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| John Burke South Lake |
Budd Manson Sturgis |
John Shade Grosse Ile |
Ron Stablein St. Clair |
Ken Zandee Grand Rapids Christian |
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| John Burke South Lake |
Budd Manson Sturgis |
John Shade Grosse Ile |
Ron Stablein St. Clair |
Ken Zandee Grand Rapids Christian |
(click on Inductee's name to read 'description')
John Burke grew up in the UP's Ishpeming where tennis is not exactly a subject for household conversation. Even when getting his degree at Northern Michigan University, he did little more than dabble in the sport. However, when he moved to the St. Clair area, he took up tennis in earnest due to, in large part, the tutelage of his friend Gary Bodenmiller who was, at the time, the varsity coach at South Lake. When Mr. Bodenmiller moved on to an even more serious pursuit of tennis interests, John was drafted to take the high school job. When opportunity knocked, however, he didn't merely open the door. As is the case with many who fall in love with this lifetime sport, he tore down the hinges.
Although John hastens to give any credit that his teams have enjoyed at South Lake High School to his players, he employed a wonderful device which converted a group of individuals into a team by establishing a school tennis club in the 70's. Back when it was still legal, he opened the local racquet club, where he worked for several years with Gary, to both his boys and girls at 6:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays because at this hour they could play for free. His players also held dances, flea markets, and concerts as fundraisers. In addition, John and his kids would come to the Eastpointe Racquet Club on Thursday nights before the first MHSTeCA coaches clinics to set up chairs, cover floors, and perform other duties that aided the early efforts of Bob Wood and Gary Bodenmiller. This entire tennis club experience meant spending many extra hours with his kids but molded them into a cohesive social as well as athletic group. These kids became teams in many senses of the word.
These teams have more than rewarded John's efforts. He has coached kids who have reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament and has seen his teams win 10 regional championships, five league titles, and place as high as third in the state tournament. He has often finished second in regional play to Cranbrook and has several times successfully made it his teams goal to become the Public School Champion in that tournament. However, for John, learning to be humble has been a large part of learning to win. This lesson has been repeatedly underscored in the past, given the bad neighborhood in which South Lake resides. Johns school has played in three different leagues during his tenure as tennis coach and in each case, he has seen strong opposition such as the Grosse Pointe schools, come and go both in league and regional play. The importance of winning was also put into perspective several years ago when John shepherded his team through a season in which the mother of one of his players became tragically ill.
John has spoken at the MHSTeCA workshop, managed numerous Saturday tournaments, and overseen 10 regional tournaments. When the St. Clair school district dropped sports for a time because of a millage failure, his talents were in demand. He coached the powerful Detroit Austin boys team for a year and the Star of the Sea girls team for three. He has spent years organizing and recruiting for the St. Clair summer recreation program, the foundation of many successful programs.
In other words, John has been a very involved force in his school, a person who has given the tennis program competence, continuity, and a healthy dose of community involvement. His contribution to high school tennis comes in a variety of forms but culminate in the portrait of a man who deserves his place alongside others who have been inducted into the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame.
When Budd Munson took the position as girls tennis coach at Sturgis, it was with the understanding that it would be only until someone could be found who could coach the team on permanent basis. However, after his players went 11-0 that year, his administration understandably asked him to continue. 20 years later, he is being inducted into the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame.
When Budd Munson took the position as girls tennis coach at Sturgis High School, the boys team, under the leadership of the legendary Harley Pierce and currently under the competent guidance of Bill Dickey, had established itself as a statewide power for many years. It was one of Budd's goals to put the girls record on an equal basis with that of the boys. It can be argued that Budd's girls have exceeded the high standards set for so many years by the powerful Sturgis boys teams. For instance, over the past 20 years:
These incredible statistics have been compiled by the teams of a man who, as former athletic director Dick Maher once wrote: "....has been successful at every coaching challenge you have accepted." Indeed, Munson coached teams have always had a winning touch. His reserve basketball teams at Constantine, where he served for 9 years before coming to Sturgis, were 80-16. His baseball teams put together a 58-16 showing including 3 league championships. This winning tradition translated into very successful tennis teams once he took charge of a sport that he knew very little about at the time.
