Girls assistant tennis coach Kerry Hall won the 2012 Illinois High School Tennis Coaches Association (IHSTCA) Coach of the Year award. Hall also coaches boys tennis as well as cross country. This is Hall’s first year coaching girls tennis, which makes the award quite significant.
Hall graduated New Trier in 1977, and studied at the University of Zagreb, Kenyon College, and Northwestern University throughout the 1980s. Hall and his father also competed in the National Hard Court Father-Son (Senior Division) in California.
“I feel like it’s an example of the group effort that all the coaches had,” says Hall. “It was very surprising. I didn’t see it coming at all until the head coach said that I should apply for it.” Hall, a Wilmette resident, said that he’s gotten lots of positive feedback from both students and teachers. “I live in the community, so I see people all the time and they congratulate me, which is really nice,” he said.
Though this is his first year coaching girls tennis, Hall brings up some noticeable differences between coaching girls and coaching boys. “The guys can sometimes be more aggressive on the court, while the girls tend to stay a little more steady. So, I’ll try to make the girls more aggressive and makes the guys a little more steady. It’s important to always strive for team unity and camaraderie, no matter who I’m coaching,” he said.
Hall has been coaching tennis at New Trier for the last five years, and it has been one of his favorite sports since he was a child. “I started taking tennis lessons when I was eight years old, and I played tennis for New Trier when I was a student here. I’ve always loved the sport and working with students on it as well,” he said.
Aside from just playing the sport, Hall believes there is a strong psychological aspect to the game. “Sometimes it can be difficult playing singles, because it’s just you out there. You’re alone. What the challenge of being a coach is having to say, ‘Yes, you’re playing this on your own, but you’re playing it for New Trier. You’re a Trevian. Let’s play with each other, let’s support each other, and I think we do a great job at that,” he said.
Aside from tennis and other sports he has coached, Hall likes to spend his free time reading, bicycling, and kayaking (and “grading essays,” he said jokingly). “I like to have time with my family, too,” he added. Aside from being a sportsman, Hall has been teaching history at the Winnetka campus since 1994. “My Junior year history teacher was a guy named Steve Hilsabeck, and he definitely got me interested in history, as well as some college professors and traveling I did at the time.”
Hall’s students enjoy his class and can tell why he can get this award. Alex Kordylasinski, a junior in Hall’s US History class, says that Hall’s class is enjoyable because he’s “down to earth and straightforward about everything.” Kordylasinski also said that Hall is “a great teacher and a great role model.” Coach Hall’s passion for tennis and his positive attitude make him a great and obvious choice for coach of the year.