The Carbon High School Tennis team is without seven Varsity athletes from last year. With nine available spots to compete in varsity, the team will be learning to play some different areas of the sport.
“We are a pretty young team, not a lot of singles experience or playing against the first doubles teams of opposing teams,” said Head Coach Pete Riggs.
The team will consist of some returning athletes with juniors Gianna Valdez, Kiley Sasser and Mandy Riggs. They will be joined by sophomores Ireland Keil and Leah Sweeney. Junior Lisa King will also be joining the team this year, who has some solid tennis experience and was injured in recent years.
Coach Riggs will begin his ninth season as the girl’s tennis coach, as well as his nineteenth for the boys in the spring. He will be assisted by Kristina Anderson and Cathy Christiansen.
When asked about his coaching style, Coach Riggs responded, “I am a pretty easy-going guy, but I also push my players to stay committed to coming to practice and putting in the time to improve. I want my players to enjoy the sport of tennis, as well as learn to work hard and adapt to the match situations that they are confronted with.”
During the offseason, some members of the team were involved with the Central Utah Tennis Association (CUTA). They practiced twice a week and went up north to play matches against other teams once a week.
“It will be interesting to see how all of the off-season work and new players stepping into new positions will work. I expect Lisa King to win most of her matches, but from there it will be a lot less predictable,” Coach Riggs stated “We will probably call this a building year. I would like to try and win at least 10 matches. We will have to see how we stack up against other teams. If they are in building years as well, we will have a good chance to win.”
Finishing up the interview, Coach Riggs was asked what values he enjoys teaching his team.
“FORD. F is for Fun, a player should remember that this is a game and it is to be enjoyed. O is for Ongoing Improvement, to enjoy the game is important to hone your skills and improve your ability. R is for Resilience, throughout any competitive activity, and tennis in particular, players and other participants will face failures and setbacks. It is super important to make failure into learning opportunities. D is for Dedication and consistency, for a player to improve and learn to overcome failure, he or she must be dedicated and make a consistent effort.”