By Madeleine Lau
Eldorado tennis team tryouts will be held on Feb. 8, and coaches Thomas and Pick are eager to start encouraging students to join and experience the benefits of the game.
Starting this year, George Thomas will become the head coach of girls varsity tennis. He has a strong background in this sport, and coached at Bosque High School for six years.
“I grew up playing tennis. Tennis was always very good to me. It gave me a really good sense of community and I succeeded at it, it was the one sport that I was really really good at,” Thomas said.
The first thing Thomas will do with his team are practices, such as workouts, followed by a set drill for the day, and finishing off with challenges of playing against each other.
Thomas believes that tennis impacts both him and his students positively, like how it makes him more active and productive with his time.
“I actually enjoy being really busy and not having a lot of freetime, because then when I have… let’s say two hours a night where I can do grading, I have to do it. If I had six hours, I could easily be lazy and say ‘well, I’ll do it later.” said Thomas.
He believes that tennis helps round out a student both physically and mentally.
“I think the reliance of yourself out there on the court, like during a game I can’t coach you. I can coach you on changeovers, I can coach you after a set is done, but for the most part you're on your own. I think the benefit of that is that you become self reliant, you become stronger, and it translates right into my classroom.”
Coach Mike Pick, head coach of the boys tennis team, has been coaching at Eldorado for twenty years. Like Thomas, he has a strong love for the sport.
“Right after college I started playing tennis and got real competitive and started coaching and loved it ever since.” Said Pick.
Pick believes that tennis has a strong positive impact on the students playing it.
“I think it develops character, develops responsibility, and competition is just really good for kids.” Said Pick.
Students cannot play the sport without at least a 2.0 average so tennis can offer motivation for students to get their work done.
Although tennis is a competitive sport, Pick does not believe in ruthless coaching.
“As coaches, we just try to make them improve, we don’t yell or scream at them, or anything like that. Just to be positive and have fun. The main thing is to have fun.” Pick said.
Both coaches would love for students to find the same amount of love for the sport that they do, regardless of how well they can play.
“If all else fails, I still have my health and I can still coach tennis.” Thomas said.
Started on Jan. 20, open courts begin for anyone who would like to play, regardless of if they plan on trying out. Open courts happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour and a half after school. Once the tennis season starts, practices will be everyday from around 2:45 to 4:30.