MHSTeCA COACH OF THE YEAR - 2024
(click
on coach's name to read more about them)
GIRLS (Spring) | BOYS (Fall) |
DIVISION - COACH | DIVISION - COACH |
| 1 - Mary Colonna, Clarkston | 1 - Bob Young, Northville |
| 2 - Nick Shaheen, Birmingham Seaholm | |
| 3 - Josh Gove, St. Johns | |
| 4 - Mark Randolph, Ann Arbor Greenhills | 4 - Matt Golzynski, Lansing Catholic |
GIRLS (Spring)
Mary Colonna, Clarkston - Division 1
Clarkston High School is no stranger to strong tennis teams and more to the point, excellent tennis coaches. Chas Claus was Boys Coach of the Year in 2016. Lee Keating of the prominent tennis family received our Assistant Coach Award in 2018. As far back as 2003, Kevin Ortwine was a COY.
But none of them have achieved what Mary Jo Colonna’s squad accomplished in the spring of 2024. Her girls won the state title by putting together 28 points to 2nd place Utica Eisenhower’s 20. Furthermore, six of the eight flights reached the second day of play. That is dominance, especially considering that Clarkson plays in Division 1.
Three of those flights became state champions. Her 2S and 3S, freshmen, were undefeated throughout the season. So was the rest of the team in duals, quads, conference and regionals.
“Overall, it took the whole team to accomplish a state title and undefeated season,” she says. There was leadership from the seniors all the way down to the underclassmen.
“One of the standout moments from the season was watching the finals from the hill at Midland Dow and of the 8 courts playing, our team was represented in five of the eight,” she says.
“I have known or coached almost the entire team for over 10 years and told them for many years that this was going to happen,” she adds. That’s because Mary Jo is a tennis pro at Deer Lake Athletic Club, a facility that, in her words, “is very supportive of Clarkston tennis.”
Over time, she has developed many of the Clarkston seven who are on this year’s all state team.
“Mary Jo, Clarkston Girls Tennis and Deer Lake Athletic Club are all synonymous,” affirms Eric Bracciano, Lake Orion’s head coach, tennis pro at Deer Lake, and Hall of Fame inductee this year. “She has been a pillar in the Clarkston community for over 40 years with her perseverance, discipline, energy, dedication and drive to make young players and adults successful on and off the tennis court. She is highly respected in the tennis community by other teaching professionals, coaches, and parents.
This is not the first state championship team that Mary Jo has been an integral part of at Clarkston High School. She became a varsity assistant who together with then-coach Becky Freeman, helped lead the team to a state title in 2011. In 2015, she took over as head coach and spent the next eight years pursuing this year’s achievement.
Given that this year’s freshmen 2S and 3S are not only undefeated but also state champions, it could very well happen again.
GIRLS (Spring)
Andre Dupret, North Farmington - Division 2
"A good coach can change a game.
A great coach can change a life.”
This sentiment, displayed on Andre Dupret’s bedroom wall, encapsulates his positive attitude toward the game of tennis and his role as a coach. His words are filled with “It was an absolute honor to (fill in the blank).”
“Tennis has always meant so very much to me and having the opportunity to share my passion and knowledge of the game with the student athletes is a dream come true for me,” he says. “If I’m being honest, it was the North Farmington tennis team and the wonderful game of tennis that helped me to survive high school. I had some really tough, unique experiences as a child that I had to overcome. Certainly, family was a large reason that I was able to overcome those challenges; however, I would be remiss if I did not share the role that tennis played. Having difficulties with self-confidence because of the things that I had to overcome, tennis served as an avenue for me to feel good about myself. Furthermore, tennis provided me with opportunities to make amazing friends.”
Andre was born in England but his family moved to the Farmington area when he was very young. His parents were avid players who started him at age three at the Franklin Racket Club. When he was 10, his then-coach switched him from a right-hand hitter to the left. It was a game-changer in every way. “I instantly became a better player, and my love of the game grew.”
