Starting halfway through the year as a head coach seems like a difficult task for most. However, the new head tennis coach, Jason Cate, has made the transition seem effortless.
After meeting Cate for the first time, players knew that he would fit right into the tennis program and, most importantly, bring a change that was previously lacking in the program.
“Fortunately for me, Coach Rodgers and the rest of the staff have been very supportive in my transition here as head tennis coach,” Cate said. “I was given an opportunity to get a handle on the program, to make sure things were lined out for the season and ready to go for the kids.”
After only a short time working with Cate, players have already noted his ability to conduct successful practices and to have a personable quality of connecting and working with students.
“He seems like he knows how to connect with the students,” senior Nicole Zielinski said. “He asks us how our day has been and really seems like he is trying to get to know us. He also seems to be very organized and on top of things. He has already gotten things done that have taken previous coaches all year to do. He seemed to know exactly what he was expecting from the players and he knew exactly how he was going to go about getting us there.”
Implementing a strong program is something that has to be modeled from the start, and Cate began by letting parents and players know what was expected for the coming years at the tennis team parent meeting Jan. 30. As a former tennis player at Hardin-Simmons University and assistant coach at Flower Mound High School, Cate’s notable background in tennis impressed parents along with his hope to build the tennis program and his planned actions to better this year’s team.
“My first impression of Coach Cate is that he seemed very experienced, and he also sounded very enthusiastic of being able to coach tennis at Argyle,” parent Mary Stein said.
Not only has Cate presented a clear goal for the tennis program and set standards for practices and matches, he has made a personable impression on players.
“During my match he told me and my partner, Evan Welsh, that we were playing well and to keep up the hard work,” Zielinski said regarding the Jan. 31 match at Boswell. “It was great to hear encouraging words from him during our first match with him as our coach.”
However, something unusual happened on Friday morning when the students showed up for their match and their new coach was uncharacteristically absent.
It turns out, he was at the hospital with his wife, April, for the birth of his new addition, “Camden”.
The team is looking forward to a great season and an even better future for the tennis program, especially with the new addition(s).
