Ms. Rebecca Elkins has been coaching tennis for eight years. Outside of coaching tennis, Elkins is an Athletic Director, Senate Adviser, she helps supervise the student workers at Warrior World during second lunch, and is a test proctor for FBLA. Looking back at her eight years at the school, Elkins says, “My favorite part about coaching is getting to know my athletes and watching them work hard and improve in a new skill.”

   Elkins has found joy in constantly challenging herself. In her own school years, sports were very important, from taking karate to being a part of soccer, basketball, and dance, and to participating in the marching band. Elkins began her coaching career as a two-year assistant coach for girls soccer at Taylorsville High from 2008 to 2009.

   Coaching has many advantages, including memories. Elkins says, “ My favorite memories are in the spring of 2015 the Boys’ tennis team had a great season. We had two players win region championships, Kolby Silim, and Remi Prince. It was so fun to watch the team have success and cheer on their teammates. Or fall 2016, Rachel Timpson was playing at the region tournament, and she had a huge upset win over Bingham to qualify for the state tournament.”

   While coaching, Elkins enforces honesty and integrity so that athletes are prepared to play fair as their own referees. Tennis is a unique sport because they don’t have referees, the players make the calls themselves during matches.

Elkins says, “ I challenge my players to be 100% honest when making calls, honesty, and integrity is more important than trying to steal a point.”

   “Tennis is deceptively difficult to play. It is a sport that looks super easy when you watch the pros play, but it is a sport that requires both power and precision. It takes some time, but you can start to see improvement rather quickly.” says Elkins. Students who are dedicated and take the time will see improvements as they move on.

   Taylorsville not only has a Girls’ Tennis team, but also a Boys’ Tennis team. The Girls’ Tennis usually hold tryouts in July, and the Boys’ Tennis has tryouts in Febuary. If students want more information, Ms. Elkins (I209) or Mr. Allred (H105) are both coaches and available for questions, or students can access the tennis website at https://sites.google.com/granitesd.org/t-villetennis .