Coaches Corner for March 30th: Jed Hammen, Boone Boys Tennis

with us on coaches corner here in KWBG, get an opportunity to talk Boone boys tennis today is Jed Hammond joining us. The Torrey doors will be right into it as the week progresses and we'll get more into that here in just a few. Jed, it's kind of a different season.

Well, obviously a different season, but kind of a different season when you look at kids that are returning and sometimes, and I know you don't do this, but sometimes you can at least pencil in before the year. Okay. This is where so-and-so could be.

This is where so-and-so, and I can make some erases and some changes, boy, you got a bunch of kids that are going to be hungry this spring. And I'm looking forward to seeing where this all kind of shakes out. Yeah, we've had a, we've been blessed with really good weather.

Um, we had a great spring break, uh, start out a little cold, obviously with the blizzard at the beginning of spring break, but, uh, as the weather progressed, we had a great finish to spring break. We had two a day practices. Uh, we got challenge matches started.

So really fortunate. We have our lineup almost, uh, set and, uh, that's awesome that we can be at this point and feeling really confident about that.

So, uh, really been putting some emphasis into our double teams and, uh, we're excited that we return a state qualifying double team in Braxton School and Patrick Houser, and, uh, just excited to see, uh, you know, what they can do, uh, together again, uh, this year, uh, playing doubles and, uh, also, uh, you know, they're really hungry to make it to day two in that tournament and, uh, and placing it up on our, uh, our placing board there out at the, uh, out at the court.

So excited about that, but really excited about some of the young guys that are, that are stepping in, uh, Stromer Grought has, uh, put in a, just a enormous amount of work, uh, in the off season and, um, he's going to play number two for us this year.

And we're, we're just really excited about what his season can look like.

And he's got some really lofty goals and just, uh, you know, he, he played in 13 or 14 USDA tournaments in the off season and, uh, you know, he's just, he's been all in, um, and been a great leader in our program and so excited what he can do.

And, you know, you return Calvin Jordan, uh, he's going to be just a great force for us, Braxton scroll. Um, let's see, uh, you'll have, uh, Logan Wickman, Sam Chestnut.

I mean, those are some of the names they're going to be coming into our, uh, lineup there, uh, Brandon Holm was going to be playing at the top six. Uh, Kam Leemon will be in our top 10. And of course the young brothers, Moses and Silas will kind of round out our top 10.

So, uh, we got a good group of kids. Uh, we're going to, you know, we have a, what, seven juniors, uh, two seniors and a sophomore.

So, uh, we are a younger team this year, uh, what that is lacking in experience, but, uh, you know, we're excited to get after it and start gaining that experience. Jed, I'm going to correct you just a little bit because you told me off air.

You said we might not maybe on court varsity wise, but as you talked about. Boy, you've got a bunch of tournaments that these kids went after. I mean, I don't remember the last time and you've had some stack teams coming into seasons before.

Jed, I don't ever remember you coming to me in December. Jed likes to do this at basketball game, by the way, folks, I'll talk out of class here real quick.

Jed likes to come at me at basketball games and go, Hey, and he'll tell me about four, maybe three or four kids that did tournaments. Jed, you were naming off a couple of handfuls of worth of kids that were going to tournaments this off season. Yeah.

You know, just really blessing our programs. Kids are buying into, uh, the oddest season work. And so we had over 130, uh, USDA matches played, uh, between June and the start of this season, which is, uh, I mean, it's double, maybe even triple what we've ever done before.

Over a course of, uh, I think 12 different kids played in at least one, one tournament, uh, and the off season and many played in multiple tournaments. And so, um, you know, that that's going to pay off for them. Uh, that gives them some experience.

Uh, it's that's different than varsity tennis, but very similar. And, uh, just getting out and playing competitive matches, uh, throughout the year, uh, it should, uh, should allow them not to have as much dust on, uh, on the racket as they get ready to open up the season.

Well, 36, uh, kids are out right now, Jed, that have made it through and, uh, enjoying tennis and learning every day. It's gotta be fun, challenging, a little stressful at times, but what do you do with 36 kids that are out there wanting to get better?

You know, we have, uh, I spent a lot of time out at the courts. Uh, I got a lot of kids that are wanting to get better. Uh, you know, 17 of those 36 are freshmen and a lot of them, uh, hadn't really ever played a whole lot of tennis, maybe attended tennis camp.

Uh, a few years, uh, but haven't really played at that, uh, high school level of tennis.

And so, uh, a lot of instruction, a lot of state, we ran a lot of stations and drills throughout spring break where we were just rotating and getting a lot of different opportunities to just, uh, swing at a ball and, uh, talking about our footwork and, and, uh, you know, what a forehand is and what a backhand is, what a volley is, and, you know, just kind of teaching some of those things.

And, uh, it's been really fun. Uh, I have a new assistant with me this year, of course, uh, Jim McPartland, uh, retired last year, uh, from teaching and coaching. And so, uh, real fortunate to be able to welcome a former player back.

