hopefully put a good product on the courts. I don't think it's a question about the product. A gritty win. A gritty win. And then a great weekend, right?

Started with the gritty win against James Madison. Yeah. You had to find some answers along the way. Some adjustments were made. You watched the young ladies in real time. Yeah. Make in-game adjustment. Absolutely.

Yeah. we were a little down on the roster, so we'll have to make some adjustments, singles and doubles, but I think everybody did a good job. To start off with James Madison, I think they're a good, solid team. I thought we responded really well.

A couple players, you know, they're a little rusty, a little, not quite fine-tune, I would say, for a match ready, but I think it's good to get it right off the bat, you know, with a good team. And it was a good weekend. And then against you and all,

the same. We made a ton of adjustments. We took some players out, the lineup, kind of make, you know, everybody play. And I think it was good. Everybody responded well. And I mean, at times, it was in our best tennis. And at times it was, you know, and we kind of tried to take all in between, you know, to feel like, you know, sometimes you learn through adversity, more than you learn when things just kind of flow, you know, pretty easily. So it's good to get a little diversity and good to not play our best by still win matches, which I think is good. And hopefully that helps us moving forward. Well, you took a hit.

Your ability to adjust on the fly, you took a hit Friday morning, like to find out that one of your players wasn't going to be available. Talk to folks through that. Yeah. Yeah, it was, we kind of didn't quite know it will happen, but we weren't sure. And then she was aware of our players, you know, which could be one of our best players too in the lineup. So she just was practicing, but then felt a little pain on her food.

And then just Thursday night, you know, went to the NMRI. And Friday morning, the day of the match, we kind of find out that, hey, she's going to be on a booth for a couple of weeks. So no other news we want to hear, neither are the teammates, you know. So we have to, we were kind of preparing for a plan B just in case on some doubles team. So we work a little bit on it. But obviously, it makes a different. but we did that and then you know we just have to say next man up and everybody has to step up and and do the best they can so so they did the team is great about it and very supportive and

you know the player that did not play was you know kind of the loudest supporter really was she was she was all the team they allowed support there so we try to emphasize that you know it's like it's all about the team and if a man is down you know somebody else has to step up and you know we'll do the best we can. I think you got the results. And as a coach, even if you sweep, their coaching moments,

their lessons to be learned. How do you grab, prioritize, and set the focus on a weekend where it went exactly as you would hope it in the end result? Yeah.

But then you also recognize what is ideal for you in your program. Yeah. I think it's just, you know, we just have to adapt, you know, adapt to what we have at that moment.

and try to make the best out of it, you know. Was it what we thought we might have at the beginning? Maybe no, but we can't just put excuses and just say, hey, this is, you know, we can't do this or we can't win this or, you know, or throw the towel or say, you know, we're never going to do that. So we just have to adapt a little bit and then and then be supportive of, you know, if somebody's out, you know, and then we have somebody out for Sunday who's sick, you know. So it's kind of like a combination of things, you know.

So we just have to adapt and be supported, but also gives opportunities to other players. And I think it's like when you get on a combination as a team, you know, I think it makes it makes it more like, hey, we're here for each other to support each other and to lift each other up, you know, to a point. So when somebody's down, it's not like a, it's not a moment of celebration, but it's a moment of opportunity for somebody else. At the same time, you're supporting whoever is not out there. It's, there's so much depth to it and it's so good. You were talking about getting people in the building and there was a match scheduled with Kansas State. Go through what this week has been like in finding you, you get the notification and then

kind of share the process. Yeah. Like how this works. Yeah. So in tennis, in some sports works, but I think in tennis, you know, like I basically, I'm in charge also my non-conference. schedule all those. Yeah.

So I'm kind of working with us. So we, yeah, we had a case stake, the coach call on Monday, and he's like, hey, I'm just kind of banked up. I don't think I have a, you know, a roster to play with you. So I have to cancel the match. I was a little surprised, you know, and and bumped a little bit because I thought it was a, you know, if healthy, I think they're a really good team. You know, sometimes you can play with less players.

It happens a lot, you know. And he didn't feel he had enough players, you know, to come play and just a bump. And we'll try to reschedule that at a late date that works for both of us. And then, yeah, the process became a call, you know, 14, 15 schools, emails and calls and texts in the next 24 to 48 hours, trying to find a team to see if they can replace that team to come play us here. We've even explored going to play somewhere else. and they just like for X, Y, and C reasons, you know, just could, you know, so late in the schedule to have a team, you know, come in a three-day notice, you know, it's really hard. Either teams have already matches this weekend or teams that don't have it, but they already have plans, you know, so stuff. So we couldn't make it work.

