Despite a slow start in the win-loss column, the head coach of the Van Buren County Girls Tennis team sees growth in approach.
Van Buren started the season 0-4-1. Their last matchup against York saw the Eaglettes tie and come within a few points of their first win of the season. Van Buren Head Coach Eian Brown said his team continues to build winning traits.
“I think they’ve already gotten the message.” Brown said. “It’s usually my final lesson of, the score at the end of the day does not matter, it’s just do you have fun, and we’ve gotten there with these students. They all have fun and they’ve kind of stopped beating themselves up over losses.”
Van Buren will look for their first win of the season against Clay County. Brown said despite the losses this season, his team shows respect and humbleness after every match.
“We have great relationships with [the other team],” Brown said. “Our players are always nice and cordial and by the end of the day, they’re hugging and high-fiving and laughing with each other. There’s no animosity or rivalry between these teams.”
Brown said he wants his team to see the bigger picture.
“It’s about leaving with someone who, once you graduate from high school, you’ve got somebody who will play with you,” Brown said. “And that’s one thing that I still do is people that I played with when I was in high school, I still have days with them where we’ll go have a match at a park and it’s just building those relationships off the courts and on the court that is really important to these students growing as adults.”
The Van Buren Eaglettes continue to gain support from the community. They have increased fundraising abilities over the last few years. Brown said his squad is excited for how much growth he could see going forward.
“I just want to say once again to any of the players who listen to this in the future how proud I am with how much they’ve grown and just the community support that we’ve gotten,” Brown said.