Uh, coach, uh, Ben Craven will be my assistant. And, uh, so I had the great joy early in my season of coaching him. Uh, he was my first state qualifier. Well, I'm under my first year with the sophomore and then, uh, his senior year, he finished third in state and singles.

So, uh, just been real excited to have him and, uh, and he's been working hard with the JB kids as well. And he's going to do great things with our, our young, our young guys and really help get them excited and motivated, but it's been great.

Ryan, uh, kids have been out of the courts till eight, nine o'clock at night, uh, just voluntarily, uh, you know, just out there wanting to hit off the ball machines, wanting to just hit back and forth with each other.

Obviously there's some challenge matches going on, but a lot of kids hanging around that don't have to be there that didn't have a match that night. And so, um, that's been great too. Uh, to just see guys, uh, hanging around, having a good time.

You know, we want to, it's really important for us to win and compete. That's, that's a big part of our program, but, uh, another really key part of our program is that kids are enjoying their experience and having a good time and have a, you know, create memories.

And so, uh, I'm already seeing that starting to happen early in the season with these young guys. And so just excited to see what their season is going to look like as well as, as we get going.

I'm not going to make you break down Norwalk yet, but I am interested in one thing that, that you did kind of visit with me and Jed, I know we're still up in the air a little bit, but I think there there's a change to tennis that we wanted to talk about, or I wanted to talk about, especially after you told me, but tell me about how the top 32 are going to qualify.

And this is going to be a one day event. Now, how's that going to change things? Do you think this spring? Yeah.

So we're going to go from, uh, I mean, you, you, you fat, if you go back five years ago, it, uh, we used to qualify teams based on the top three teams, uh, from the individual district tournament.

Um, and then, uh, the two and threes, uh, would play each other for the right to play a district champion, and then the winner of that was a state qualifier and then would play right away the first round of state at that site.

So we went away from that to everybody qualifying and having, you know, eight sub states with eight teams and the winner of that sub state over a course of, uh, two days, two, two different, uh, two different days was the winner that would advance Iowa city.

Um, what the state had noticed is those early rounds maybe were not as competitive, they had some teams that were bowing out, um, things like that. And we're playing.

And so, uh, the border control, along with the coaches advisory committee made it, uh, change sure to, uh, go to just top 32 teams and make it a one day event where there'll be eight sub states with four teams, he did one through four in it.

One will play four two will play three. And then the two winners will play for the right to go to Iowa city and the tournament in the afternoon. Um, still a little bit.

Uh, we know that it's going to be based off our strength of schedule, um, the coaches poll and our UT our team, ETR score.

We don't know exactly what that formula looks like if they're all waited evenly or if one's waited more, uh, I think there'll be more guidance sent to us, uh, from there. Um, I do, I think a one day event will be awesome.

Um, I think it'll be interesting to see how to have a formula and everything, you know, kind of ways out. Uh, and you know, where you, where that cutoff's going to be for 32 to 33, things like that, the first team that gets left out.

So hopefully it's not like some of our other things where, you know, like March madness, where you got the team that's sitting on the outside, they sort of gotten in, right?

So, um, but I feel like the state's got a good grasp of what they're going to do and, and, uh, and hopefully get the right 32 teams, uh, into the post season.

Jed, if there's one thing that we can definitely give credit to when it comes to, I think, especially when I can talk about girls or boys tennis here, it always feels like you guys are progressively thinking at least, right? You're not just, Hey, we've done this forever.

Jed, we're just going to keep doing this. It always feels like the, you guys are at least pondering. How can we make this better? Yeah.

I feel like we've done, uh, over the course of the, you know, last, uh, you know, six, seven years, I, there's been a lot of good, uh, a lot of good change, uh, in tennis and a lot of good talk and, and things that are trying to, what's best for the athletes and giving them the best experience, the best opportunities.

Um, and so, uh, yeah, I think, uh, we continue to look at that and I think we have a good advisory board of coaches who, to sit there that have those conversations who also get out and talk with all the other coaches.

And, uh, you know, I think Andy, uh, on some who is, uh, overseas tennis has done a really good job of having those open communications as well to, you know, really try to move the sport in the right direction.

You know, tennis was a sport that was kind of slowly, the numbers were trending downwards, not just not Iowa, just Nat and you know, nationally and world, but, um, you know, within the last couple of years, tennis is on the uptick again, um, and we're starting to see, uh, participation numbers are starting to rise in a lot of schools and, and, and across the United States.

So, um, I think some of that could be towards, uh, you know, the things that we're doing, the changes that we're making and, and trying to make it a place where people want to be. Yeah. Don't mess it up. Do better. That's, that's for sure.

And it looks like that's what you're doing. Jed, best of luck as you guys get started against the Norwalk here this week. And we'll look forward to talking to you again here in a couple of weeks. Sounds good. Thanks a lot, Ryan. You bet.

Jed Hammond again, joining us boom boys, tennis here on coaches corner.