So we basically yesterday had to make the decision to just say, hey, the match is canceled and then we'll try to reschedule it at a later date. and we couldn't find another team. So now we kind of have an open day that will work with, you know, K-State to try to reschedule that. And then the process after that became, it became more like, all right, then we can just go practice more. So now we're working on things that the next,

the last two days, we work on things that we probably would not work on if we had a match week. You know, we will kind of go through the routine of having a match. And then so we put a little more emphasis on in some doubles. stuff that we want to work on. So we kind of work a lot on just that and then change a little bit of the mindset of the week and just put it a very like preparation, just like developmental week. You know, since we don't have a match this weekend and we play next weekend. We just put a big emphasis this week and just like trying to develop and trying to get better at the simple things,

you know, so. We used to have when situations like this, and this is high school, but when situations like this happened, there were always numbers that had to be met. So what are the rostered standards, the number of players that have to be available for a match. Yeah, so in tennis, you play three doubles to start and then six singles, you know, and everything is worth seven points. So out of the three doubles, if you win two or the three, you win one point, and then each single is one point, so you get seven points. To be able to compete, you need at least four players.

So two doubles because you can win still the doubles point. Yep. And four singles, which you can win four points. Yeah. If you lose a double spawn, you can still want four points to win. You'll least at least four points to win a match. So you need at least four healthy players. And there's been many times, you know, that players have played with, you know, with six or five or four at times, you know.

There was actually many years ago, Duke, they were very good. And then, and they play, they enter Enstance of Lays with only four players. And they won two or three runs with those four players only. So they gave up already two points. So they were already down to zero to start off. But then there's still one of the matches. So you can play. You know, you can play with four.

And then that's the minimum you can have. Because if you play with three, you automatically will kind of lose it doubles plus three singles. Yeah. So it's already you're down four zero. So it doesn't, you know, you can't. Four players is the minimum. It's the minimum you can have. What is your personal as the program lead?

What would it take for you to make the phone call? that the Kansas State coach made for you to say, listen, we don't have the bodies. It kind of depends, you know. I don't know if he have four or no, you know. I would say kind of depends. Like you want to, you want to honor the schedule that you have, or if you have contracts and all that.

You kind of want to honor. But at the same time, you want to try to make it work what is fair, you know, to both teams and their team, you know, and our team, you know. So if I have all healthy bodies for and you think, hey, I just have to go play it because this is what I have, and then you just go and then just try to make the best out of it. And then if you lose, and it's like, oh, this is what we have,

then just don't make excuses. So, but if you don't have four, you know, then obviously you try to, you know, reschedule or something else, right, because you can't play, you know? So you try not to forfeit the match. But sometimes that's a combination of, you know, flexibility plus, you know, trying to work. There's some integrity involved.

And you want you want to honor. You want to show up. You want to fight. Absolutely. But also, you know, like if there is an opportunity to reschedule, you know, we've, that's what we're doing. You know, we're trying to reschedule and work, work with them, you know. It was, I thought about it.

I wanted to call you and say, when I got the notice, I wanted to call and go, so do you simulate another match? Do you have the need to simulate another match day for this roster or is this? Because you don't have any seniors. Yeah. So there are some young folks in it, but you. are experienced enough that you may maybe not need another walk-through kind of scenario. Yeah. So what we're, what we decided to do is, you know, work. We're supposed to have a match Friday.

And then we usually compete on weekends. So we actually, the original schedule was to play Friday and I have a light, high light hit on Saturday and actually practice Sunday morning. And then take Monday off, which is usually a typical week, how it goes. So we decided to do that just for the fact of like keeping them schedule. and kind of work that. So what we're going to do is we're going to continue that. You know, we're just going to practice the extra day instead of playing a match. And then on Sunday, we're actually trying to play a little inner squad, but, you know, no full match, but we'll try to play some kind of competing a little more, you know, besides just regular points.

So we try to make a little more inner squad, but to just keep playing, keep that mindset of, like, competing, you know, even though it's not the same, you know. And you share facility. So the space kind of requires and the men have a double header. Exactly. So we do. So we were going to practice, you know, like 7th at the morning or Sunday. So we can be out of there until, you know, so the men can play their matches.

So we don't have to kind of go in between them and all that. So, yeah, we share the space. So we'll have to work around each other's schedules and work together and share courts at times. And sometimes we stagger. Yeah. It's not easy sometimes, you know, because with their class. schedules and matches and all that is kind of a lot of logistics, but we'll work. Your young ladies and most student athletes that do shows here, they come in and talk about

how absolutely mandatory it is for their schedules to be managed. Time management becomes maybe the most underrated thing next to the psychiatry, psychology of what goes on in the heads of a college athlete. Yeah. But the time management of schedule that you have people and you have fewer people on your staff, but your staff is responsible for telling them, post-class, pre-class, recovery. Yeah, it is. Sometimes we, you know, when we tell recruits, sometimes we tell them, it's like, hey, the biggest adjustment you might have to make is your time management.

Some of them go to online school. so they're kind of more like free kind of like you know they kind of do whatever things when they work around them and then some of them go to regular high schools so we're they're a little more structure but they're still it's still different so time management it becomes it becomes pretty pretty big here um i mean most schools you know just have to deal with you know half in person half online classes which most of them have and then um and then between their individuals with us and their classes they're in a rehab opportunities or if they're watching a video or you know between the homeworks and tutors and then they try to eat and then workouts rest and then rest you know and all

that is yeah it becomes it becomes tricky so we try to give them we we try to schedule things around so they have time to go to a training table for breakfast for lunch and dinner and try to schedule between you know classes and their individual and their individual or plus practices where it doesn't feel overwhelmed constantly. You know, some days are busy than others, but they still can accomplish all the things. You know, we want them to do well in the classroom just as much as we want them to do well on the core, you know.

