After 30-some years in hibernation, tennis is back as a sport at Sweet Home High School.
Brian Brands, who heads the school district’s Student Services division, and his wife Cathy Brands-Hawken, a teacher at Sweet Home Junior High, have reinstituted the program this year, starting with eight prospects.
Brian Brands said he played tennis and basketball at Northwestern College in Iowa, after competing in football, basketball, track and baseball in high school.
“I’ve always had a passion for basketball and for tennis,” he said, noting that he still plays regularly in Corvallis, where he finds competition at his level.
“The great thing about tennis is it’s a lifetime sport. I was all-league in football and basketball and track and baseball in high school, and I played tennis in college, but the only sport I get to play now is tennis.”
Plus, he said, Sweet Home is one of “only a few” 4A Division schools that don’t offer tennis.
“So, kind of with all that being said, we thought, ‘Let’s give tennis a try.’”
He and his wife have held a free summer tennis camp during the past few summers.
“We’ll get 25 elementary kids up for that,” Brands said, adding that they “definitely” plan to do it against this summer, during the second week of July.
Sweet Home’s tennis courts, formerly located south of the welding shop at the high school, were in bad shape when then Supt. Larry Horton proposed removing them in 2005. It took a few years, as community members voiced concerns that they would not be replaced, but SHEDG offered $100,000 to replace the courts if they were moved, which made room for Oregon Jamboree operations.
Horton was able to procure a $20,000 grant from the Charlotte Martin Foundation and $38,200 in two grants from the U.S. Tennis Association to install six new courts along 18th Avenue, between the bus barn and the varsity baseball field.
Brands said he’s starting with eight players, none of whom have participated in other spring sports in high school.
“We’ve got a small group of kids out, but hopefully, once you start something, you kind of build how it goes forwards,” he said.
“I’ve told people, you know, with tennis, definitely, our goal is not to try to get these baseball and softball players that have been playing since second grade. These kids that aren’t playing a spring sport, if you want to do something, get some exercise and learn a fun sport that you can play for your whole life.”
Sweet Home’s initial prospects are Mack Martineau, Ryder Oakley, Benjamin Perry, Kyle Petrait, Christian Romero and Devon Sharp on the boys side, and Brytnee Hart-Campbell on the girls. Senior Anonymous Mayfield is also interested in playing, but she’s nearly finished with her high school classes, so Brands said he needs to figure out if she can be eligible to play with a limited class schedule.
He said the Huskies will play a “modified” schedule this season, not really a junior varsity schedule, but against other teams that have beginners as well.
They open April 2 at Junction City, with their, so far, only home match against Creswell April 9.
His players are beginners, but Brands said they’re persevering.
“I keep telling the kids, it’s just like a lot of sports. It’s just like golf. You know, when you start out playing, it’s hard, it takes repetition, but the the more you play, and the better you get, the more fun it gets.”