How much? He played 1S for the Raiders his junior and senior years. He then went on participate in Club Tennis at U of M Dearborn, helping to establish the program and serving as its coach. “Coaching my fellow teammates at U of M Dearborn provided me with the confidence that I could be a tennis coach/instructor,” he says.
Confidence, yes, but also competence. After graduation, Andre went back to Franklin, this time as a teaching pro working with a wide range of ages. He continued this full circle accomplishment by securing the varsity position with both the boys and girls at his alma mater. “Working at Franklin is pretty nostalgic for me,” he says. But also, “There was a certain level of nostalgia at the prospect of returning to North.”
Andre has certainly cherished the opportunity. “Coaching at North Farmington has meant the world for me,” he says. “I feel extremely grateful for the opportunity to help make my student athletes’ tennis careers fun and fulfilling.”
In terms of wins and losses, it hasn’t been easy but Andre, given that he himself had played in the Oakland Activities Association Conference, knew that going in. These divisions feature some of the best teams in the state and often enough, state champions. Although the White Division is the second strongest, it features West Bloomfield, Lake Orion, and Rochester as the principal North Farmington competition.
Although Andre had strong teams in 2021 and 2022, his squads stayed home after the regional which is the qualifying tournament. But the 2023 crew broke a decades-long ice. Although that squad lost to Rochester, it beat West Bloomfield and accumulated enough points at the OAA Tournament to win the division title. Moreover, his players outscored Groves – no small feat—at the regional and went on to a Top Ten finish (7th) at “states.”
This success became a two-edge sword. It meant moving up to the Red Division in 2024 where they had to compete with the likes of Bloomfield and Troy – former state champions – as well as Birmingham Seaholm and Stoney Creek. This means that his very strong tennis team lost every conference dual meet.
Nevertheless, this trial by fire must have toughened his kids enough to qualify at the Division II regional, finishing a smidgen behind Groves. The strength of the OAA was manifested in the result at “states”: 2. Seaholm; 9. Groves; 10. North Farmington. By comparison: OAA Schools playing in Division 1: Troy, 4; Rochester and Stoney Creek, tied at 8, Bloomfield, 12. Indeed, North plays in a tough neighborhood.
This doesn’t deter Andre. “As coaches, we have been very lucky to have some incredible players through the years,” he says. “All of our players have had great sportswomanship and have been very receptive to feedback. As a result, coaching the players has been an absolute pleasure.”
What Andre neglects to say is that today’s kids are very receptive to feedback if they know and respect their coach’s knowledge and background. North’s kids are led by a 12-year teaching pro at a very repected tennis club, one which has hosted national indoor tournaments. Furthermore, Andre had coached the girls at Groves for three years before Graduate Study schedules forced him to step down.
Andre managed this year’s regional tournament, an arduous task fraught with hideous possibilities for discontent among contestants and coaches but yet “It was our absolute honor to be able to host the event, and I really hope that all the schools involved enjoyed the experience.”
Here we go again: “It was an absolute honor.” The MHSTeCA board voted to return the sentiment.
GIRLS (Spring)
Josh Gove - Division 3
Josh Gove was more than qualified to take over the St. Johns High School tennis program when he returned to his alma mater. Having played one singles for the Redwings in high school, he went on to Alma College where he was 1S all three years and played doubles in all three flights. “I was a three-year captain and took it very seriously which was good preparation for coaching,” he says. He also won the MIAA Sportsmanship Award in his senior year, a superb role model once he started mentoring high school kids.
But wait, there’s more. After graduating he served as an assistant coach at Alma for both the men’s and women’s teams for three full seasons, all the while leading the boys squad back at his high school. That’s what you call a good start to a serious resume. From Alma College back to his alma mater. A Scot and a Redwing all at once.
