The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

After 13 years as the Sisters High School (SHS) varsity boys soccer coach, Rob Jensen has made a transition and taken over as the boys varsity basketball coach. Jensen took the Outlaws through a summer league schedule, where the Outlaws played between 20 and 30 games, including two weekend tournaments.

“We are really trying to figure out who we are, the role of each player, and how we can be successful,” said Jensen.

Coaching is an obvious passion for Jensen, as he has been at it since he graduated from college. His first job was with his former high school coach, Bob Wismer, at Banks High School as the boys basketball JV coach. From there, Jensen moved to Madras and was a freshman coach for two years.

In 2006, the Jensens moved to Sisters and Rob has been coaching here ever since. He coached seventh-grade boys basketball, both the school and the travel teams, for four years, before he became Rand Runco’s assistant varsity basketball coach. He coached with Runco as an assistant varsity coach and the JV coach from 2011-2017.

In addition, Rob has been the boys varsity soccer coach for the past 13 years. He’s also coached youth lacrosse and youth basketball, and currently coaches a U11 premier soccer team for the Bend Timbers.

With years of experience under his belt, Jensen is very comfortable stepping in as the boys coach.

“Having coached all levels of basketball, and having been a varsity coach for 13 years, I feel I am ready for this step,” said Jensen. “I’m much more ready now than when I took over the soccer program. We have a great group of coaches who will be helping out, and a lot of experience at those positions, so I’m excited about the future.”

He plans to continue the Outlaws tradition of creating athletes that compete hard, aspire to excellence, and carry themselves with strong character. He also wants to continue to grow the youth programs, create consistency at all levels, and have a system where all levels are supported.

Jensen told The Nugget that basketball has always been his first love, and he’s excited to be back coaching the sport and mentoring the players. He has seen his players in the middle school classroom, at outdoor school, and has coached them through high school.

“The relationships formed are pretty awesome,” said Jensen. “Over the last few years I’ve attended weddings, and seen former athletes grow into really neat people, and I’m proud to have been a small part of that development. With my own children in elementary school, I will get to see the full kindergarten through 12th grade swing with a number of these future athletes, and that is going to be amazing.”

Jensen wants his players to leave the program with a bigger love for the game than when they started. He feels this will be accomplished through commitment and hard work, which will lead to skill improvement, and in the whole process have fun.

“Sports are a venue to work on character traits such as overcoming adversity, handling failure, constantly growing and learning, and truly becoming better people,” said Jensen. “The emotional highs and lows teach students many things about life that make them better equipped at taking risks and succeeding in the real world. Students learn to manage time, talk to adults, problem-solve, be a part of a team, and think outside themselves. I love being a part of that.”