The move of the girls’ soccer season to the fall has been a big hit to the high school tennis scene in Central Pennsylvania. Many tennis players have traded in their tennis racquets for a pair of shin guards, a crippling blow to many teams.
“There is lots of frustration. Smaller schools without a so-called tennis pedigree are really getting hurt,” East Pennsboro tennis coach Mike DiVecchio said. “It was an asinine decision that really waters down our sport,”
The best example of the tennis drought is at Susquenita High School.
Six years ago head coach Alice Cook had 32 young ladies try out for the tennis team. The Blackhawks’ tennis club has dried up to seven participants for the upcoming fall season.
In the current 3-2 format, it takes seven players to field a complete team.
“Tennis is dying and it’s a shame because it’s a sport that you can play for your whole life,” Cook said. “It’s even tougher now because it’s going to be hard to get girls away from soccer,”
Soccer’s shift to the fall exposed an even larger problem with local tennis; the lack of middle school development.
While there are middle school basketball teams or football teams, there is often no program for tennis. This lack of feeder programs has many local coaches concerned about the future.
“You need a much higher level of competency to play high school tennis. Even if someone does come out to play high school tennis, it’s almost like they’re starting all over again because of the lack of middle school development,” Cedar Cliff coach Pat Smith said.
Larger schools are not immune to the lean numbers. Perennial tennis powerhouse Lower Dauphin has seen a dip in player turnout this season.
“The biggest impact was that I only had one ninth grader this year. It could even out in a few years but it’s still going to hurt tennis,” Coach Peggy Long said.
Added Lower Dauphin player Romayne Sharp: “I think girls would rather go out and play soccer because it’s the more popular sport. If there were middle school programs girls would know how much fun the sport is and you’d get more people to come out,”
If the low numbers become a trend, soccer’s new autumn season may give the boot to some local tennis programs.