At the level of ethnography, tennis tournaments are always interesting. Tennis is obviously being played, but a lot of other things are going on as well. This was especially true at the high school level. Happy Reunions First, I seem to bump into people I know at any tennis tournament I attend. This is true…
Tag: High School Tennis
3rd Season: St. Xavier Sweeps Kentucky’s State Titles – Part 1 Match Impressions
I will look at last weekend’s 2018 Kentucky High School Athletic Association state tennis championships from the perspective of an observer/coach and from the perspective of ethnography. Match Impressions – Singles and Doubles Semifinal Rounds Saint Xavier and Manual High School dueled in their regional contest and entered the final day of the state tennis…
Second Season: Saint X wins Regional Title with Eyes on the State Tournament
What a Difference 1 Week Makes The 6th Region of Kentucky’s 16 high school tennis regions crowned a familiar champion before regional realignment goes into effect in 2019. Saint Xavier’s tennis team absorbed a tough upset loss on Senior Day 1 week ago. At the same venue, Saint X fended off duPont Manual High School to…
Saint X Hosts Trinity: Senior Night
I referenced not particularly liking losses in dual matches. My first season of being part of a tennis coach in three years ended with a dual match loss, but the atmosphere was something that I’ve never seen in all of my years of being around high school tennis at Saint X as a player, at…
Strong Recommendation to Check out AJG Tennis
AJG Tennis is a website I recently came across at the recommendation of a recent email. Alex Gornet played tennis for the University of Louisville and Saint Xavier High School and is currently plugging away on the pro-tour. AJG Tennis gives a first-hand account of a player seeking to make it as a pro on the…
Thoughts on the 2018 Kentucky Duals
Saint X won 2 matches at a weather truncated Kentucky Duals tennis event today. St. X beat Owensboro Catholic 9-0 & Covington Catholic 7-2. A lot of great tennis played by all 3 schools. — Dan Martin (@DanMartinTennis) March 11, 2018 The Kentucky Duals is an annual event that brings together 8 of the top high…
Imperfectly Perfect – Part 4: Unexpected Champions
We entered our eighth match facing a school that had a lot of good athletes as well as 4 really strong players. If we were playing them 1-14, I would have felt good, but we were playing our top 7 versus their top 7. This was going to be a coin flip of a dual…
Imperfectly Perfect – Part 3: Seventh Heaven
I approached my second season as head coach with guarded optimism that we could finish with a winning record. We returned every player from our 5-7 team. We also had a good amount of interest from 9th and 10th-grade players who had not been on the team last year. I subbed for a class in…
Imperfectly Perfect – Part 2: Season 1’s Emerging Road Warriors
As our first dual match got closer, I had no idea what to expect from our opponents but felt good about our team. The week of our first match, one of the players in my line-up failed to measure up to our weekly academic eligibility standards. I was down to 5 players I trusted to…
Imperfectly Perfect – Part 1: Head Coach?
With the Kentucky high school tennis season having just begun, I am looking back on my coaching start. I became a teacher in August 2002. I mentioned to my co-worker and athletic director that I would like to help both the boys and girls’ tennis teams. He said that would be fine because each team…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 