An Interview with Head Women's Tennis Coach, Jim Stockwell 

Q: Last year you had some players that had some success during the season, what are the key takeaways to build on going into this new season?

One of the biggest challenges last year was our youth, as we had four new players, fresh out of high school. They figured out, as the season went along, how to play at the collegiate level. That makes this year so very exciting because they are aware of how different it is from playing high school and they share those experiences with our incoming freshmen.

Q: Tennis is an individual sport, for the most part. One player against another square off, but you coach a team of players. How do you bring a team together, when they so often compete on their own, on the court?

This is a great question, for what makes tennis so unique (especially at MCC) is that it really does combine individual play and overall team success. I have them do an exercise where it becomes obvious that we are all working in the same direction and positional number is nothing more than an administrative function. We also rotate partners during drills so everyone can get to know everyone else. In order to win a "match" we have to have everyone do their part, and stress how no one can do it alone. Another approach is that they spend a lot of time together to learn about each other, so they naturally begin to support each other.

Q: What is the one thing you are most excited about with this group of players? You always do a great job recruiting, but what is the one thing this year that you are most excited about? It could be a single player you're excited to see compete, or something team-orientated you would like to have to happen throughout the season.

We have an extreme amount of depth, which makes us strong up and down the lineup. I am excited to see that we have so many experienced players who have had success at the high school level. As I mentioned earlier, winning a match comes down to success from all positions. There is very little difference between the top four or five players and the doubles combinations are going to be very close in ability too, meaning that we will be formidable against teams with less depth. I also believe whoever takes the top spots (singles and doubles) will be highly competitive not only in our conference and region but against the NAIA university-level teams that we play.

Q: This is such an easy question to ask, but what do see as your short-term and long-term goals for this team?

Easy, but a very important question… we had a moment at practice on Tuesday where we discussed our goal. We decided that they wanted to qualify for nationals, and I said we would work to get there. Short term - consistency. We don't get tired in McHenry, and we also don't want to give points away… long term - get that trophy and head to the national tournament and show that we have tennis players that compete both on the court and in the classroom (we had three all-academic players from last year).

Q: I have noticed watching your teams, that they are always having fun playing. They have a love for tennis. During a long season, what do you do as a coach to keep the players fully engaged to help them reach their goals?

I try to be as relaxed as I can when I am around them – and I want them to be themselves. We have fun with so many different things (slang terms make everyone laugh) and I try to be as encouraging as I can be whenever we do something. After all, it is a game and it is supposed to be fun. We joke around and make fun of certain plays, but when something goes well, cheering happens. I don't want them to feel a sense of dread coming to practices or matches, in fact, I want them to feel a sense of enjoyment. Being serious can be restrictive so when I talk with them, I try and make them feel like their success is tied to enjoyment, not worried about being perfect or winning, just relaxed and having fun on the court. I don't know if there is a secret recipe, but when someone is more relaxed, they tend to excel which fuels their enjoyment and adds to the fun.

Q: What is the one thing a fan should look for from this team that gets you excited when you see it in practice? I ask this knowing you have had some exciting hard-hitting players in the past. Tennis is fun to watch so what should we, as fans, look forward to when watching your matches this year? Think about this from the fan's perspective when answering this question.

Another great question. Tennis has a very rhythmic quality to it. It starts with a serve and then builds excitement through the volleys and development of the shots. Eventually, it leads to a finish that resets everything to do it again. And this system will continually happen for an hour or more. It is fun to watch because the space is finite and everything happens within a tight field of vision and the tension of each point gives the audience a thrilling build-up and then a moment to rest before it happens again. Someone who watches can focus on the physical movements, watching our players strategically get themselves in position to win a point and continually do this throughout a match. Look for the confidence in the players playing. The true enjoyment of being a fan is watching them have so much fun.