Journal #9, Week 3

One of my biggest management/leadership success is...

Our end of year banquets for the tennis teams. The kids are awarded letters or certificates of participation. They are handed recognition for leadership (captains) and academics. And they receive all this in front of their families and teammates to instill in them a sense of pride. The kids are proud and I am proud of them regardless of how they fared in competition that season. They put in the time and work to get out of sports what is meant to be had - results.

Not every player has the god-given ability to be a tennis champion. I don't set out to make anyone a tennis champion. I try to instill in them the will to work to the top of their potential so they can see how far they can go. Some players have higher potential than others and it is not fair to judge them side by side, but rather as individuals. If every individual I work with performs to their maximum capability, I am satisfied.

My teams at Northwestern high school have not achieved a high level of success according to wins and losses. Both the girls and boys have typically fared about .500 in the win percentage. However, I have tons of players learning a sport that they will be able to play for the rest of their lives.

My first year coaching, I had 12 boys come out for tennis. Last year was my second year and I had 32 boys show interest and 23 that ended up playing the season. I take this as a sign of my success in getting the sport popular within the school, which I believe is my main job.