The Rebel boys’ tennis team won its first championship in 1998. Little did they know that they would be able to continue that legacy for the next decade.
On May 29th, for the tenth year in a row, the South Kingstown High School tennis team toppled Barrington to take the state crown.
Under the leadership of Coach of the Year Andy Carr, SKHS tennis has become one of the most dominant programs in Rhode Island sports history.
According to his players, Carr is the reason behind the team’s success.
“If there’s anything he can do for the team, he’ll do it,” explained varsity doubles player Eric Troob. “He works hard so we can be the best.”
Troob said that as a freshman he originally planned on playing lacrosse for a spring sport, but a classmate suggested he go out for the tennis team because “the coach was really good.”
At that point Carr’s teams had won seven straight state titles. That year was also the first year junior Kyle Burke, eventual two-time state champion, played on the high school tennis team.
Like Troob, Burke said that Carr’s dedication is one of the keys to his success.
“Normal coaches wouldn’t make you volley inside the gym when it’s rainy,” Burke explained.
“If it rains, most other teams cancel practice. We never get a day off,” added Troob. “It’s a little hard to get used to, but it pays off.”
Practice time, according to both players, is used to work on conditioning,
footwork, and overall effectiveness. At the beginning of practice students do sixty push ups, crunches and jumping jacks. They run laps, jump rope do footwork drills. In fact, according to #3 singles player Andrew Burnap, almost forty-five minutes of practice are devoted to physical fitness. No one touches a racket until the conditioning is over.
Next, the players drill with each other before simulating match play and actually competing with one another. More drilling follows, except this time the drilling is shot specific—realistic game situations are given to the players while Carr gives advice on what to do and what shots to use. Burke says that Carr’s coaching becomes especially useful here.
“He doesn’t work on flashy shots that we rarely use,” said Burke. “We work on consistent shots you will use 90 percent of the time.”
Practice ends with pressure situations. Mistakes here mean laps, not losses, but the idea is the same: you must always be aware and stay focused, or else you’ll pay for it later. After these Carr finishes with a lecture, complete with handouts and all.
The coach stresses preparation, according to players. Carr instills that in his players from the time he starts coaching them, which in some cases is very early.
Burke, for instance, started playing tennis with Carr when he was eight years old. He thinks that a big part of the team’s astounding accomplishment lies in the middle school program that Carr has started.
“He definitely brings in a lot of kids through middle school,” Burke said. “Ninety percent of the kids that join the program stick with the sport.”
As a result, both the best singles player in the state and the best tennis team in the state reside in South Kingstown. Coach Carr plays a major role in both areas.
“We do have a lot of really good players,” said Troob. “But other schools have players that are just as good. He makes us the best.”
“You could call it getting lucky,” added Burke. “We’ve had a series of really good [teams], but almost all of [the team’s success] is because of him.”
Despite going undefeated this spring, Burke and Troob found that this season’s state championship came no easier than it had in years past.
“We’ve always lost to Barrington at least once [in the regular season], so [before] we had nothing to lose.
“This year they were the ones with nothing to lose,” Troob said.
“There was more pressure because we were undefeated,” said Burke.
However, Coach Carr kept them grounded in reality all season long.
“He’ll spend 20-30 minutes lecturing us, reminding us that we’re beatable,” said Burke.
That possibility confronted Burke in the state singles title match. He dropped the first set of a best-of three series to Vidith Huot of Classical, only the second time he had lost a set all year. After the first set, he said he had a talk with Coach Carr.
Burke then won six straight games.
In the third, Burke clinched his second state singles title in as many years.
Burke added, however, had it not been for Coach Carr the set may have gone the other way.
“If I had a different coach, I don’t think I would have won.”