Leaving a lasting legacy

In 12 years as an English teacher and coach in the Carrington School District, Tim Ranum has seen a half-generation of kids come through his classroom, and has graced the sidelines and dugout with his infectious enthusiasm.

At the end of this summer, when John Raymond O'Hara American Legion Post 25 hosts the 2023 Class 'B' Baseball Tournament July 26-30, it will mark the end of Ranum's involvement with local sports.

The Burlington native is stepping down as CHS' head boys' basketball coach after seven seasons, and will start his 11th and final season as coach of the Legion baseball program this summer.

Ranum has accepted an English teaching position at Jamestown High School beginning this fall, but he says he doesn't plan to be a stranger.

"I'll still look to be very involved at the high school level, as well as supporting the [University of Jamestown] perhaps down the road," Ranum said.

He added that if any coaching opportunities should come up in the Jamestown area, he will throw his hat in the ring when the time comes.

One of the major reasons for his career change is mostly to eliminate the commute for his wife, Madeline, who works at Jamestown Regional Medical Center (JRMC) as a clinical exercise psychologist. Along with that, he aims to, in his words, "be more present as a father and a husband" to her and their two children, Zoey and Edison.

"We're looking forward to being together as a family and not dealing with the stress of her driving daily to work," he says.

'A great place to start'

When Ranum graduated from the U of J (then known as Jamestown College) in 2011, he had plans to go elsewhere. When that strategy fizzled, he began applying for teaching positions throughout the state.

"Growing up in various Class 'B' communities, Carrington was attractive," he recalls. "I knew they had some successful programs, as the girls' basketball won state that winter and the boys won it the prior winter."

What really ticked all the boxes for Ranum was the district's proximity to Jamestown, where Madeline was finishing up her college degree.

"Shortly after I got the job here, I was approached by Eric Hewitt about coaching Legion baseball, which hadn't existed in Carrington for some time," he said.

"That aspect made Carrington a great place to start my career."

Initially, Ranum got his feet wet in the coaching realm with Velva Post 39 while still a student and baseball player at JC, and had some success, leading the blue and gold to state tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011.

He began as Post 25 coach in the summer of 2012, then stepped away from the program for one year to accompany Madeline at graduate school in La Crosse, Wisc. In his stead, Kyle Hewitt guided the team for that summer.

A budding baseball power

When he came back to Post 25 in 2014, he had no idea what his boys were about to unleash in the newly-created Class B division.

"I remember we placed eighth place in a tournament the weekend before regionals, and we went undefeated the rest of the way, winning a state championship by just finding a way to beat much more talented teams,"

At the State Tournament in Langdon that summer, Carrington came out of nowhere to take their first statewide crown since 2001 and second overall with an 18-6 victory over Thompson in the final game.

In 2015, Post 25 made it back-to-back in LaMoure, defeating Park River, then finished off a three-peat in 2016 at City Park with a win over Hazen.

His teams also have two state runner-up finishes, and have managed to miss qualifying for only one state tournament (the 2020 independent league event) since 2014.

During his tenure at Post 25, Ranum's clubs have a very impressive 37-7 regional tournament record, and are 22-12 in state tournament play.

He doesn't immediately recall his exact overall record as Legion baseball coach, citing the absence of reliable score reporting statewide, but estimates around 200-plus wins and just over 100 losses.

From his position on the state American Legion Baseball board, Ranum presented Carrington's successful bid to host the 2023 tournament, and he intends to see it through.

"I look forward to a fun summer," he said.

Excellence on the hardwood

After taking over for Matt Hone at the helm of the boys' basketball team in 2016-17, Ranum was given the opportunity to lead another local squad to regional and statewide prominence.

In his opening season following a 12-11 campaign the previous winter, the Cardinals went 19-5 and advanced to the Region 3 championship, before falling to Ellendale in a bitter loss.

That sour result fueled his team to do something greater, and they came back with a vengeance in 2018 to defeat Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier in the Region 3 title game at Harold Newman Arena, 64-49.

That team would finish at 23-4 and in fourth place at the State 'B', earning a first-round upset win over favored Stanley and putting a scare into eventual back-to-back champion Hillsboro/Central Valley in the semifinal, before losing to St. John for third.

Ranum's team advanced to the region championship again in 2019, finishing second, and the program underwent several rebuilding seasons before this past year's club went 13-10 and lost to eventual Region 3 champion M-P-B, 58-41, in what would end up being the coach's final game at the helm.

He ended his tenure at CHS with a 94-70 record.

Recalling some contributors

Ranum fondly remembers the core of those early baseball squads, with players like Patrick Freeman, Braxton Hewitt, and Brady Bickett.

"Patrick was our leader on those first few teams," he said. "He was just going to stand on the mound and relentlessly pound the strike zone, daring anyone to hit it. And they rarely did."

He referred to the younger Hewitt as a "dirtbag in the most positive sense, and someone ballplayers of all eras would respect," all the while dealing with the adversity of his father Eric's ALS diagnosis and illness.

Brady Bickett, though physically unimposing and "appearing to be outmatched", got praise from Ranum for his clutchness in that 2014 tournament.

His next few teams had a lot of crossover athletic success between both baseball and basketball, as well as football and other sports.

"Jayden Shipman came in as a freshman and won big games in high school and Legion, and he just wasn't scared of anything," said Ranum. "In basketball, he'd relentlessly hound and pester anyone defensively despite guarding 6'6" guys with 40 pounds on him."

He also had praise for Garrett Bickett, Brady's younger brother, who decided to commit himself completely to the court after his junior year disappointment, into an All-State selection his senior season.

Some of Ranum's most inspirational players got mention as well, including Trey Rosenau and Payton Smith.

"Seeing Trey relentlessly rehab to have the potential to come back from a completely-torn ACL to play the last month of the basketball season [in 2018] was incredible," he said. "Also, I remember going on a walk and seeing Payton repeatedly sprint up the overpass to do a track workout, and then play a Legion game later that day."

"I've learned a lot from each of those kids, along with countless others, who gave their time and energy in each season that I've coached," said Ranum. "I just love seeing kids dig down deep and bring team success."

He also loves teaching, saying that he tries to bring energy and humor into every class that he teaches, which makes for "a lot of memories."

Ranum has also given of his time as a volunteer for extracurricular events, and served as the public address announcer for football games for much of his time at CHS.

Trusting the process

Ranum says he doesn't have any distinctive "coaching philosophy," to borrow a commonly-used sportswriter's phrase.

"I don't treat sports as life or death, but they're a great way to teach values that will allow my players to have success beyond the athletic field," he said.

He added that the values of hard work, personal sacrifice, making adjustments, and dealing with success and failure are all things that can be taught in the athletic arena.

"All along the way, I've tried to make sure that each player understands that when they take the field, that they are representing their community, to have that pride when they put on the jersey and represent yourself accordingly."

He says that he tries to be "process-oriented" and not measure success just by wins and losses.

"I feel we've had a lot of success as a result."

He wishes to thank all the players that he has coached, as well as the community members who have supported him and his family throughout the years.