Actually, Josh didn’t intend to be a high school coach. “At the time I thought I might just coach for a year or so and also be the assistant coach at Alma and then move on but I enjoyed it so much and realized that K-12 education and coaching was my true calling and passion in life,” he says. “I also love so many of the teachers and coaches in our district and continue to have amazing tennis kids and parents.” Add to that the situation in which St. Johns had four coaches in the four years after Josh had graduated. An integral part of a successful program is consistency. He has been the answer.
Upon graduation from Alma in 2014, Josh started with the high school’s boys team which got better and better through the next several years. It climaxed with a trip to the state tournament, a feat repeated for the next three years.
In terms of the girls, he first helped out the current coach, led the JV team to cover for a maternity leave in 2018, took over varsity spot the next year, and narrowly missed a trip to the final tournament the very next year. “We had to work past the disappointment of the canceled COVID season in 2020,” he says, “but have since gone to ‘states’ four years in a row on the girls side of things.”
Indeed, Josh’s girls have been conference champions for those four years and runners-up at the regional: to Chelsea, Williamston, and Mason. But in 2022, they hoisted the trophy as the outright champions.
Even though that team was loaded with talented seniors, the sophomores stepped up as juniors and seniors in the following two years. They finished as runners-up in the regional in 2024. “I am very proud of the fact that we have been top 10 or top 15 the last four years at the state finals,” he says
St. Johns is in the CAAC Red division of his league in the Capital Area. That means that they play against Haslett, Williamston, Mason, Fowlerville, and Lansing Eastern. “In the last four years at regionals, we have been a runner up to Chelsea, narrowly runner up to Williamston one year and Mason one year, and outright champions another year.
“The year we were runner up to Chelsea was the first year we qualified for ‘states’ in my career as the girls coach and we were in seven of the eight finals against them,” he continues. In 2022 we were the outright champions of the regional and had so many talented seniors. Lexi Maloney earned first team all-state honorable mention, the first in my career. Two seniors that year, Maloney and Laney Voisinet, are my first girls players to go on and play at the collegiate level (Trine and Alma respectively).
“I was not expecting to be as successful in the next couple of years after having senior classes of 9 or 10 of the top 12, but was so pleasantly surprised by the hard work, dedication, and passion that the 2022 sophomores brought with them the next two years as juniors and seniors.”
Josh’s day job was once a K-12 certified visual arts teacher but is currently a young fives through fifth grade art teacher in the St. Johns Public Schools. But make no mistake about it, he is also the tennis coach from March through October, running camps and giving lessons in the summer and coaching the girls in the spring and boys in the fall.
“He is very professional in his hosting of events and is very gracious to those who host as well.,” says Haslett’s Henry Brunnschweiler, himself a Coach of the Year. “He has taken an average program and made them very competitive in our conference. Last season he had a strong team because he put countless hours into working with the girls in the summer. He stays focused on keeping his players involved and attentive to their goals.”
Those goals include academics. “I am personally so impressed and inspired when girls tennis players are also the academic award winners and have leadership roles in volunteer organizations, student council, National Honors Society, and on other sports teams as well,” he says.
GIRLS (Spring)
Mark Randolph, Ann Arbor Greenhills - Division 4
“I would like to think that I teach my charges to compete hard and fairly, but I have sought to promote the game and its valuable lessons first, over and above my own program winning.”
“While competitions regularly yield winners, it is infrequent that sport gives us true
champions. Our goal [at Ann Arbor Greenhills] is to be champions, players who bring integrity to the sport, celebrating the game, our opponents, and our own best effort.”
“We should play tennis as a recreation, which is to say, an opportunity to re-create the best aspects of ourselves.”
“That my goal is to feel and to write the poetry of each player each season. This is not a branding exercise for me; rather, it is a life purpose.”
“Tennis is just a stage upon which I help my players find Joy, discern the difference between what seems and what is real, what they truly desire, and their own salvation on their own terms.”
