With preseason matches out of the way, the boys’ tennis team just began their season on April 3. A new coach and a young team pose new challenges and opportunities for this year.
Kristin Finnigan, PE and Health teacher, stepped down from the head coach position last year, leaving the varsity position vacant. Aaron Rogers, former boys’ JV head coach and current girls’ varsity head coach, filled the spot.
“Transitioning from JV to varsity has actually been a lot of fun because there are some guys that I’ve kind of moved up with,” Rogers said. “I got to coach them in their first couple of years and see how they’ve grown, and now how their efforts have kind of transpired into the varsity scene.”
Rogers is not the only one enjoying the transition. Dietrich Ihm, senior, says the adjustment has been relatively simple.
“Me and [Rogers] click real well. I love his coaching style and he’s really easy to relate to. Mrs. Stanton [JV head coach] is really cool, too,” Ihm said.
A new head coach is not the only difference the boys are adjusting to. The team is also very young this year. The team lost seven players at the end of last season, giving younger players a chance to play on varsity.
“A lot of the guys, since we are very young, were on JV with me last year. I’m excited to kind of see how they can do at the varsity level and if they’re up for the challenge,” Rogers said. “It’s gonna be a challenge; that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Rogers says one of the biggest components of preparing the team, especially the younger players, is to stress mental and physical toughness. The boys have a long season, and singles matches can be especially difficult to endure.
“Different frustrations arise during a meet,” Ihm said. “Since [tennis] is mostly an individual sport, it’s hard for your team to help you out other than cheering for you.”
Keeping composure during matches can be difficult, but Rogers is confident his players will step up to the challenge. The team is also focusing on team building to work on supporting each other during meets.
“Any time the team can be around each other and not always in a tennis situation, I think it lets them see each other in a different light; it gets them to know each other,” Rogers said.
Building a sense of community also helps the team focus on enjoying tennis. While every sports team’s goal is to win and do their best, both Rogers and Ihm agree this upcoming tennis season is about playing tennis while growing and having fun.
“It’s not always about winning; it can still be about pushing yourself and improving and wanting to be successful. We do come up against some of the best in the state. We’ve had some previous State Champions in our conference,” Rogers said. “We know kind of what we’re gonna face, so can we set reasonable goals as well and meet those expectations?”