Kickapoo High School fully embraced transfer Joseph Coder, both as a student and a tennis talent.
“You know, it was definitely hard to get myself to go on the first day of school, restart making new friends,” said the junior out of Springfield Catholic. “But everybody on my team was really opening and welcoming and I’m just grateful that they let me in so soon.”
In Joseph’s first varsity season as a Chief he won the Springfield Invitational Tournament.
“I just had to stay focused the whole time, even before the match,” Joseph said. “You know, I can’t underestimate anybody. And I just wanted to make sure that all the work I’ve been putting on and off the court goes into this match.”
Unintentionally, his skills from his passion of skiing have applied well to the tennis court.
“His skidability is just as fun to watch and hear,” said Kickapoo Head Tennis Coach Eric Wilbur. “So if you hear it on the court, you know that it’s, it’s Joseph out there sliding.”
His sliding on the slopes is what makes him so agile in tennis.
“I have to put a lot of weight on the bottom of my feet,” Joseph said. “It’s probably how I got comfortable with it.”
And his interest in tennis grew not just by playing it, but by watching it first hand. He was the ball boy for the Springfield Lasers.
“I just started loving the sport more and more after seeing those pros hit the ball so hard and just being amazed at how they could do that,” Joseph said. “It was such an amazing experience. I wish I could do it again and again and again.”
Just like how he hopes for more big time victories, again and again.
