More than 20 student-athletes have reported for duty on the two GHS tennis teams, according to long-time volunteer head coach Ken Hamilton. They started practice in late June once cleared by the Arkansas Activities Association to do so in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that prematurely closed the nation’s schools last March.
But the pandemic is not the only thing causing change this season for the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs. First of all, Hamilton is no longer the head coach, voluntarily stepping down and taking the role of mentor and assistant to Dexter Pearcy, newly promoted from junior high boys’ basketball assistant to varsity boys’ basketball assistant and tennis head coach. He also previously served as assistant tennis coach under Hamilton.
Another big change involves the makeup of the teams, consisting of eight boys and 14 girls. The boys return considerable talent and experience, but many of the GHS girls are new, young, and inexperienced, according to Hamilton, who gave an interview last week during their morning practice.
The Bulldogs are expected to carry the competitive load this season, but the Greenwood ladies are not without talent and potential, indicated the two-time River Valley Coach of the Year. Coach Pearcy was unavailable for the interview.
Asked to recap last season and his graduating seniors, Hamilton said, “We lost four senior girls and one senior boy, Eli Butler. He was All-State and co-River Valley Player of the Year along with [Greenwood’s] Johnathan [Mitchell], who is back [this year].” Both teams won their respective conference championships in 2019 and performed well in state competition.
“We lost four girls, two of which are playing college tennis,” said Hamilton. “Olivia Gaston went to Ouachita [Baptist] and Abigail Woodring went to John Brown [University]. The other two girls, Breana Acosta and Madi Pelt, are in college. They were the backbone of the girls’ team.” That group of seniors won four consecutive conference championships.
“[We’ve] only got two [players] returning, Sarah Beshears and Rebecca Harris.,” added Hamilton. “We’ve got 14 girls out right now, but only two returnees. [But] we’ve got some good athletes, and if you’ve got good athletes you can turn them into just about anything they want to be. So, we’re hoping that athleticism can overcome lack of experience.”
Hamilton sized up his top two female players. “[Sarah] is very coachable, works hard, and has good strokes,” he said of his lone senior girl. “Her only issue is that she’s in band and misses some practices, but we work around it. I don’t know if she will [play] singles or doubles, but she will probably be our #1 player. She’s played a lot for us in the past.”
Junior Rebecca Harris is also making a run at the top spot, acknowledged her coach. “Rebecca and [Sarah] are neck-and-neck on who is the best. [Rebecca] is steady and calm. She’s not going to get too high or too low, but stays the same with a good solid game. She won’t overpower [anyone], but she will wear you out.
“[Sarah and Rebecca] may play #1 in doubles or we may pair them with somebody else. Match experience will decide that. We’re mixing the lineups to see what we can come up with,” said the coach, adding that either Bella King and/or Chase Hanna would play singles if one or both of the two seniors play doubles. “They are our top four girls,” said Hamilton.
Continuing the evaluation of his Lady Bulldogs, Hamilton admitted, “We’ve got a really young team. We’ve got plenty of them, but we’ve got to develop some talent in them.” The ladies’ team is comprised of one senior, four juniors, five sophomores, and four freshmen.
“[Junior] Eden Adams is a tall girl and a good athlete,” said the coach. “[Junior] Kennedy Holland is quick and developing her skills. [Sophomore] Mackenzie [Cannon] is back and she can play. She just needs to move a little bit faster. Lakyn Forester is a sophomore who didn’t get to play much last year, but she is motivated.
[Junior] Chase [Hanna] came off the volleyball team. She jumps well and has long reach. She would make an excellent doubles player. She’s just athletic. She could be very intimidating at the net.” Hanna’s older brothers are both outstanding football players. Jordan Hanna is a senior defensive lineman for the Bulldogs and older brother Morgan is a defensive lineman for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
“[Freshmen] Bella [King] and Lydia [Belue] both played junior high tennis and they are both up-and-comers. Bella has good strokes, hits the ball hard and really wants to play. Lydia is like her brother Micah, and very coachable. [Sophomore] Anna Spence is new and has some athletic ability and is coordinated.
“[Sophomore] Kaitlyn [Johnson] is a work in progress and has never played before. She’s trying to get some basic stroke techniques down. She’s trying to learn. Emma [Worth] and Claire [Roberts] are both freshmen,” Hamilton concluded.
Asked how he determines which kids play singles and which ones play doubles, Hamilton described the criteria he uses. “It depends on [their] personality, how fast they are, and how much court they cover. If they are too slow but have good strokes, I’ll move them to doubles where they only have to cover half the court. If they’ve got weaker strokes but they are fast, sometimes they can run down more balls in singles.
“Racquet skills are predominant, speed on the court, and footwork,” said Hamilton. “Tennis is a game you play with your feet. You carry a racquet with you in case you get to the ball. If you can’t get to the ball, it doesn’t matter how good your strokes are. Big, tall people with a lot of reach make excellent doubles players. They can be real intimidating at the net.”
In high school, every team (boys and girls) is allowed six eligible players for each scheduled match. “We take six players, and four of them play doubles and two play singles, as opposed to college where they [can] play both. I’d like to get that changed [in high school], but I don’t know if that will happen,” said Hamilton.
On the boys’ side, the 26-year veteran coach has a high degree of confidence in his Bulldogs this season, led by a trio of seniors, Zackery Beshears, Jonathan Mitchell, and Micah Belue. “The girls are going to be rebuilding, [but] I’d be surprised if the boys don’t win conference,” said Hamilton. “The boys have more experience and overall talent than the girls do. Jonathan and Zackery are our top two players and we’re trying to figure out [players] three, four, five, and six.
