ZANESVILLE — Jeff Moody’s passion for tennis drew him to Zanesville.
But, he faced a formidable task seven years ago as the girls tennis team had only one player returning when became the head coach.
Through the persistence of Moody and assistant coach Eric Baldwin, who is the middle school gym teacher, the program has grown to 22 players this season.
It nearly doubled last year’s total of 12, and this year’s squad features a combined 15 sophomores and freshmen.
Zanesville opens up tournament play in Division II on Monday and Tuesday at Dover.
“This has been a long, hard-working process, and Coach Baldwin has really helped me in growing this program,” Moody said. “Eric and I teach tennis to the gym classes one week in the fall and one week in the spring. We encouraged players to come out, and we’ve tried to make the experience one they can enjoy.”
Introducing the game
Most of the players in the program never played tennis before joining the team. Senior Blair Lowe never considered it before getting encouragement from Baldwin in gym class.
“I didn’t have interest in sports. Mr. Baldwin had us play in gym and said I should give it a try,” Lowe said. “It’s been really fun, and it’s good exercise. The coaches have built a positive atmosphere. They never talk negatively, and they’re trying to help us get better.”
Staying involved in athletics drew seniors Chloe Buchanan and Makayla Sammons. Buchanan started playing as a freshman and asked her best friend, Sammons, to join the team as a sophomore.
“I never played before, but I wanted to try something that was athletic and a team sport,” Buchanan recalled. “I grew in love with it. The coaches have been very positive and good to me and the team. I have a great teammates, and it’s fun to be a part of this group.”
“I was done with cheerleading, and Chloe encouraged me to come out. I wanted to try something else athletically anyways,” Sammons noted. “I wound up liking it, and it’s a fun sport. It’s great to see it gain more interest and to watch the team’s improvement.”
Being the only girls tennis program in the area is what brought freshman Bella Jarrett, and her sister Sara, a junior, to Zanesville. Bella said watching their parents play at the Scarborough Indoor Tennis Courts in Columbus gave them an interest in the sport, which they also enjoyed watching on TV.
“We went to Sheridan, but we wanted to play tennis so we transferred to Zanesville,” Bella said. “This summer was the first matches we played with the team, and everyone accepted us. There’s no one discouraging anyone; we all want to help and build each other up. That has helped us grow and made us more united.”
Program’s future is bright
Along with improved numbers, Moody is committing more time to the program. This past summer, Zanesville competed in a USTA team tennis tournament against players from Newark, Lancaster and Granville. Both the boys and girls programs also travel to Columbus to use the Scarborough Indoor Courts.
The program has received help from area businesses, like Lowe’s giving supplies for a hitting wall that was built on one of the courts so players can practice.
Several individuals have also aided the program with donations, noted Moody, including the late Dr. John P. Hibler, who is honored with a banner at the high school courts.
Moody hopes to also start a middle school feeder program for the high school team. While he works on it, he has ways to keep his current high school players involved. He encourages opposing teams to bring more players for junior varsity matches and has designed intra-squad tournament with prizes.
“We ask other teams to bring extra players if they can, and the sport is growing in our league so that helps,” Moody said. “We try to make sure our kids have competition, and we have them play each other so they can keep getting better. We want to keep them to be involved so our numbers stay close to where they are.”
Jarrett is one of the freshmen Zanesville can build around. She has consistently been one of the varsity singles players, while her sister has seen time in doubles.
“Coach Moody is positive and helps you fix things, and Coach Baldwin uses tennis to help us in life away from the sport,” she said. “They focus on the good things and want to make us better. They’ve made it a great experience.”
Seeing the program blossom gives outgoing seniors like Buchanan and Lowe pride. They started when the program was in single digits as freshmen so to see it reach 20 is amazing. They also hope to keep playing the sport after graduation.
“I’d like to play as long as I can. It’s a sport you can play for a long time,” Buchanan said. “We remember what it was like when we started. We give reassurance and encouragement to the younger players. It took time for us to learn the game, but it was worth it.”
Along with playing the sport, Lowe added the girls will also cherish the friendships they’ve built.
“We have good chemistry and enjoy the competition. We root for each other,” she said. “It’s exciting to see the new girls come out and making friends with everyone. We hope they keep it going even after we’re done.”
bhannahs@gannett.com; X: @brandonhannahs
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Numbers Game: More players has Zanesville girls tennis excited about the future