Budd has received many honors over the years. He has been our associations regional coach of the year 6 times as well as state coach of the year in 1980. Last year, he was inducted into the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame. Given the superb achievements of his teams, it seems appropriate to add another Hall of Fame laurel to a coach who didn't merely inherit a strong tennis tradition but enhanced it.
Because John Shade has taught in the Downriver Racquet Club for the past 9 years, the Park Colony Club in Allen Park for the past 5 years, and the Grosse lie for the past 9 years, he has come in contact with virtually every junior coming out of the Downriver Detroit area. He organized travel teams between area clubs and developed on site-in house junior leagues on a volunteer basis prior to the USTA sponsored Dominos teams. As a result, he has often been responsible for developing "the competition" which his teams have not always defeated. However, his efforts over the years have not only served to make Downriver tennis more competitive and more congenial at his events but has also made John one of the most respected coaches in the area.
This is not to feel sorry for Mr. Shade or his Grosse Ile teams. His boys and girls teams have rewarded his dedication and persistence with over 300 dual meet victories, 14 Huron League Championships, and 7 Regional Championships. The Red Devils have finished in the top ten in the state 10 times. John's expertise has not gone unnoticed by his peers who named him MHSTeCA Coach of the year for both boys and girls in 1989 and 1986 respectively.
John was an outstanding high school player at East Detroit in the late 60's who went on to play varsity tennis at Central Michigan University. His love of the game included such an enjoyable stint teaching tennis for the East Detroit Recreation Department while he was in high school that he pursued this career option soon after. He established the boys team at the high school as a club and continued in that position on a volunteer basis until the sport was approved by the board of education two years later. In 1973, he established the girls team and again coached on a volunteer basis for a year until board approval. He also ran the Dominos Tennis Program, now called USTA Jr. Tennis, a project that he is particularly proud of because of the numbers of kids participating and the areas outside of Grosse Ile involved. The program started out as a local team program with no funding but got massive numbers of kids playing tennis. It also established a foundation for solid Grosse Ile tennis teams.
Over the years, John became involved with virtually every significant tennis program in his area. He has directed free clinics annually in Allen Park and Grosse Ile, has taken club teams for competition to such diverse places as Chicago and Toledo, has been a site director the Western USTA Indoor Closed Girls Tournament and for the SEMTA Qualifier, and has directed other USTA tournaments at the Downriver Racquet Club. For the past five years, he has voluntarily organized and managed a high school tournament both in the fall and in the spring that includes all 13 teams in the area. When, in 1985, a Girls female tennis player tragically died in a home accident, the schools National Honor Society sponsored a Memorial Day community-wide, all-age group, all-level tennis tournament to raise money toward a scholarship fund in her name. Naturally, Mr. Shade was called upon to organize and direct this tournament, something he continues to do on an annual basis.
John's influence can be felt in many areas. In August, 1990, Tennis Magazine published a tip that he submitted in their 101 Best Tips article. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the MHSTeCA and is in charge of scorebook and directory. The list of current tennis positions he holds include Head Professional at the Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club, Director of Tennis at the Grosse Ile Recreation Department, and Assistant Pro at the Downriver Racquet Club as well as boys and girls varsity coach at Grosse Ile High School.
In a sport where too many programs suffer through the leadership of caretaking babysitters, John offers to us an example of tremendous competence and expertise. The kids in Grosse Ile are fortunate to have had an in-house professional as their tennis coach for all these years. In turn, our association is fortunate to be able to point to him with pride as an example of excellent high school tennis coaching, one whose record of triumph and service make him a Hall of Famer.
If longevity is a criterion for membership in the Hall of Fame, then Ron Stablein qualifies. He has directed the tennis program in St. Clair for over three decades.
If a winning record is a criterion for membership in the Hall of Fame, then Ron Stablein qualifies. His girls and boys have won over 400 dual matches, won or shared 24 St. Clair Area League Championships, and captured 6 Regional Championships. His teams and individuals have made 18 trips to the State Finals.
