Ellwood Boys Tennis Going for a Winning Record

For the first time in the past few seasons, the Ellwood City tennis team had a solid preseason to prepare.

“Last year, some of the kids’ first time on the court was their first match,” head coach Keith Golebie said. “It’s hard to organize a team in those conditions.”

Golebie, a tech teacher at Lincoln High School, has been coaching for five years. This season, with several new factors in their favor, the team is looking for a winning record. Last year, the team was 1-7 in the section and 1-10 overall. Already, Ellwood defeated Riverside in a conference match. Riverside defeated Ellwood last year.

Last season, the players had little opportunity to practice indoors or out. They spent some practices clearing snow and ice off the courts. This year, due to a mild winter, the team was able to practice outdoors substantially. In addition, the Ellwood City Family Center allowed the team to practice indoors.

“Tennis balls don’t have the same bounce on a gym floor as they do on a court. The carpeted room in the Family Center gives the balls a much better bounce,” Golebie said.

Another essential factor this year is the addition of two assistant coaches. Mike Sinclair primarily plays with the students, giving them daily challenging matches. Gordon Lewis, a veteran tennis player, provides individual lessons both in and out of practice.

“Having the assistants work individually has been a huge help,” Golebie said. “For some kids, the first time they picked up a racket ever is in March.”

Golebie said the assistants have been able to provide individualized instruction for the different levels of experience the students have, allowing him to provide a more managerial role.

In addition, the team has experience to fall back on. Senior Corey Hobbs is in his fourth year and senior Christian Mittica is their top player.

“We’re looking forward to winning a lot more this season,” Mittica. “We have a lot more people and more experience on the team.”

Although the team lost a match against Beaver 4-1 on Friday, the team improved from last year.

“The boys really played well, and far out-performed last year’s match,” Golebie said. “This was one of our goals this year, to be better than last year, and they have responded.”

In addition, the doubles team of Hobbs and Shane Reisinger remains undefeated so far.

Overall, Golebie and the tennis team hope to increase community interest in the sport. “We’ve seen more people playing at the courts over the years,” Golebie said. In addition, several of the team’s players have never been involved in an organized sport, and Golebie is pleased to have given them that experience.

This year’s tennis team has twelve athletes, five of whom are first-timers.