Charles Janette, Men’s Tennis Coach, and William Dexheimer, Women’s Tennis Coach have high hopes for this year’s tennis season.  The teams practice an average of 3 times per week, and have matches about twice a week.  Both coaches played tennis in high school, and enjoyed it so much they went on to coach in their professional lives.

Both teams are doing well so far. Coach Janette says that the women’s team is very young with 4 freshmen, and that they will show a lot of growth over the next few years, as they improve their skills. Coach Dexheimer says that the boys are competing very well. Both coaches have similar goals for their teams, to win their division, and for their entire team to compete in the playoffs, They also want each player to grow as an individual.

Coach Janette has coached at many different schools throughout his career. He started playing tennis in high school, so his knowledge on the sport is bountiful. He has coached tennis for 10 years, at Spring Valley, Legacy, and now Shadow. He’s been the coach at Shadow for 2 years. He has also coached basketball in the Clark County School District for 20 years.

“If I could coach any other sport, it would probably be basketball, since I have the most background knowledge in that. I coached for the district for about 20 years,” states Janette.

Coach Dexheimer played in high school, and also played competitively for travel teams. He started playing tennis his junior year of high school, and worked at golf and tennis stores, where he learned how to string racquets and learned a lot about the different types of equipment. He has been coaching for his entire teaching career of 23 years. He coached baseball for most of those years, but coached tennis on and off for about 10 years. 

Gallery • 7 Photos

Photo Courtesy of: Shadow Ridge Yearbook

Senior, Hailey Morrow

“I am most comfortable coaching baseball, tennis, and golf.  One of my other passions is bowling so that may be a sport I would one day want to coach,” said Dexheimer. 

Dexheimer’s most rewarding part of coaching is similar to teaching, which is when the players “get it” and they can see the lightbulb turn on. Janette’s favorite part of coaching is watching the players grow. 

Every coach hopes to make their players fall in love with the sport each season. They all hope to teach them valuable lessons that they can carry with them throughout life. One lesson the coaches hope the players take away from tennis is that they put the team above themselves. The coaches also want the players to learn to work together and support each other. 

“I would like to see the players I coach understand how to overcome adversity, and never give up.  I think that is an important trait to learn not only for sports but for their futures, whether it be playing a sport, going to college, or in their jobs one day,” quotes Dexheimer.

Overall, both coaches are extremely devoted to making their teams the best they can be. The coaches have goals for the team as a whole, and for each individual player. With the dedication put in by both the coaches and athletes, both the men’s and women’s teams will become successful.