If you build them, they will come.
That was the thought Granite Falls athletic director Mike Hahn had when he pushed for the construction of eight tennis courts at Granite Falls High School’s new campus. The original design called for just four courts, but Hahn convinced the school board to double that so there would be enough courts available for physical education and, if all went well, a tennis program.
As it turned out, things went about as well as they could have.
“(The school board) said ‘Hey it works out perfect,’” Hahn said.
The Tigers were on the road to re-establishing a tennis program that hadn’t been around since 1980. Construction at the old campus tore out the tennis courts and the program was eliminated. At least Granite Falls went out on top, winning the conference title in 1979 and 1980.
Once the court issue was resolved, the next challenge arose: Finding a coach who could get the fledgling program up and running.
As it turned out, he was just eight miles away.
Who better to start the program at Granite Falls than the man who started the program at Lake Stevens in 1979?
Mike Shephard, who had just retired and had coached Hahn’s son at Lake Stevens, got a call from Hahn to see if he knew anyone who would be interested. Hahn wound up asking Shephard if he would take the job.
“They may not have started it if they couldn’t have found a coach,” Shephard said. “I said ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t have to think too hard about it. It was something I wasn’t planning on doing, it just happened that way. It’s just one of those things that worked out.”
The result proved worth the effort. Forty girls signed up to play, and all will get the chance to learn the game.
“We’re not cutting,” Hahn said. “That’s another thing I told (Shephard). I don’t want kids getting cut. I want them all out there swinging rackets around.”
The Tigers’ roster is skewed toward the younger grades, with 16 freshmen, 12 sophomores, nine juniors and three seniors.
Freshmen Emma Wysocki and Maren Panzer, a foreign exchange student, look to be at the top of the ladder for Granite Falls. Karissa Zeno (senior), Marissa Ogren (junior), Katie Christensen (sophomore) and Breanna White (freshman) also made strong impressions during the opening week of practice.
“They can hit the ball,” Shephard said. “They can play.”
Shephard’s goal for the first year is to introduce the girls — including several who had never picked up a tennis racket before — to the joy of the game.
“The biggest goal is for them to improve,” Shephard said, “and enjoy doing it and have fun doing it and get them to know that they can play tennis… . We’re seeing improvement with them already and they’re enthusiastic about it.”
As is the rest of the Cascade Conference, which is looking forward to having another team to compete against for conference supremacy.
“Absolutely,” South Whidbey coach Tom Kramer said when asked if he liked the idea of Granite Falls joining the league. “The more the merrier.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
