HighFIVE: Dave Adams
The following HighFIVE profile appears in the 2017 Summer issue of Colorado Tennis newspaper.
Dave Adams
The road to coaching success has been an interesting one for Dave Adams, head coach for the boys and girls team at Cheyenne Mountain. His love for the game started as a young boy growing up in rural Wisconsin, at a time in the late 60s and early 70s when tennis was taking off like crazy. Dave caught the tennis bug after hitting with an older boy who had a T2000, the first commercially marketed non-wood racquet.
“The way he smacked the ball around, I knew I wanted to play,” he said. Hitting thousands of balls after that, the self-taught netter and all-around athlete had the chance to do it all in the small town, cross training with football, basketball and baseball. Eventually he became strong enough on the court to hit with faculty at a college where his father served at president.
Dave was recently named 2017 National Coach of the Year in the Sport of Tennis by The National High School Athletics Coaches Association, a selection based on longevity, service to high school athletics, honors, championship years, and winning percentage.
“I’ve had a lot of luck,” Dave replies when asked how he feels he was able to achieve this type of coaching success. He explains that he benefits from strong feeder programs in the area and always has a few elite players in each class that has helped his impressive winning percentage. Cheyenne Mountain ranks second (to perennial powerhouse Cherry Creek) in Colorado prep history in team victories — the girls team has won nine consecutive state titles (22 overall), and the boys have won 16 state team titles.
Dave doesn’t get wrapped up in wins and losses, though. He credits Paul Angelico, CHSSA Commissioner, for a pep talk he gave to a group of coaches. “He said if I was going to coach just to win state titles that I would be doing it for the wrong reasons which really resonated with me,” Dave said. How long Dave will continue to coach isn’t defined. “I’ll keep doing this as long as it’s fun, and as long as I’m effective in what I’m doing.”
On a personal level, Dave would like to thank the many assistant coaches he’s worked with over the years, who he said have been invaluable to his success. Dave continues to teach English and also coached basketball for 14 years, giving him the chance to influence many young students and athletes. He said the advances in technology have good and bad aspects. He acknowledges that when leveraged right, technology can be a benefit, but he also jokes that there are times the message is pretty simple.
“Get off your phones,” he says, leading them onto the tennis court.
A complete history of HighFIVE profiles can be found on the USTA Colorado website.
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