Booster and Banquet

KEEP THE BOOSTER CLUB! They actually care about the players and get stuff done.

The kids deserve a normal banquet after everything they been through. The booster club does so much for the team and it makes no sense to cut them now.

I will preface my comments by saying that I was involved in the Raccoon Tennis Booster Club during the time my daughter was in the program. (2013-2017) I was the JV team mom my daughter's freshman year and on the Raccoon Tennis Booster Club board the following three years. During my daughter's senior year I was the Raccoon Tennis Booster Club President. I am sad but not surprised to see that they are still attempting to disband the tennis booster club at Frisco High. This is all about control. Control of the funds the program brings in and a desire to do away with any type of transparency to the parents and players who are part of the program. As far as the year-end banquet is concerned, it was one of the most anticipated events during the year for both players and parents. It was a chance to reflect on the past season and recognize the efforts of those involved. It was my feeling, during the 4 years of involvement I had in the Frisco High Tennis program that the coaches wanted as little involvement from parents as possible. I would like to thank the board members who came after me and applaud the individuals who are trying to save the Tennis Booster Board. I think it provides many benefits but perhaps the most important is that it ensures that there will be oversight of the funds within the program rather than allowing the coaches to have a blank check.

I started high school in 2014 which is when I started playing tennis and decided to join the team. I made my way up to varsity my junior year and being recognized for my effort was everything to me and also for everyone on the team. The only reason I stopped playing is because Coach Woods kicked me off the team because he said he did not see me having potential to improve. This was mind boggling to me because I had improved so much since the start. I was going through the hardest time in my life and they just gave up on me when tennis was the one thing I had that made me happy. I cried to Coach Kelly about everything I was going through and just that next week I was off the team. The only people I had were my teammates and my best friend who’s mom was apart of the booster club. It’s really upsetting to see that the players still are being put down by the coaches and not being recognized for their effort. Anyone who plays tennis knows how much of a role in plays in your life, I know for me it made my day to be able to play and have fun with my friends and see that improvement. I hope the best for the current team and if any of you are reading this just know you have support from us alum!

As a former player from this program I can attest to the importance of the booster club. The booster club ensures that the needs of the players are met which should be something the coaches handle but unfortunately never have. If it were not for the booster club my time on the team would have been worse than it was already while being under the direction of Brian Woods and Monica Kelly. I can guarantee that the coaches would like this program to be nonexistent so that they do not have much over sight from parents of the players and are able to spend funds however they’d like. The amount of effort players put into the team should be recognized on a daily basis and since it seems to go in unnoticed by the coaches the banquet gives players something to look forward to. This event forces the coaches to look back on the season and recognize how great each and every one of their players are on and off the court. During my four years on the team there were many issues with verbal abuse and athletic punishments even though we were a winning team with amazing players. It is honestly disheartening to see that these coaches still have a job within the district. Hopefully new coaches are brought in to help turn the program around. Without the booster club the players will have less of a voice than they already do.

Hi

The Tennis Booster club has become like a family for many of us .

(In addition to my previous comment) I am so grateful to have gotten to know everyone on this team. I got to see exactly what brought the team closer and what made them most excited and happy. Although I was only on the team for 2 years, it was very evident that the players already felt as if they were “the odd ones out” in FHS athletics. They witness the other sports being able to do so many fun things, most not even requiring booster money to do so. Things such as the “kidnapping” done last year. To take away the banquet would be just another reason for the players to feel unappreciated and unimportant. It is so upsetting and infuriating that Coach Woods would want to take away something that allows for the players to feel their sense of importance because he feels the need to put his wants before the teams. It is no coincidence that there has always been tension between the players and their head coach. That should not be the case. There should be unity between the two. The players should stand up for themselves and do what they can to make the team their own.

The “fancy traditional” banquet is something for the players to look forward to at the end of every year. Often times this is one of the only occasions during the year that they are able to feel appreciated and special. They get to dress their best and feel confident in themselves and what they’ve done. The banquet is for the PLAYERS. Therefore it should be about what makes the PLAYERS feel most celebrated and what makes them most excited. not what others want. The booster club allows for the work to be divided up. It would be much much harder for the work to be done just between the two coaches. If that does happen, there is a very good chance that the students will suffer the consequences. They will not be able to receive, have, or do things that resemble people who have had a lot of time to think about, plan, and execute these things. Keep what benefits the players most.

It’s a shame the community atmosphere of the tennis team is disintegrating before our eyes. I guess that is the new culture Coach Woods referenced in his email about changing the year end recognition event. If he had only seen the happiness and comradery shown at the banquet that took place following top golf maybe he would think differently about his view of the culture that should be built for the team. Failing to understand this is about the kids is a sign of a coach that really is not connected to his players. Without that, I’m not sure he should ever expect to get the best out of them-he is not providing the best for them. I speak from knowing a thing or two about coaching. I played basketball through college and was on national select soccer teams. I’ve seen the good and the bad and what is happening to this team is more aligned to the latter. I wish the returning players nothing but the best. The players should ontinue to build the culture you want. It will take you far in life! All the best.

There is no reason to get rid of the booster club when they work their butts off to make sure we have nice things.