Q: How do you feel about the size of the team?
A: Well this is the first time in many years I actually have to have cuts. As of right now I have 54 girls trying out and the team will be made up of about 28.
Q: Is the process of selecting the girls difficult?
A: It is a lot of girls in a small area. I have an assistant coach helping me out. I also enlisted the help of my boys JV coach to help me evaluate so I have more adult eyes watching so I can make as fair evaluations as possible. I have mathematical formulas to determine ratings and I go by their ratings.
Q: What do you think made more girls want to tryout this year?
A: I think most girls spread the news when they participate, that it is a fun sport, mind you the team has typically has been a very good competitive team. I mean we won the SPSL South [division] three years in a row now and seven or so out of the last eight seasons. When you play on the JV, or what used to be my exhibition program, you learn how to play and have fun. You are also learning a life sport that you can do for the rest of your life, unlike a lot of other sports. You know you can play other sports as an adult but with tennis you can just go out any sunny day and have fun, so I think the girls would enjoy learning how to play and so I think that is part of it. I also think that the ninth graders have been coming out for it. I have always had ninth graders, so it is not supposed to have affected me that much but it has because now they do not have any ninth grade sports. Now, they have to make a choice between fastpitch— which you need to know how to play before you turn out for it. Track—which you kind of have to like running for, or tennis. I have 17 freshmen trying out and typically I have five. So I tripled the amount of girls trying out because of it and unfortunately some of them probably will not make the team. That is the way it has to be though. Some sophomores probably will not make the team and some juniors will not make the team and some seniors will not.
Q: What made you want to start coaching for tennis?
A: It is a sport that I still do at my age. It is one that I can play and have fun with. I love team sports—you cannot get me off the sofa on a fall Saturday if I am watching college football, I love that but I am very competitive and I would rather be competitive by myself. I guess I am too old that in team sports I would blame everyone else for it and I just like competing by myself.