This ideology -- expressed in writing by Mark Randolph back in 2009 when he garnered his first Coach of the Year Award and again articulated this past summer --clearly places certain values above winning. This is a man who is as much a philosopher as he is a coach of athletes according to those individuals who have competed against his teams. “I never fail to learn something about the English language when we play Ann Arbor Greenhills,” says Portage Central’s Peter Militzer.
Indeed, he has always been erudite. He was not only a four-year letterman in tennis at Occidental College in Los Angeles -- and a classmate of Barack Obama -- but he also was an Academic All American in 1983 who went on to earn a Ph D. in English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan. Moreover, he has played on USTA teams -- one of which advanced to the Westerns -- and on 5.0 teams. In other words, his girls are coached by somebody who can not only express himself eloquently but also play the game well.
It is an understatement to declare that his girls also win in spite of -- or maybe because of-- his coaching philosophy. For instance, the 2024 season was statistically perfect. His Gryphons won every dual meet, captured the conference title, won all four tournaments that they entered, brought home the regional trophy, and finished first at “states.”
Furthermore, this isn’t the first time. Mark’s girls have qualified for state competition 15 out of 17 times, captured 10 out of 12 regionals, and won five state championships, three of them in the past trio of years. Also add two runners-up trophies.
Moreover, he joined the boys squad in 2005 to help out Hall of Famer Eric Gajar. If results are an indication of his effectiveness, consider the output: 13 state championships and four runners-up finishes.“ I guess philosophers could argue correlation or causation,” he says, but having been there, I am counting them as well and so will say 18 State Championships.”
Correlation? Causation? Cause and Effect? “Fourteen of the Greenhills boys sixteen state championships have occurred while Mark Randolph was coaching,” says Eric Gajar, the boys coach. “There is no doubt in my mind that this number would be lower without his significant and valuable contributions, and I'm sure his players would agree. The man knows more about tennis than anyone I have worked with. He can get the best out of a player and turn a match; I've seen it happen countless times.
“It is a huge advantage to have two head coaches working for one team, which is the case for the Greenhills boys program,” continues Eric. “There is no one else I'd want our players to be in a foxhole with during a match than Coach
Randolph. His contributions are immeasurable. I can't imagine him not being there with me and would certainly retire if he ever stepped away.”
Mark has coached the girls since 1997 and helped with the boys since 2005, but “I don’t refer to years but rather to seasons,” he says. It is most accurate to say that I am currently coaching my 52nd season.”
This coach/sage is exceptional, not only in the sense of superiority but also in the context of not ordinary.
BOYS (Fall)
Bob Young, Northville - Division 1
Although there are surely other factors, there are two telltale signs that an individual is a good tennis coach. (1) The kids improve as the season progresses. (2) The doubles teams are strong.
Enter Bob Young who was blessed in previous years with the services (pun intended) of Mr. Tennis, Sachiv Kumar. But not only did Sachiv graduate and leave Northville last year but so did the 2S and half of Bob’s 1, 2, 3, and 4 doubles. As a result, his 3S went to 1 doubles and his 4 singles went to 1 singles. . “Although he was a state champion at 4S last year, moving to the top was a huge jump,” says Bob. “The other three spots had to be taken by kids who were playing singles for the first time. They came from 3D, 4D, and 6D the previous year.”
Understandably, it was quite an adjustment. “At the start of the year we were winning most of the doubles matches while losing all of our singles matches,” he says.
But consider the improvement. The record of the singles players in August was 12-15; September, 22-20; and October, 25-9. “I pushed them hard and the results showed,” he says.
Now consider his doubles line-up. Their combined record for the season was an astounding 138-9. The 1D was a state finalist, 2D won the championship, 3D lost in the finals and the 4D went into the tournament undefeated but lost in the semifinals. In other words, team depth got Northville a third place finish in the state. “In August, I was hoping for a Top Ten finish and had a Top Five as a dream,” he says.
