Chuck Brower & Sally Swets, Holland Christian
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Holland Christian has always fielded strong tennis teams. Part of the reason is the prominence of the sport in the community that goes as far back as Joe Moran who was inducted into the MHSTeCA’s first Hall of Fame class. Simply witness the enormous number of courts available throughout the area even as far back as the 1970s.
Another involves the summer programs led by Hall of Famers Tiger Teusink and Karen Page who, in essence, trained so many kids who would then go on to beat their Holland High School and West Ottawa squads, respectively.
Another, of course, is the coaching. No fewer than three of the school’s coaches are in our Hall of Fame: Clare Pott, Class of 1992; Tom Buursma, 1997; and John Knoester, 2022.
But current varsity coach Steve Gorno makes it clear that much of the success of the program during the past two decades is due to the work of volunteer assistants Sally Swets and Chuck Brower. Both have been an integral part of multiple teams at the school since 2008. They started together under Hall of Fame coach John Knoester and have been instrumental in helping the program.
Teams that they have helped coach have qualified for the state meet every single season except one (boys COVID year in 2020) over the last 17 seasons. These teams have averaged a 6th place finish at State for the girls team and a 9th place finish for the boys team over that time span. In 2024, the boys team ended in 4th place and a young and inexperienced girls team finished in 7th place at “States,” both in Division 3.
Sally was drawn to the program because her nieces were on the girls tennis team while her own kids were in Holland Christian elementary school. “I played on the very first girls tennis team in 1972-1973 as a result of the passing of Title IX,” she says. Under Tiger’s guidance, that team went undefeated and finished 3rd in the state. Although she played 1S during those years, she played doubles at the final tournament under the old format and reached the semifinals.
She also brought to the Holland Christian program an astonishing resume: experience as a 1S and 2S college player in Missouri, as a teaching pro at Ramblewood in Grand Rapids, as an assistant manager at East Hills, and with a stint at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Florida. She then worked with the USTA for 10 years on Player Development.
Sally is the sister of Jeff Etterbeek, former state champion and U of M varsity player. “She does an outstanding job and has a great perspective about high school tennis,” says Allegan’s Gary Ellis. “In any contact I've had with her, she has been very positive toward both her players and opponents.”
For his part, Chuck played 3S for West Ottawa his junior and senior years, securing a regional championship the last year but failing to make the final tournament because the team didn’t qualify. He went on to CMU but didn’t play tennis there. sTwo of his four kids played varsity tennis for four years at Holland Christian under Coach Knoester. “So, eventually John decided I wasn’t some crazy tennis parent and he could trust me with helping with the boys team,” he says. “A few years later, probably 2014, John Dykstra stopped being an assistant and I started helping with the girls team as well.”
Chuck, like Sally, has volunteered his services to the Holland Christian tennis program for more than two decades.“Not only does he provide his expertise at practices, matches, and tournaments, he is also quick to help in getting our facilities in top condition,” says John. “Most importantly, he provides care, wise counsel, and love to each of our players. He even has allowed past players to borrow his car for the school prom night! It has been the gracious sacrifice from Chuck, and Sally, that has enabled me to thoroughly love and enjoy my years of tennis coaching at HCHS.”
“Sally and Chuck, as a coaching tandem, have been cornerstones in HC’s tennis program for almost two decades,” says Steve. “Either one could be a head coach for a high school tennis program, but both prefer to work behind the scenes and just help teach kids to be better tennis players on the court and better people off the court. Their knowledge of tennis skills and strategy have helped multitudes of players over the years achieve successful careers because of their willingness to invest hours of time into developing individual student athletes physically, mentally, and emotionally.
“They don’t coach for recognition. They coach because they truly love the players and want nothing more than to help them to succeed. Their positive influence over the years has been one of the biggest reasons for Holland Christian’s continued success. And more specifically, their daily focus on helping players continue to grow throughout the season last year resulted in both teams overachieving and having unforgettable experiences both on the court and off.”