Red, white and blue uniforms are common amongst Patriot athletes, but never before have the tennis courts themselves featured the school colors.
For starters, the Millard South tennis courts have gotten a complete remodel. The old green court has been left behind for a brand new red, white and blue court. The players could not be happier about it.
“While I did like the old courts, the new ones are a great improvement with the new colors and better surface to play on,” junior Peyton Blue said.
The old Millard South courts had been cracked and destroyed but now the courts look completely new as the players can now play on a smooth clean surface.
“I think they are really good actually,” junior Marshall Gosney said. ”The old ones had a bunch of cracks in them and the balls just wouldn’t bounce right sometimes. They are overall just really good tennis courts for the program,” he said.
The courts took the entire summer to complete but the wait was well worth it as tennis players can enjoy the courts for years to come.
However, the courts are not the only new thing that came to Millard South over the summer. In addition to the courts, Jamisen Goodell has become the new Millard South JV and reserve tennis coach.
The players have been giving positive feedback about the new coach.
“I really like what he is doing,” Junior Mitchell Gosney said. “He is giving the JV and reserve players a lot of opportunities to improve in the game of tennis.”
“He really helps people learn and grow in the game of tennis,” freshman Sawyer Andersen said. Just because this year is his first coaching the Millard South Tennis Team doesn’t mean Coach Goodell is inexperienced. Coach Goodell played four years of tennis at Kearney High School, was a tennis coach at Omaha Bryan High School for five years and even coached two years at a high school in Utah. So Coach Goodell is not new to the game of tennis.
While the new coach has brought a new perspective to Millard South tennis, the goal for the Patriots still remains to try their best.
“My goal for this season is three parts,” Goodell said. “First is to have fun, second is to work hard, and third is to get better every day.”
The Patriots have gotten off to a great start this season and will look to keep that hot streak going. The last tournament for Millard South this fall season will be on Oct. 7.