Coaching High School Tennis

[johnyandell]

Let's discuss Roy Gessford's article, "Coaching High School Tennis"

[klacr]

High school tennis is very important. Played a huge role in my development as a player, a coach, and a person. Nice article Roy.

Ahhh Memories,

I remember when I was in college I took the job as tennis coach for the local high school team. What a circus. I was coach for two years until I graduated and went back to Florida.

Those two years as a high school coach were some of the most impactful, touching, rewarding and fun years of my life. My first season, I got the job by default. No one wanted to touch this rag tag, bad news bear type of team. This was a rural high school and tennis was not a priority or even recognized as a "sport" by most of the town's population. Kids showed up to practice in jeans and wooden racquets with busted strings. Most of them had no idea how to even play, keep score or physically make contact with the ball. I was not gifted with one tennis centric tennis player. Our best player was one of the stars of the school's mediocre hockey team.

We lost a bunch that first season. A BUNCH! I was never ashamed or mad at the team...but it was challenging to keep my patience. The biting of my lip and deep breaths saved me from what could have been a serious incident.
It was truly a learning and growing experience for all of us

And boy did that team learn and grow.

My second season we showed up and got laughed at from teams that beat us the previous season. We got the last laugh in most of those season 2 rematches. Our players were getting it. They competed. They maintained their poise. They were having fun. A winning team is a happy team. We ended up, to the shock and awe of the team, the players' parents and myself, winning the district title. I've never experienced pride and joy like that before in my life. I still stay in touch with some of those young men and proud of each and every one of them and what they have become.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

klacr...the "Dream" high school coach

High school tennis is very important. Played a huge role in my development as a player, a coach, and a person. Nice article Roy.

Ahhh Memories,

I remember when I was in college I took the job as tennis coach for the local high school team. What a circus. I was coach for two years until I graduated and went back to Florida.

Those two years as a high school coach were some of the most impactful, touching, rewarding and fun years of my life. My first season, I got the job by default. No one wanted to touch this rag tag, bad news bear type of team. This was a rural high school and tennis was not a priority or even recognized as a "sport" by most of the town's population. Kids showed up to practice in jeans and wooden racquets with busted strings. Most of them had no idea how to even play, keep score or physically make contact with the ball. I was not gifted with one tennis centric tennis player. Our best player was one of the stars of the school's mediocre hockey team.

We lost a bunch that first season. A BUNCH! I was never ashamed or mad at the team...but it was challenging to keep my patience. The biting of my lip and deep breaths saved me from what could have been a serious incident.
It was truly a learning and growing experience for all of us

And boy did that team learn and grow.

My second season we showed up and got laughed at from teams that beat us the previous season. We got the last laugh in most of those season 2 rematches. Our players were getting it. They competed. They maintained their poise. They were having fun. A winning team is a happy team. We ended up, to the shock and awe of the team, the players' parents and myself, winning the district title. I've never experienced pride and joy like that before in my life. I still stay in touch with some of those young men and proud of each and every one of them and what they have become.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Perhaps an area where the United States has the biggest advantage over the rest of the field of nations. The concept of the high school tennis competition. Question...Why isn't this being capitalized on? Answer...Not enough capital.

What a pity. If so many high schools across the nation had coaches like Kyle the rest of the world would be fighting it out for second place. Nowhere in the world is there a system intact that automatically gives the foundation and infrastructure of a system that could easily be manipulated into an efficient, educational tennis program.

With a little cooperation and organization this could be a bountiful field from which to harvest a lot of talent. When I was in high school it gave me the opportunity to play in a competitive situation that matched my ability to compete. The beauty of it was that it didn't cost a thing. If you were playing number one singles you played against the best player from the other team and so on and so forth. It gave the player an opportunity to get competitive through experience and motivation. You play better you move up the ranks. The number one slot was always prestigious.

My friends for life were made at this venue. The guys that I played high school tennis with ended up being my closest friends. Much closer than my college teammates. Many of the high school tennis coaches were not actually qualified to be tennis coaches which made for some rather interesting styles of play. But the high schools that had qualified coaches repeatedly were successful and had reputations of breeding the best players.

In Michigan...nobody will ever forget the era of the Hoxie group out of Hamtramack...a lower middle class ethnic neighborhood of largely Italian and Polish people. What that group accomplished on the high school level will never be equaled...in all probability.

Kyle's reminisces about his experience is a great story and I bet that when he left the program he was sorely missed unless another man of equal competence was there to fill his shoes. Interesting article that provokes a lot of memories and provocative thought regarding the current state of American tennis.

[klacr]

High school tennis was instrumental in my school days as well. Making the team and being part of a peer group at that stage of teenage development was crucial. Being on my high school tennis team exposed me to many valuable life lessons and gave me some great self confidence. Not everyone can be the star of the football team or basketball team at their schools. There are numerous other sports where kids can feel good about themselves and compete against others of a similar ability level. Relying on your teammates for support and knowing they rely on you to do the same is a very powerful sensation and a bonding experience that stays with you.

My high school tennis coaching days are long gone. No longer am I in a small midwestern town in a poor rural area better known for logging and snowmobiling than for competitive tennis. I'm in the competitive and cutthroat tennis mecca in sunny South Florida with gated country clubs, tennis academies and high level juniors every block along with families that possess disposable income that would make the gangsta rappers that burn $100 bills in music videos blush. This area would not accept some crazy college kid with a little enthusiasm and a wry smile get a job coaching a varsity sports team at a public high school.

Coaching is about making an impact in a student's life. In South Florida, that impact may be a college scholarship at a major university or bust. Expectations are high. In Michigan, the impact was keeping a kid's hope and future alive. Keeping them away from trouble. Keeping them protected from a broken home. Showing them that tennis, a sport they once mocked as sissy, could give them more satisfaction and pride than they have ever felt before.

The case don-budge makes is a good one. High school tennis and its lack of capital. Their are some incredible players out there that may have been identified by their high school coaches. There are also numerous diamonds in the rough that have no direction nor any opportunity to fall in love with this game due to inadequate or poor coaching and experiences. It's a subject that certainly requires more time and thought but I think we can all agree that it can be an important role in the development of a life long tennis player.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[roygessford]

Handbook

Kyle and Don-

Thanks for your replies. The point was brought out that high school tennis teams are something special to the U.S. I wonder what other countries offer high school tennis teams? It is certainly one of the best ways I know to develop camaraderie and great play at that time in a junior's life. My hope is that the U.S. puts a little more effort into growing great high school programs and therefore developing better players, memories, and lasting friendships.

Roy Gessford