Passing Shots
Dear Fellow Coaches,
It was great to see so many of you at the 2008 Detroit Tennis Workshop. I am sure you will agree that Bob Wood and Gary Bodenmiller scored another ace with the 32nd annual event. The Hall of Fame Banquet was inspiring. Congratulations to the new Hall of Fame Honorees, and Coach of the Year recipients. For the first time, we honored Mr. Tennis at the banquet. Those in attendance were treated to a moving and eloquent acceptance speech by Andrew Jung of Battle Creek Lakeview.
If you have not already joined, please consider becoming a “USTA No Cut-Coach”. The many advantages can be found on this website: www.usta.com/highschoolcoaches
Throughout the years we have seen many changes in our sport, most of them positive. Unfortunately, the court-mandated change of sports seasons has had as much of a negative impact on tennis as we had feared. The MHSAA recently released a report stating that all 3 sports whose seasons were changed to the fall experienced a drop in participation. Sadly, boys tennis saw the greatest loss: 11.4% which translates to 931 athletes. While it remains to be seen how the spring season will affect participation for the girls, one way we can help is to become no-cut coaches.
The MHSAA continues to seek ways to solve the problems created by the season changing litigation. There are many proposals on the table to alleviate these problems. Some of them could affect tennis. I encourage you to visit their website at www.mhsaa.com/
and click on “MHSAA This Week” for updated information.
Your ideas are important to our organization. Although the process may sometimes take longer than we like, so many improvements have occurred over the years, such as the inclusion of 4th Doubles at State Finals, 16 days of competition rather than 16 events, and the Mr. and Ms. Tennis Award. These are just a few of the ideas generated from our membership. Each proves the true meaning behind our association: to make tennis in Michigan the best possible experience for our young athletes. Please feel free to contact me or any member on the Board of Directors.
Sincerely,
Nancy Brissette
MHSTeCA President
Essexville Garber High School
Home Phone: 989-687-2841
E-mail: nbrissette@hotmail.com