By Ken Hansard
Some of the key arguments for the importance of high school sports are that they teach life lessons: things like competition, winning and losing with grace, perseverance and work ethic, self-esteem, and many more. For Carthage High School first-year head tennis coach Madelynn Capps-Whitley, those are not just things she pays lip service to; they are things she believes in. “Honestly, I’m not looking for a ton of physical wins this season. The ‘wins’ I’m looking for are positivity, competitiveness, good attitudes, and the girls having fun. Previous seasons have had their rough patches of losses and our players feeling down because they lost against difficult opponents, but we are really trying to practice positivity and self-esteem along with basic tennis skills.”
Most coaches, many of whom are also teachers in the classroom, aspire to teach their players lessons that go beyond the court. In the case of Capps-Whitley and her assistant coach Makenzie Shultz, there is an added incentive. Both coaches are Carthage legacies, and both were four-year starters in their time as Tiger players. Both coaches teach a similar style that helped them to be successful as players, “We need to improve upon basic tennis skills like consistency. Coach Schultz and I were very consistent tennis players, and that’s how we both won matches (as players). ‘In wins’ is our motto for consistency. If you can hit the ball and continue to play within the designated lines on the tennis court, you have a better chance of winning. It’s as simple as that.”
Coach Capps-Whitley is happy with the degree to which her players have bought into her approach, but she knows that gaining that consistency and learning to trust the process will take time and repetition, “We understand that anxiety plays a part in tennis while you’re in an actual match, so we’re hoping the girls can keep their composure, stay competitive and positive, and be consistent players to get some more wins under their belts.”
Building that confidence also takes time, but Capps-Whitley stresses a “tortoise and the hare” type approach to the sport, “We tell the girls that getting the game started with a serve and a return is all you need. Then, if you’re consistent and trying to play the game instead of just trying to hit the ball as hard as you can or hit winners all the time, you have a better chance at winning.”
The Tigers graduated four seniors from last year’s squad, but Capps-Whitley is understandably optimistic, as she returns three strong seniors in Kailie Layman, Claire Giett, and Maddie Goetzinger who played #1, #3, and #4 respectively last year. Coach Capps-Whitley likes the team she will go to battle with, “Kailie and Maddie have been working hard all summer to improve their already fantastic tennis skills. They attended our summer camp, personal lessons, and played in multiple tournaments over the summer. Claire played on her own when she had time to with her busy show choir schedule. These three are working diligently to be our top varsity players and to have a great senior tennis season.”
Carthage plays an extremely difficult schedule – one that is loaded with a lot of high-powered Kansas City area schools. Still, Capps-Whitley expects that her players will learn and grow from the adversity, “I expect that this season will be another season where we have to work hard for wins, but our players are competitive and willing to go the extra mile. I believe this season is the season we will mount our comeback. We have a really great and positive group of girls. Some of our upper JV players have stepped up when we needed them and are working diligently to perfect their skills. I’m very proud of the team, and I’ll be proud whether we win a majority of our matches or none of them.”
