Coach Ben Coltharp building a lasting legacy at Joplin High School

In just his second year at the helm in 2021, the girls’ tennis team won districts and sent a doubles team and singles player to state. But after that year another opportunity came calling Coltharp, one at nearby Joplin High School.

“Joplin has very nice facilities, but I also felt that it was easier for me to run my own kind of program there,” Coltharp said. “I knew that we had the means to grow the program and potentially bring in schools from the big cities to come play us.”

Over the last three years, Coltharp stuck true to his word and made Joplin High School tennis his own as boys’ and girls’ head coach. Just last season, the boys’ team went 15-2 and won their district.

Aside from the wins and losses, Coltharp is making waves throughout the community, too. Each season he takes the girls’ and boys’ teams out for a day of volunteering at the Joplin Humane Society, which not only gives back to Joplin but helps build relationships among teammates.

“We’re really trying to instill those servant leaders in our community and show people what Joplin tennis is all about,” Coltharp said. “It’s an added bonus that the kids always have a great time doing it together.”

Coltharp describes the high school tennis seasons as a frantic sprint, especially during the months of September and April. However, he said he doesn’t mind juggling the season with his responsibilities as a teacher.

“It’s really just about finding that balance and knowing how much you want to push your program,” he said. “Do you want to be a top-tier team? If so, you need to put in work over the offseason. Or, in the other direction, you know, a lot of people like their summer vacations. So they may not want to dedicate that to tennis.”

But in a town like Joplin where youth tennis takes a backseat to sports like football and baseball, Coltharp said it’s been hard to find engagement among kids. But this is something he acknowledges and is working to fix through summer tournaments, which he makes accessible and affordable for families.

“We get a lot of local kids at them, but we’ve also had players come in from Springfield, Bolivar, even as far as Lebanon,” Coltharp said. “It’s a good barometer for the kids to not only get out on the courts but also see how others around them stack up.”

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