Coach PJ Stein addresses campers after the session ended on Thursday evening. Stein then handed out t-shirts to all the attendees.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
Seymour girls’ tennis player Rose Kruse helped out during camp, showing campers how to return the ball correctly on Thursday.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
Hannah Adkins focuses on the return during Seymour youth tennis camp on Thursday night.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
Camper Stella Stein returns the ball during youth tennis camp on Thursday evening.
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Camper Christian Nolan works on his forehand during drills on Thursday night at Seymour youth tennis camp.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
Camper Isaac Martin returns a serve during youth camp on Thursday evening at Seymour High School.
Dakota Locker | The Tribune
It has certainly been a interesting month for the Seymour tennis program, who just recently announced PJ Stein as their new varsity boys head coach.
Stein was coach at Immanuel Lutheran for five years and now begins his tenure as head coach at Seymour. The newly hired coach spoke about the chance to coach the Owls boys’ team.
“I’m super excited about it,” Stein said. “We have a really good group of experienced players. I’ve been involved with tennis for a while now and used to coach at Immanuel Lutheran for five years. I’m looking forward to leading these guys this year.”
The Owls also conducted their tennis camp during the week.
Packing the courts for various drills, games, and activities to help campers improve on their game. Stein enjoyed his first experience as head coach for the youth camp.
“It’s been great, we’ve had almost 50 campers,” Stein said. “We had a little bit of rain one day, but we got it handled. The younger group learned more about basic things. Such as, stance, grip, and scorekeeping. The older kids learned more advanced things and technique.”
Senior Parker Thompson was asked about helping during camp week.
“It’s important to have a good relationship with these kids, they look up to us a lot, to start them early and really interest them in tennis is critical,” Thompson said. “We need to grow the game around here, only having 13-14 varsity guys out here is not enough.”
The 2024 varsity boys’ tennis season is approaching, set to kickoff next month when the Owls host Waldron on Monday, Aug. 19th at 5:30 p.m.
Thompson is looking to build off his junior season, which included winning the sectional title, after his big win over Brownstown Central.
He also was selected to the IHSTCA District 8 Team, and an IHSTCA All-State honorable mention.
Thompson is also making the jump from No. 2 to No. 1 singles after Joe Schmidt graduated last season. He spoke about the upcoming season and what he is looking to accomplish.
“It will be challenging, but I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully I can do better,” Thompson said.
He’s eyeing another sectional title and is hoping for a deeper postseason run this time around.
“We’ve got to get sectionals, hoping for a regional title as well,” he said. “We have to keep going and continue to improve each time we play.”
Coach Stein spoke about how the team is coming together this summer.
“We haven’t had too much time together yet, especially with me involved, so far, lots of improvement,” Stein said. “We have a strong incoming freshmen class and we’re looking to improve on our good season last year and make it a great one this year.”
Seymour finished last season with an overall record of 17-5, advancing to the IHSAA Regional, where they fell to the second-ranked Columbus North Bulldogs.
The team also brings back sophomore Carter Stein who compiled a record of 18-5 as an individual in 2023.