Coaches: Caitlin Bradley and Steve Turley

Years coaching sport/at current school: Three

Strengths: Team effort, team support, competitiveness

Weaknesses: Slow starting, closing a match, attitude while losing

 

Other than winning all your games, division or conference championships and making the state playoffs, what other team goals do you set?

One of our main goals as a team is to maintain a positive and humble attitude whether winning or losing. We always tell our kids to do their best setting an example on the court as they play tennis.

Another goal we have is to build friendships. Tennis matches are played individually or in duos but building an overall team relationship is super important to us. We want our kids to be competitive, but we also want them to be supportive.

What has surprised you most about the team so far?

The team effort this year has really surprised me. A lot of the kids really practiced a lot over the summer and fall and came back having improved a lot. We have a very competitive team this year.

Why should fans come out to support this team?

Because tennis is fun! And the weather is nice most of the time. It is very heartwarming to watch the team cheering each other on.

If you could get one message through to your team, what would it be?

To have fun! Tennis is a very fun sport but can be nervewracking since a lot of the matches are played individually. But one thing I’ve noticed is that our team performs better when they are putting less pressure on themselves to meet their or someone else’s expectations. All these kids are so talented. It’s much more fun to watch them when they are enjoying it themselves.

How do you think your players handle the highs and lows of winning and losing, and how do you coach that?

We talk a lot about who we represent. When you play any team sport you aren’t just representing yourself. You are representing your team, or even GRC as a whole. Whether winning or losing, we tell our kids to be appreciative.

The one question I always ask after a loss is, “did you learn something?,” because in any match you play, whether win or lose, there is always something to learn. I think it’s important to teach our kids to think about the wins and losses, but not to [focus] on them. They have to learn that, not just in tennis but in life, they will win sometimes and they will lose other times.

It is important to know how to win humbly and to lose nicely. You set a better example that way.