This season is the beginning of a new chapter for the Salida High School Girls Tennis Team, as Mike Mendicino takes over the head coach position following the departure of Josh Bechtel. After coaching as an assistant for four seasons under Bechtel, Mendicino finds himself in the driver’s seat this year, while staying relaxed and fun.
“We all miss Bechtel. He’s a great guy and a great coach, but we’re managing to get along without him,” Mendicino said, referring to the transition.
While he is new to the head coaching position, Mendicino isn’t new to the game. He started playing tennis at 11 with his dad and brother. Starting from an early age, tennis turned into a passion, and it eventually turned into his coaching career. Although he is a new head coach, Mendicino says that things on the court haven’t changed much. They’re doing, “pretty much the same stuff that he did,” he said. “It’s just a continuation.”
The team is off to a strong start, with a 4-1 record with many more matches left. The team also had several objectives.
“We had two goals,” Mendicino said, “to qualify as a team for state, and also qualify as many as we could individually for state.” They also aimed to win regionals.
With high goals comes fierce challenges, though. The team’s main challenge this year is the immense number of participants, especially with the lack of courts.
“We’ve got 35 players out with only four courts, so just trying to make practices as effective as possible is a challenge.” Mendicino said.
The team hasn’t been able to do it without outstanding leadership from the seniors. There are four seniors this year, Kathy McBride, Caroline Woodell, Raeann Shively, and Ruby Mossman. Mendicino commended them, saying they show a lot of good leadership.
Mendicino loves coaching the tennis team, and especially likes “watching how the girls improve,” and commented on the immense amount of progress the team has made even with a “steep learning curve.”
The team is “playing hard and having fun,” Mendicino acknowledged. He is looking forward to “watching them improve from day one to the final weeks of practice,”
This team shows a lot of promise, and will be exciting to see unlock their full potential under Mendicino’s careful leadership.
Although there have been a couple challenges along the way, the tennis team is shooting for the stars and hoping to perform well. As the school year continues, and the team enters the postseason, they are going to try their hardest and keep a good attitude.