Examples of improvement continue: Earlier in the season, Northville lost to Troy 2-6 but at the state tournament, Bob’s kids met them in three flights. Each was a three-set, three-plus-hour match and Bob’s players prevailed in two of them. In addition, his Mustangs bested several other teams that they lost to earlier in the year.
And finally, consider the fact that Bob, who has been coaching high school tennis for 14 years, spent the first 10 at Walled Lake Western. During that time, he took a team that didn’t even exist to three regional championships and thus to three state tournament appearances, something that had never previously happened at that school. These kids also captured two division crowns and two conference championships .
He describes Northville as “a much different animal.” Yes, they could play tennis but in the first few years, the culture of both parents and players was less than desirable in terms of sportsmanlike behavior. “I encountered several coaches telling me at tournaments that if they had known we were there, they would not have come,” he says. “Our players and parents were awful. It even got to a point where I forfeited a match in the conference finals because a parent was so bad.”
Nevertheless, that squad finished third in the state. This was followed by two runners-up outcomes. But this year’s third place finish might have been Bob’s most satisfying. “This has been my finest coaching job of my career,” he says.
BOYS (Fall)
Nick Shaheen, Birmingham Seaholm - Division
2
At Final Tournament Time years ago, Bob Wood’s University Liggett squad entered the event having won zero dual meets. A Division Four school, Liggett played the best squads in the state during the season regardless of the opposing school’s size. Yet his team captured the state championship in D4 that year. This was a textbook case of Strength of Schedule.The saga of Birmingham Seaholm this past fall is another example.
The Oakland Activities Association Red Division might be the strongest conference in the state. Consider the fact that Nick Shaheen’s squad finished in a tie for 2nd in the state in Division 2 but only fourth in their league behind Bloomfield Hills, Troy Athens, and Troy.
In other words, the Maples have to tangle with the Big Boys who compete in Division 1 at “states.” Bloomfield Hills was Division 1 State Champion, Troy was runner-up and Athens finished in a tie for seventh with Ann Arbor Pioneer. Moreover, every team in the league qualified for the final tournament.
That’s heady competition, even more so given the fact that Seaholm actually tied with Beverly Hills Groves at the regional. In fact, Seaholm met Groves in every final that day wherein they split 4-4.. But Groves went on to tie for 5th in state Division 2, several spots behind Seaholm.
Why? One major difference was the performance of freshman Carter Griffith who at 1S entered the tournament unseeded but yet reached the semifinals, beating the 7th and 2nd seed before succumbing to the 3rd seed.
“Another singles player with huge impact was our 4 singles, Alex Ting,” says Nick. “Alex had a grueling 3 hour, 3 set match in the semifinals before going the distance in the finals to win the first singles state championship in some time for Seaholm.
“Our 3 doubles pairing of Britton Leo and Aaryan Senthilvanan also came through big for us in the tournament,” he continues. “In the finals, they saved a few match points and came back to win the second set to save the match. In the third set. they pulled through and gave us our first flight championship in doubles.
“Finally our 4 doubles team of Andrew Wachowicz and Connor Champion also helped the tournament run by winning our second doubles flight championship. They had a tough battle in the semifinals, needing 3 sets to get to the finals. Once they got to the finals, they won in straight sets to make it three years in a row Seaholm has won the 4 doubles flight at ‘states’.”
Why did these players win so many tough, close matches? “Having to replace 9 of 12 starters from the previous year meant we had a lot of unknowns,” he says. “I attribute our “states” (and season) success to a couple of things: 1) our strong culture/commitment in the offseason and 2) our tough schedule.
“We intentionally play a very tough schedule because to be the best you have to beat the best and nothing prepares you better for the state tournament,” he continues. “This year we played the top 2 ranked teams in Division 1 (Bloomfield Hills, Troy), most of the top 10 in Division 2, the top 3 ranked teams in Division 3 (DCDS, CK, Greenhills), and 3 of the top 4 ranked teams in Division 4 (Liggett, Holland Christian, TCSF).