“Zack is a grinder. He just loves to play and he keeps himself in top physical condition. He wants to play college tennis. His best asset is his quickness. [With] his good mind combined with his skill set, he will do well this year and play in college at some level,” said his coach.
“Jonathan is a good athlete. I don’t know if he wants to play college tennis, but he can do anything he wants on the tennis court. He can run and jump like a deer. He’s just a natural athlete. [He] played doubles the last couple of years and was all-state. But he will probably play singles this year.
“Zack is our #1 boys’ player right now. If I put Zackery and Johnathan together, I think they would win state and have a real good chance of winning overalls. But is that the best way for our team to win the conference and state? Probably not. But spread them out and [our] team has a better chance to win conference. They would be one of the best doubles teams in the state. They’re both fast and have good racquet skills. But they’re both probably going to play singles right now.
“Micah is one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever had,” said Hamilton of his third senior. “He doesn’t have the skill set of the other two, be he is just as determined and just as gritty. He will probably play doubles for us this year. The three senior boys [give us] good leadership.
“Connor [Jones] is in his second year to play with us and is still developing his skills,” continued Hamilton. “Brendon [Hoskyn] is still a work in progress and is a good athlete. Brendon will probably play doubles. Grayson [Vaughn] is going to be a good player. [He] really loves to play tennis and he’s a big kid.” All three Bulldogs are sophomores with lots of potential.
“Alex [Chanthavong] is a junior and has never played before. [Freshman] J.J. Acosta has good strokes, but is not very fast. He may play doubles for us. [He] played junior tennis,” added the coach. Hoskyn and Acosta are stepbrothers.
Asked about junior high tennis, Hamilton acknowledged that the pandemic cost them a lost season this past spring. “Junior tennis [includes] students going into the 7th grade,” said Hamilton. “They play in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. It’s not a school-sanctioned sport, but we associate with the school or community we’re in. They play in the spring, March and April.” Several Fort Smith schools also participate in the junior high competition.
“We need the junior high to be a better feeder program,” he added. “It’s hard to show up in tenth grade and want to play tennis and be competitive. It rarely happens.” A former baseball player in his youth, Hamilton added that softball and baseball athletes are perfect for tennis, utilizing similar skill sets.
Concerning the opposition this year, especially in conference play, Hamilton and his fellow coaches are completely in the dark. “I have no idea. We haven’t gotten to meet as coaches. We (Greenwood) may be the strongest [team] and be totally surprised. Who knows what’s going to happen?”
The outgoing head coach also spoke of some scheduling challenges this season related to the pandemic. “We usually meet the schools on the eastern side of our [conference] in Russellville, so we don’t have to do all that driving. But this year Arkansas Tech University has told us they won’t let us play on their campus.
“The University of the Ozarks in Clarksville is probably not going to let us play there either. So right now, we’re scrambling to find a place, so we don’t have to drive to Vilonia and Greenbrier for a tennis match on a weekday. It’s easier on the kids. [But] the schedule is in limbo. We’ve got matches with Harrison, Vilonia, and Greenbrier with no place to play.
“You want to match up well with opposing players,” said Hamilton. “I’ve been accused for many years of putting our best players in doubles. Sometimes I do that and sometimes I don’t. We have won three doubles overall championships the last few years. [But] you’ve got to match up well against the opposition.”
Asked about how the pandemic and subsequent restrictions will affect high school tennis, Hamilton cited the usual precautions including social distancing, masks, and the liberal use of hand wipes. He also said, “The chance of getting the virus from a tennis ball is probably zero, but it is a filthy thing. We have [players] wash their hands a lot and keep them away from their faces.” A retired dentist, Hamilton also spent time in the field of microbiology early in his career.
As for his pending retirement from coaching, Dr. Hamilton said, “I’m not riding the bus with the kids this year. I’ll drive my own vehicle, since Dexter is taking over as head coach. I’ve ridden the bus for 25 years, and that’s enough,” he added with a smile.
Regarding Coach Pearcy, his mentor said, “He’s still learning. It would be like trying to make a basketball coach out of me. Coaches who haven’t played the sport have a learning curve. [But] he loves the kids and works well with them. He’s got a great attitude toward them. He’s the kind of person you want working with your children. He’s a quality guy and will do a good job.
“He watches a lot, what I do and say. He’s learning how I run practices. It’s hard for one person to run 20 kids and keep them all busy, unless you’ve done it a long time. It’s a mentoring process, but he’s a quick study. He appreciates any help I can give him.”
Being a volunteer himself, Hamilton knows the value and importance of volunteers, especially on the high school level. “We’re fortunate when we get volunteers to help, [and] I encourage people to volunteer. It’s not easy, but it’s rewarding.” He added that volunteers can help with some of the busy work, allowing coaches to spend more of their time teaching and coaching kids.
Reflecting on his career, the highly respected coach said, “It’s my 26th year and I think I’ve done everything I ever hoped to do. I was shocked to learn last year that I was the River Valley tennis Coach of the Year again. I’ve won that twice, [with] three overall state championships and [nearly] 20 conference championships. I know more tennis now than I did 26 years ago, but when [coaches] know the most stuff, we’re too old to keep doing it.
“There comes a time to transition and pass it on,” he continued. “It’s time to help the school pass it on to someone younger with me still assisting. That’s doesn’t mean I won’t be back next year to help. But it gives me more time to spend with my wife in the fall. I just want to make it a smooth transition. My goal this year is to make [Coach Pearcy] the conference coach of the year by winning the district for the boys.”
Finally, Hamilton was asked about the community courts on the GHS campus where the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs play. The courts were refurbished before the 2019 season due to age and cracks in the playing surface.
“They are cracking again, but they are much better than they’ve been for some time. We’ve got a good facility to play on. We just need the lights replaced,” he added.