High School Tennis Traditions and Triumphs

High school tennis is swinging into high gear! To celebrate the start of the 2019 season, we caught up with a couple of local coaches about their teams’ special traditions.

Andrew Gill, assistant tennis coach at Seaman High School in Topeka, Kansas, said that his players spend quality time as a team before the season and throughout.

“The girls usually get together the week before school starts and go to Worlds of Fun,” Gill said. “We also have team dinners where we talk to them about goals for the season and how to improve moving forward.”

Janet Glaser, head coach at Andover Central High School in Andover, Kansas, leads her junior and senior players in a bonding activity as soon as the teams are allowed to begin practicing. The girls meet at the courts around 11 p.m. with food and glow sticks to enjoy as they talk about their goals for the upcoming season. 

“We feed the first ball at midnight,” Glaser said. “The girls have a little practice until 1 a.m. It’s really fun and it’s kind of become a rite of passage.”

The 2019 Girls High School State Championships will be held October 18-19 in Topeka, Pittsburg, Winfield and Prairie Village.

Whether you’re a coach, a parent or a player, you can learn more about how USTA helps put tennis in schools and get involved.