“Coming into a state tournament battle tested gave us a certain confidence and grit that carried the team through the high and lows of competing. Our boys never wavered and they stepped up and performed admirably, I’m incredibly proud of them.”
“Nick is being too modest,” says Andrew Shipp of Troy Athens. “His team has finished in the top 5 at States in Division 2 in eight of the last nine years, and many of those teams were second or third in their state finish. His doubles teams are always among the toughest out there, which is a reflection of his great coaching. He also handles the many personalities well and has a calm, respectful, and happy demeanor himself that makes him fun to coach with and against.”
BOYS (Fall)
Keith Stulp, Grand Rapids Christian - Division
3
Tom Pullen, Ann Arbor Pioneer Hall of Famer and winner of 19 state championships in Class A/Division 1 since he started coaching in 1991, is nicknamed Brick by his players. That's because as an elementary basketball coach, he once demonstrated a layup but ended up throwing up a disaster.
Keith Stulp’s nickname is Flash although its origin is “shrouded in the mists of time” (his words). He asserts that back in college and at South Christian, everyone had nicknames. His sobriquet was maybe the result of being a cross country runner and track athlete who was, as it turns out, skilled enough to play good tennis. He volunteered to help out the team in 1988 and then was offered the job in 1990.
“While I was a good athlete and proficient in tennis, I felt the need to up my game, so I went to Virginia in 1993 to spend a week with Dennis Vander Meer, so got a certificate saying I knew what I was talking about.
“I still recall my first regional seed meeting back in 1990 and watched with a wild surmise the sparring between Charlie Partin and Doug Simmons from Grand Rapids Northview and a young Dave Sukup from Forest Hills Northern thinking this tennis stuff was crazy,” he continues. “Anyway, that’s how long EGR has been kicking my butt boys and girls.”
But 34 years later in what has been a dream come true, Flash’s kids tied EGR at the regional this past season. To TIE them almost seems surreal,” he declares. “The window was open albeit briefly I am guessing. But the team certainly took advantage of that window by finishing in a tie for 5th at ‘states,” this time ahead of East.
“When I saw our regional (EGR, Grand Rapids Christian, Unity Christian, the Zeelands, and Middleville), I figured we were in our normal fight for 3rd, and thus walking a tightrope to qualify. But I feel safe in saying that both those first teams were rebuilding a bit and we just matched up pretty well. We won three of four 3 setters.
“I think it is safe to say this is the best team in South’s history from a records standpoint,” he adds “We keep track of all those records, and our 3S had the second-best record ever, our 4S the fourth, our 1D, 2D and 3D all had the best records ever at their flights, and 4D (my son) had the second-best record.
“I’ve thought about it, and I attribute it mostly to my 2 and 3 singles players spending much of the summer at Premier Athletic club playing three hours a day making themselves much better. A year ago, while our doubles were good, we got gashed badly at singles but those two really shored up that part of our lineup. I actually think a lot of guys did work harder than guys have in the past, but they really like tennis, and like to play. Also we were really athletic. My 1S and half my 1D are on the basketball team, and I have some other random guys that are super-fast.
“I work hard to create an environment people like to be part of,” he says. “And I never talk about winning. It’s a by-product at best of the stuff we do focus on.”
Nevertheless, his tenure at South Christian offers a consistency that is an essential facet to a successful program. Flash was the assistant boys coach for two years and the head coach from 1990-1999. He assisted Chuck Pothoven for the next 20 years before resuming the lead job. He has been the girls coach since 1999.
But longevity by itself doesn’t get you the Coach of the Year honor by itself. Consider the assessment of Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Mark Randolph whose erudition matches The Flash. The reader must keep in mind that both men do not place winning above other values.
“Keith Stulp, aka “Flash,” is a coaches’ coach, but also a players’ coach. He is driven by a passion for Joy, which animates every aspect of his work with his teams. Flash teaches his teams not merely to compete against other teams but especially to work with them to create something meaningful, a chance to discover something new about themselves, and make new friends.