So it's a, you know, it's a whole holistic student athlete approach. But also we want to win. We want to win on the course. So they have to put the time, you know. There's so much, coach, there's so much going on. around the game. There's the story in sports locally is high school players from other places transferring in to finish their high school career at Nebraska. That's crazy. Yeah. See, right? Well, this is this is why, and I know that you're around it. Yeah. And I, so there's several

different different places to, to plant your flag. One, high school athletes, If somebody said that there was a high school athlete who was interested in playing for you, and then they want to come and be close to the program, right, proximity or otherwise, would it be beneficial to you to have a high school that played practice taught the way you did, the way you do to help your athletes prepare for playing tennis at Nebraska? You know, that's a great question. I think the short answer on that, tennis is slightly different because in high school, most high-level athletes don't really play much high school tennis

in their high schools. They just play national tournaments. So they might have some private coaches that they might play for their high schools, but those high school coaches might not coach them. So for a player to come to us and say, hey, I want to go to Lincoln, you know, Lincoln High School or at Omaha High School, you know, it could be beneficial, but it all depends, you know, like they won't be playing for the high school. They might be playing for the high school to live close by, you know, but most of those really good players, sometimes they go online school, you know, and they go travel and just play tournaments or they go to some academies, you know, in Florida, California, you know, in Texas. or something like that. So it could work. You know, it could work.

Now, haven't had that situation happen, you know. I'd be curious to see how I would handle it. To be honest, if that happens, you know, if I'm in that case, I think it's, you know, I kind of, I don't know what your thoughts is. You know, I kind of read a little bit of mixed reviews on this, you know. I mean, I think it's great, you know, if he can be more often here and he's fully committed to, you know, to being a husker. And, you know, and I think it could attract more.

recruits as well. And if we have a high color of a kid that, you know, like I said, hey, I want to move closer and I want to be around the program more often, you know, I mean, I'm only going to say yes, I'm welcome that. It makes it. I'm not going to deny that, you know. So there's several things. And here's the depth of it. And as a high school coach who's coached in programs that other,

that college programs had their eye on, the convenience that people are missing in this. And there's pros and cons to it. You're right. on the pro side, it is convenient and access for the coach to be able to have eyes on that player, right? And you also get to learn what that player is like away from the game. Yeah. Right.

Are they willing to do all the things get themselves up, right? Because mom and dad aren't going to live in that house in Omaha with them. So who's going to get them up? Who's going to parent them? Who's going to mentor them? Can they handle the nutrition? can they handle the financial, can they handle the psychology of being in a new environment in a strange place? And then the cons would be in the same space. The coach gets to see all of you.

Absolutely. Yeah, you can't, they can just see the best part of you. Right. It's not a highlight rule anymore. A short trip. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's, yeah, it's all of it. You know, I think it's, Frost and Cohn, like you say, in that same space. You know, I think it's, you can only think it will help mature, help the maturity, help the adaptability, you know, they'll have that they have to adapt when they get here, you know, or any college, right? They have to adapt.

So he might have to adapt when he goes to a new place, right? So then if anything, you know, he should help the maturity and his way to adapt things, you know, because he's going to go to obviously a new environment, And you're coaching you. And there's three players. You know. There's three players. Like that's the recruiting.

And I've said it all the time in the old, in the restaurant business and the radio business. The best recruits are the staff. The best recruits are the players. The easiest thing for you, if a player speaks for your program, it will attract more players more than the coach. It's just the way it works. It's just the way it works.

A little more relatable at times, you know, for the other generation. Well, it also changes. And I do want to highlight this before we go to break, that what it says is in a leadership position, somebody is willing to come in and be the conductor for more talent to draw itself to this market. It's going to draw more eyes, more conversation, more exposure to the good and bad. Yeah. And it may, it'll change how we do things,

but it doesn't really change anything because everything that's happening now here has always happened. it's always happened. You just don't know about it. I've coached in six states. I can tell you, they've been stashing players for as long as college athletes, athletics is at.

I mean, high school strengthers going to play for, you know, players it has happened for a long time. You know, sometimes when it happens to you, you kind of, you kind of see like,

oh, wow, you know, now it's happening to me, but you see it happening all over for many years, you know, so. Well, I just want to know where all the houses are,

uh, where people are living, where these kids, are going to live and what adults are going to be in the room because these are high school kids still. So we'll figure all that out. I'll ask you some of those questions because now, coach, when we come back, I want to ask you about the money that's being moved in college athletes, inevitably, it has to trickle down to high school. It has to trickle down to amateur tennis. It has to trickle down in sponsorships and it has to trickle down to families.

Coach, I'm going to ask you some tough questions because our listeners have questions we want to answer or at least your opinion. Yeah. And you can't be wrong because it's your opinion. Reminds on my girl, bot DP, more one-on-one when we come back. Download our app by searching 93.7, the ticket in your app store. You're listening to one-on-one with DP on 93-7,

the ticket and the ticketfm.com.