John Dewey’s girls tennis team is off to a hot start this school year.
The Lady Dragons have been hard at work this season. The girls began practice in late August and transitioned to training after school every day during September and October. This dedication and enthusiasm sent our team on the right track to win their first playoff match of the season. However, being a tennis player is not only about rigorous practice and winning matches.
The tennis team started with a genuine appreciation for the sport.
Most people know him as Mr. Caffrey. He came to John Dewey in 2012 as a teacher, his main subject of focus English Language Arts. However, he is also known as Coach Caffrey to his players.
Coach Sean Caffrey founded the tennis program upon entering Dewey in 2012. It started out as a leisurely club, but its members continually showed improvement, eventually becoming competitive boys’ and girls’ PSAL teams and playoff contenders in 2014.
Coach Caffrey’s passion for the sport goes way back. He began playing tennis in his school days, after trying out other sports that didn’t really work well for him. He immediately clicked with tennis. He recalls his high school tennis coach as ‘very supportive, which contributed to his passion for the sport.’ This manifests in his commitment to coaching the teams, as he strives to instill a lifetime of tennis in students not only in the competitive aspect, but also from the values that tennis teaches.
Coach Caffrey infuses life skills that the sport teaches, describing it as “a lifelong sport.” The skills you learn as a Lady Dragon can be applied throughout a lifetime. He mentions that ‘tennis is a game of etiquette.’ Tennis’ unique game customs surprisingly reflect mannerisms you can use in social situations.
It also teaches resilience and patience. Coach Caffrey recalls that players enter the tennis team as absolute beginners and go on to show exceptional improvement and achievements. The skills they begin to develop in their high school years only continue to evolve throughout their college life. The girls’ tennis team in particular created qualities in players that have both propelled and allowed for bounds that may have otherwise been viewed as impossible.
Aside from the sport itself, he suggests being on a team of any sort is beneficial to teens. ‘Any situation where students are gathering together outside as a community is beneficial,’ he says. He highlights how being on a team allows students to grow in a social aspect, as he reflects on what he observes in both the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams. “It’s always nice to see friendships occurring among the players who would have never interacted otherwise,” Coach Caffrey says. The tennis team provides students with a community of support and encouragement.
Expecting renovations to the school’s tennis courts since 2020, the teams still experience a commute from the school to the local tennis courts, which are 30 minutes away on public transportation. However, this is only a testament to the dedication and endurance of the Dragons.
Look out for the PSAL boys’ tennis season starting in March.
