2024 Cadet Tennis
Have you ever looked out of the fitness room and noticed the tennis courts and wondered what it’s like? I talked to Coach Degrasse to help your curious minds.
“Tennis is a lifelong sport; if you learn how to play it, you get to play it for the rest of your life. It is fun, it’s good exercise, and it's a way to join a high school sport. There are very few sports where you can show up the first day and be handed a tennis racket and taught how to play tennis; then, you’re part of the school community. You get to join an activity or sport and make friends. We don’t do a lot of winning because I teach my athletes how to play, but they’re always having fun, always smiling.”
Don’t worry about bringing your own equipment; Coach Degrasse has rackets to lend you so you can play! Contact Coach Degrasse. She’s on the website and also has a bulletin board in the 400 hall with useful information. It’s currently being updated, but look out for information.
Are you curious about doubles and singles?
“In our league, the Big 9, our format for play is four singles and three doubles. So let's say when my girls played Sunnyside, they won all the matches, so that would be 7-0, and when they played Davis, my girls went 5-2, so that’s how we get our score. The boys' doubles this year are pretty solid. We usually win all the doubles. We couldn’t get one of our singles players to win, but I mean, they battled. I would say for the last 6 or 7 years, we’ve had a pretty decent team of kids who are committed, and believe me when I say, ‘Hey, come try tennis,’ and they come, and they love it. JV is when I teach them how to play because they are the future varsity.”
Wonder what kind of team bonding they do?
“JV practices right after school. We separate the boys from the girls because they are learning the fundamentals. Varsity practices are at 4, and there are 12 varsity girls and 12 varsity boys who practice together. We are all really busy, so there’s not any bonding outside of tennis, but we have our long bus trips; they’re out there playing games and singing songs. Tennis is a sport where you’re there, and everyone is waiting to play. A tennis match can last anywhere from an hour and a half or longer. They’re all cheering each other on and such. On Fridays, a lot of times we try to have fun days and games. We make teams; last time, we had Coach Jimmy, the assistant coach. We had team Jimmy versus team Dawn. We played games like how many balls can you hit into, serves, and hit the cones. It gets really loud and obnoxious with dancing. We try to have fun and play a lot of games on the court and on the bus. Not a lot of outside bonding because they need to do their homework.”
How far do they travel?
“We have traveled all the way to Hermiston (Oregon) before. This year, the furthest for league matches is Eastmont and Wenatchee. We played Chiawana and Richland this year all in one day. We play each school in the league two times. The first time you go out and have fun, the second time around, coaches are figuring out who is going to districts because you have all these athletes to choose from, and you can only have the top 6 out of your ten go to districts. Non-league is set up by me and the other coaches, you’re allowed four extra matches. You want to fill your schedule so your athletes have as much practice as possible. You have to be brave and give it a try.”