Sporting conduct is the alpha and omega of his work. His teams are skilled and aspirant. They leave it all on the court, and they make every venue better for having inhabited it.
I will happily give Flash my highest compliment: more than being a Great Coach (which is often considered the superlative), Flash is a Good Coach (because Good, the highest good, is the thing to which we all should aspire).*
While he credits the players with their progress and Mark notes the tone and focus, Flash does a really good job with his team throughout the course of the season,” says Allegan’s Gary Ellis. “They do get better and he has a lot to do with it. He is also a plus at regional seed meetings and helps get coaches through some sticky seeding “discussions’.”
BOYS (Fall)
Matt Golzynski, Lansing Catholic - Division 4
Matt Golzynski started the 2024 boys season with five players who had never played high school tennis. Four of them had never played any tennis. Furthermore, theaying different flights than they had in the previous seasons.
Understandably, they lost their first three matches – to Holt, Dewitt, and Williamston. “These were all in the first few days of the season and I only had one player who was playing in the same spot that he had played last season,” he says. “The doubles teams had about two days to work togetr before I threw them into the fire with matches (pun intended?). But then they didn’t lose a dual the rest of the season, going 13-0-3.”
The Cougars also won the JPII Quad against Jackson Lumen Christi, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, and Flint Powers. They finished on top in the Paw Paw Quad against Paw Paw, Hackett Catholic Prep and Comstock Park. They tied for second at the Allegan Invitational behind Allegan and Ludington but ahead of Pontiac Notre Dame, Jackson Lumen Christi, and Whitehall, teams who were all state qualifiers. It should be noted that these wins were against some traditionally strong squads: Lumen Christi, Whitehall, Hackett, Notre Dame, and Flint Powers.
Matt’s team plays in the Capital Area Activities Conference (CAAC) White division along with Portland, Ionia, Eaton Rapids, Charlotte, and Lakewood. His kids went undefeated in the league dual matches with a dominating flight record of 36-4. At the league tournament, they finished with 7/8 flights in the finals and won 6 of those including all of the singles flights.
This squad went on to win the regional by two points because they reached the finals in seven of the eight flights even though they triumphed in only one. They ended a very good season by finishing in the Top Ten at the state tournament.
Why? Matt gives credit to the help of Mark West, his assistant coach (who also going into his second year as the Girls Head Coach at Lansing Catholic where he led the team to a Regional Championship last spring.) He also enjoyed and appreciated great senior leadership and supportive parents.
But much of the result comes from a blend of talented newbies, a few dedicated returners, and several very good athletes who took up the game and learned quickly. “We had a great mix of returning players with a lot of experience and newcomers including freshman Noah West at #1 who ended up being named All State and getting to the Quarters at the State Finals,” he says. “I also had a new group of sophomores that turned out to really be good athletes. They fell in love with the game and worked harder than any team that I have ever had.”
There are some who believe that those who serve on the State Seed Committee should automatically receive a Coach of the Year Award given how important, arduous, and pressure-filled the task is. This is, of course, facetious but sure enough, Matt has done his part since 2021 to aid high school tennis beyond simply leading his teams to success.
“He has been a good addition to the boys seed committee from the mid-state area,” says Allegan’s Gary Ellis who has been a member of this group for decades. “He has good insight on the players in that area and gives solid input during the process, from the area seed meeting which covers all of West Michigan to the finals committee. He also is willing to travel with his team to play good competition around the state, which also is a plus when it comes time to do the seeding. Year in and year out, you can count on Matt's teams to be competitive and display the type of sportsmanship that we all expect.
“In addition, Matt is always friendly and willing to help, especially at the coaches clinic,” continues Gary. “He communicates well and is respected by his peers. He shares insights and collaborates with others in the sport in an easy-going way that invites you in, making you feel like you have been friends for years.”