the King of court

by Sam Elkins content editor

Tennis, alongside any other sport, has its benefits: developing better hand eye coordination, strengthening mental toughness, and forming bonds both within and outside of the sport. As well as many other sports, playing with the team offers a sense of belonging. It ultimately forms an unbreakable bond from the moment you pick up the sport to wherever that takes you, whether that be to college or just playing for fun.

Evan O’Connor has played tennis two to three times a week since he moved to Traverse City: “When I moved here, my parents forced me into it,” O’Connor admits, yet he has enjoyed playing tennis since he started four years ago. O’Connor started on the JV team and then slowly moved up from there. Since then, he’s improved a lot but still claims that he has some things to work on; “I have a decent attitude, [my] forehand is pretty good, [and my] backhand’s getting there,” he reflects. Regardless of what struggles he faces, he always finds a way to power through every match. O’Connor plans on attending Ferris State University for Professional Tennis Management.

O’Connor admits that his favorite part of being on the team isn’t just playing the sport: it’s the annual Big North Conference (BNC). It’s more of a bracket style tournament between different teams: “It’s us, Cadillac, Petoskey, [and] West. We all meet at one of our places, and we play a tournament style [of] four brackets,” he explains. O’Connor mentions that he’s claimed the victory from BNC twice. On top of this achievement, O’Connor has many other successes as well: “Two seats at regionals, three years in a row, BNC twice, I won a couple matches at states,” he lists. “I got a scholarship, too, so that’s pretty cool.”

Overall, O’Connor believes that he’s had a pretty successful run with the boys tennis team. His suggestion to underclassmen and incoming freshmen is to put forth your best effort in whatever you do. “[Just] do your work. It’s not that difficult,” he advises, as well as finding your place, whether that be within a sports community or outside of that realm. //

Central vs. West: a tale as old as time. For alumni and head volleyball coach Emily Wilbert ‘00, this rivalry has its own meaning:“Before being a committed volleyball coach for Central, I was given an opportunity to coach the junior and varsity program at West for a span of five years,” Wilbert informs. After taking time off to have kids, she came back to her roots to coach Central’s volleyball teams. “This year…was a big year for us. We won…the Big North conference for the first time since my senior year of high school,” Wilbert remarks. Besides the conference win, they made it to the regional finals this past season, the first time any Central volleyball team has made it that far.

Every sport has different coaching styles to better the chances of an experienced team. “I think praise and encouragement comes really easy for me as a coach. I want to see the girls be really successful. I believe in them,” Wilbert proclaims. “I want them to be able to believe in themselves and see that with hard work and determination, they can succeed…and improve in all areas that they put in the time and the effort.” Wilbert also looks beyond skill to ensure they are fit to play with the team. “I love a good attitude. You can have all the skills and abilities in the world, but if your attitude doesn’t match, it’s really hard for me to not pick someone who has an all star attitude and is willing to try anything and put the team first,” Wilbert informs.