As the upcoming girls tennis season approaches, the Van Buren County Eaglettes are preparing for a year centered on growth, confidence, and building lasting habits on and off the court.
The Eaglettes enter the spring with optimism. Head coach Eian Brown said his team has already taken meaningful steps forward, particularly in how the players approach matches and handle adversity.
“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 open its season in March, with hopes of translating improved mentality into results. Brown said the Eaglettes came close to earning wins in most matchups last season, including a tight contest against York that showed how competitive the team can be when it stays composed.
As the season begins, Brown said he is emphasizing the importance of sportsmanship and respect, traits he believes define the program just as much as wins.
“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 players to understand that tennis is about more than competition. Brown said he hopes the lessons learned this spring will stay with them long after high school.
“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.”
Community support around the Eaglettes continues to grow heading into the new season. Increased fundraising and encouragement have helped energize the program, and Brown said that backing plays a key role in the team’s confidence.
“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.
When the Eaglettes take the court in March, Brown said the focus will be on progress, not just on the scoreboard, but in mindset, maturity, and the bonds built through the game.
