The BHS Boys tennis team has hit the courts and are ready to compete. Jim Ashcraft is the boys and girls tennis coach at BHS, in addition to serving as the Physics teacher. The season started on Monday Feb. 26.
“The state tournament is scheduled for May 10-11, so the season runs from Feb 26th to May 11, or about 2 and a half months,” Ashcraft said.
The boys are providing their own rackets this year. They choose to buy their own equipment, BHS provides what they can’t buy on their own.
“Most of our equipment is individual, so some of the guys will have new racquets and shoes but we haven’t gotten anything new in terms of team equipment this year,” Ashcraft said.
We have a lot of seniors playing tennis this year, making it a season to remember. This year’s seniors include George Conover (4th year), Dylan Williams (4th year), Kaden Long (3rd year), Talan Torrez (3rd year), Conner Murry (2nd year), Ricardo Jimenez (1st year) and Parker Massey (1st year).
Sophomore Matthew Gunther goes to school at BHS. He adores coach Ashcraft and is so happy to have him as a coach again this year. Gunther’s favorite thing about Ashcraft is how easy going he is.
“Coach Ashcraft, who holds a special place in my heart, is a great coach,” Gunther said. “To choose my favorite thing about him would be like denying a gallon of chocolate milk, it’s not possible. Due to this, I’ll tell you a couple things that makes Ashcraft, Ashcraft. He is a really fun and easy going coach and he loves to see his team having fun. He’ll let you mess around as much as you like, just be ready to run… a lot. I know from personal experience.”
A senior at BHS named George Conover, is playing tennis for his fourth year. His favorite thing about the sport is the fun they have at practice.
“I love playing with the team and the goofiness of practice. It really brings out the best parts of the sport, and we have a lot of fun at practice.” Conover said.
He went to a lot of summer camps before high school. He has a few tips for people that are just starting out.
“Don’t be worried about being bad at first, we all know how hard it is to start.” Conover said.