As the 2019 school year begins, so do the fall sports. One sport that has seen a lot of change in the last year is boys tennis. Over the past year, the boys tennis team has faced the challenge of finding a new coach. Mr. Scott Mills, former softball and baseball coach, has stepped up to the plate and has taken the role of coach. The season officially started on August 12 with mandatory practices. This year, the team will have 11 scheduled duals, invites and tournaments. The team currently consists of 9 players, Scott Mills as head coach, and Micaela Adams as assistant coach. 

“I kept hearing that they were looking for a coach. I didn’t want the program to suffer because nobody could coach, I didn’t want Anita [James] to have the pressure of coaching either. I had spare time and I love coaching and helping the kids out.” Coach Mills states. When asked if coaching tennis is different from coaching softball or baseball, he responded, “Tennis is completely different from softball/baseball, the players need a whole different set of skills – they need short spurts of speed. To train for that, we do a lot of short line sprints. Tennis is also more individual sport, and the players can’t just swing their racket like a baseball bat.”

When Coach Mills was asked his goals for the season, he responded “Trying to figure out the team and how the matches work. This is all new to me, but my main goal is to figure this all out and to try to stick with it for the next few years.” This year’s team includes three seniors – Chance Crowe, Devin Garcia, and Kirk Sanders. Mills says that, “The seniors are fantastic with helping us learn how everything works, they are great leaders and they show it by helping the younger kids everyday at practice.” 

This year’s tennis team will be faced with many challenges – but with returning letter winners, very helpful alumnists, and previous coaches, the changes will be a little more bearable. “The team has done a great job staying motivated, and they have been doing the best they can with what they have. It’s definitely going to be a year of learning for me, but these guys are great” states Mills. 

Coach Mills would like to thank Ms. James and the whole high school staff, Coach Stickney, Coach Linda Dean, Morgan Wimmer, Tyler Sherlock, Richie Toedtli, Caden Dean, and Micaela Adams for being so helpful as the team figures everything out.