Beth Bolte stays local, inks with Bemidji State to chase dental, hardcourt passions

Jul. 7—Sometimes, playing sports is like pulling teeth.

Long hours of rigorous practice are required, with difficult sacrifices asked of players. To reach greatness, participants must often extract every ounce of will and determination from their bodies.

It's a demanding existence, to be sure. But so is finding an ideal college experience. And with a little help from her dueling passions of dentistry and basketball, it's the path Beth Bolte is taking to Bemidji State in the fall.

"Most of it was that I was comfortable here already," Bolte said. "And when I went and visited other schools, nothing really stood out to me. So staying home and somewhere comfortable — I know more people here — was a big part of staying."

Bolte will lace up her basketball shoes with the Bemidji State women's team following a stellar multi-sport career at Bemidji High School. She shined in volleyball, basketball and softball, and deciding which sport to pursue at the next level required some discernment.

"Volleyball was my main thing, and I didn't ever really think I was going to play basketball," Bolte explained.

But after an invitation to visit campus from former BSU assistant coach Jamie Schultz, Bolte began to look in a different direction. During Bolte's senior basketball season, Schultz pulled her aside and first presented the possibility of a walk-on offer with the Bemidji State women's basketball team. Schultz's husband, Darin, is the head coach of the BHS girls basketball team.

"I got Jamie's number and we started talking," Bolte added, "and I ended up visiting and doing a workout with them. I really liked the environment and knew it was a good program, good coaches. So I was like, might as well try it."

Bolte plans to major in biochemistry before sinking her teeth into a doctoral dental program. She'll do so at a university that has become deeply associated with the Bolte name.

Head football coach Brent Bolte has led the Beavers to two consecutive NCAA Tournament trips, the first two in school history. Brent's son and Beth's older brother, Caden, is entering his second season on the football team after a standout career with the Lumberjacks.

But Bolte is focused on making her own name at BSU, and she's already making strides to do so.

"I don't ever think there's that much pressure," Beth said. "It's cool to have the opportunity, staying at BSU and (having) family there. I never felt that I needed to, but it's something more that I wanted to do and try because I've always grown up playing sports too. And if I went into college and had nothing to do, that'd be more of an eye-opening experience just having nothing compared to something going on."

The Boltes are

used to busy sporting schedules

after a lifetime of shuttling between activities. Beth has solicited advice from Caden to ascertain what she can expect to find in college athletics.

"He enjoys it," Beth said. "I barely see him, honestly, because he lives in his own house now. So it's kind of like he's never home. But he does enjoy it. And he's gotten to meet so many new people and friends. He does say working out sometimes can be a little hard, but it's good for him."

Bolte knows she has plenty of room to grow into her role as a college basketball player, and she has a plan to get there. She's already training with the team this summer, and her development will be an ongoing process heading into her first season.

"I know going in that I have to build up a lot more skill-wise," Bolte said. "I know I can shoot pretty well, but just to adapt to their speed and their strength and working on more technical things right away is how I'll probably get up to speed with them."

Holistically, Bolte has broad aspirations beyond the hardcourt, and she plans to take her first steps toward them at Bemidji State.

"I'm excited to go and meet new people and make connections, but also focusing on my academics and my future goals more than basketball-wise," Bolte said. "Just planning out my future and seeing what else I need to get done."