Lady Rams tennis loses home opener against Valhalla
September 11, 2024 at 10:36 p.m.
New Lady Rams head tennis coach Santos Avila, a guidance counselor in the Port Chester School District, was thinking how far he had come to be standing on the sidelines guiding his team in their season- opening home game last Friday (9/6) against Valhalla.
And even though the result was a 4-1 loss, it nonetheless represented a significant accomplishment for Avila and the Lady Rams.
And not just because senior co-captain Fatima Coyt played so well in winning the first set, displaying a strong backhand at first singles. Or his other senior co-captains, the hard-serving Brooke Federice and Marisabel Rodriguez, went down swinging in close matches while playing second and third singles, the trio giving it their all as they have during the three years they have been playing together.
Few points make difference
"A point here and there could have swung those singles match losses because they were tied most of the game," Avila said, noting that his doubles teams also played well, mentioning the stepped up play of Journey Adamson, Vanessa Caceres, Taryn DeCrescenzo, Lucia Giordano, Barbara Martinez and Crystal Monzon along with first time players Kenia Gomez and Keyla Morel.
"The girls are playing very hard and have grown to foster unity and culture as their legacy," he said. "They all showed grit and played well, executed tough shots and moved all around the court...They all showed poise, worked together as a team and cheered each other on throughout the match."
Kid from the Bronx
That meant a lot to Avila, who knows what it took for them to play that well. And what it took for him to make it as the Port Chester tennis coach. Because he is a kid out of the Bronx, 174th Street and University Avenue, way up there on the top of Fordham Road, about 20 minutes away from Yankee Stadium on the Grand Concourse, an area not exactly known for its tennis courts.
Vanessa Caceres is among those showing marked improvement as a tennis player on the Lady Rams team, according to Coach Santos Avila.By Joseph DeCarlo
"It was a teacher in the 5th grade, I don't remember the name now, who introduced me to tennis, and I remember watching the U.S. Open on television and thinking that looks like a great game and I want to learn how to play it the right way," Avila said.
And he did. Attending free clinics for public high school kids, dabbling in the game while playing football and baseball at Stepinac High School in White Plains (commuting two hours round trip from the Bronx) and playing whenever he could at Union College, sharpening his game practicing against the girls’ varsity team there when the boys’ varsity was too busy to play with a non-varsity player.
The first P.C. break
He came to Port Chester in 2020/21 as a guidance counselor with a 200-case load, but still wanted to coach so Lady Rams head softball coach Jeanine Maiolini gave him a chance to coach her JV because of his Stepinac baseball experience. And when veteran Lady Rams tennis coach Manny Martinez retired, he was ready to step in.
"Our tennis program is growing in numbers with 24 girls out for the team," Avila said.
Along with JV coach William Sciales (who works at Park Avenue Elementary School), Avila is enjoying working with the Lady Rams while teaching what he calls "the challenge of mixing skill work with playing matches and having fun."
Formula for success
"We have a mix of experienced girl tennis players and girls who joined the program and are playing tennis for the first time," he said. "It's exciting to see because everyone is so enthusiastic about learning and working very hard to get better. We see girls who are often showing up early for practice and leaving late...And our three senior captains (Coyt, Federice and Rodriguez) exemplify leadership and hard work. They strive to be great tennis players as well as being great students in the classrooms."
That is the formula for success on and off the tennis court.
The Lady Rams are in love with the game and hope to keep getting better in their next upcoming games away against Tuckahoe Monday (9/16) and Thursday (9/19) at home against East Ramapo, both at 4:30 p.m. While it is a long way from play at the U.S. Open, and even a longer way from where Avila grew up on University Avenue in the Bronx, Avila and his Lady Rams hope to keep on winning for a long time to come on and off the court.
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