If promotion of tennis in his community is a criterion for membership in the Hall of Fame, then Ron Stablein qualifies. For instance, in 1987, he was appointed to serve on the Athletic Facilities Committee for the East China School District. As a result, he was instrumental in getting St. Clairs complex resurfaced, windscreens and lights installed for all 7 courts, and 4 new courts installed at St. Clair Middle School.
If a long-term impact on his kids is a criterion for membership in the Hall of Fame, consider this: Two of the most active coaches in the state, Dick Pauly of Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port and Don Wisswell of Mt. Clemens, played for Ron. Scores of players in these communities are indirect recipients of Ron Stablein's dedication.
After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1959, Ron was hired as a business teacher and assistant football and assistant basketball coach at St. Clair High School. Although he eventually became head football coach at his school, his interest in tennis, developed on the tennis courts across the street from Newman Hall at the University of Illinois, drew him to the tennis courts where he volunteered to help the team and where he became head coach in 1962. During the 60's and 70's, St. Clair dominated tennis in the area.
However, Ron's goals transcended winning tennis matches. He led the drive for a new 7-court tennis complex at the school in 1978 and established a girls team in 1982, even though that summer he had to seek out a small group of girls, contact several schools, and hastily draw up a schedule. Predictably, his teams record was 1-13 that year, but after 3 years of cajoling, the SCAL established girls tennis as a league sport and his girls have rewarded his persistence with 7 straight league titles and have qualified to the state finals twice in the last 4 years.
In other words, Ron's impact on St. Clair tennis is multi-faceted but each part of it has had impressive long-term results. It is only appropriate, therefore, that the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association bestow upon him the most long-term of its awards: Induction into the Hall of Fame.
One of many essential ingredients to successful high school tennis coaching is continuity. When players know who the coach is and what he expects year after year, it not only develops a tradition but relieves the anxiety that is often felt when players encounter unknown leadership. However, Ken Zandee has carried the continuity component to new heights. He grew up in Grand Rapids, attended Grand Rapids Christian where he excelled in basketball and tennis, and then returned to his alma mater four years later (1959) to teach and coach. The school has reaped the benefits of this individuals services for 32 years and like the Eveready battery, he keeps on going.
Ken's success in his tennis coaching endeavors can be traced to a variety of factors. As a youth, he was an excellent competitor who played No.1 singles on the team that he would eventually coach. However, what is perhaps more paramount is that he coached several sports at the school before assuming the reins of the tennis program five years into his tenure. In the beginning, Ken took any coaching job that was available including assistant boys swimming and head boys cross country. However, in 1964, he succeeded his own high school tennis coach and in 1965 took over the basketball program. Awareness of a variety of disciplines can be very useful, especially when dealing with the dynamics of team preparation and discipline. Ken knew how to not only teach a kid to hit a backhand but how to get a group of kids to work together, how to establish discipline, and how to handle the pressure of adversity within a contest.
The results of Ken's labors have been over almost 400 dual meet wins for his school. In 29 years, his boys teams have captured 311 victories against 80 defeats while his girls are 78-11. Grand Rapids Christians teams are not often seen at the state tournaments because of some perennially powerful neighbors. However, they have captured 4 regional titles and his girls team finished as state Class B runnerup in 1987, the year that the MHSTeCA also named him its coach of the year. The team almost always captures the Grand Rapids City League title and his girls have not lost a dual meet in the past 5 years. He has served as director of his conference tournament since its inception over twenty years ago and hosted both Class A and B regional tournaments for many years before the MHSAA's expansion into flight tournaments.
Ken's pursuit of excellence within the highly competitive tennis environment of Western Michigan has served his school very well over the years. Being an experienced basketball coach, he has developed skills that have enabled him to successfully promote a team concept within, what is regarded by many, an individual sport. For almost three decades, his leadership has made his name synonymous with tennis excellence in the Grand Rapids area. 400 victories, three decades, and the consistent attainment of high standards put this gentleman right where he belongs: In the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame.