Roets: The Do It All Teacher

By Grant Anderson

At Wethersfield High School there is fabulous English teacher who is loved by all the kids in school. He currently teaches English Honors and ECE Composition while directing all plays and coaching boys tennis. This man is Mr. Roets aka "Roets".
    Roets began his coaching career here at Wethersfield High School in the 1998 season. This is the beginning of long and decorated career which includes a couple state championships. The reason that Roets wanted to become a tennis coach was because he has a genuine love for tennis. With coaching he saw the chance to keep himself involved in the sport. “I love the sport, and I love sharing the sport.”  
    Most coaches teach the skills and tactics of the game and just want wins,  but this is where Roets gets set apart from the pack. “Wins and loses matter, but the relationships are what really matter to me.” By taking this approach, Roets builds strong relationships which helps him know how to deal with each of the players.  Everyone knows the right way to deal with their friends in certain situations because they know them. Roets knows what to do with his players because he knows them at a friendship level.
    After all these years Roets has made some truly special relationships. He plays doubles year round with two of his past students. He will also go and hit with some of his past players and even referred to the players’ kids as his grandchildren.
    Relationships are what Roets cares about, but do not think that means he can't teach the sport itself. The tennis season at a public school gets going very quick. There is only about three weeks of practice before the matches start. In Roets’ opinion “There is so little time for skills.” Even in this short amount of time, Roets manages to get his players ready for matches and develops them throughout the season
Every fantastic coach hasn't mastered all aspects of coaching. “Teaching the mental game is hard, it requires a buy in from the player.”  In tennis, the mental aspect is the toughest to master and mostly has to do with the player.
    Roets is remembered as a great coach to all his players because truly they think of him more as a friend than a teacher. Roets is the coach that you can ask for advice on your serve or you could ask him for advice on college or problems with your friends and that is what makes him a special coach.  
    Check out his tennis site here https://whsroets.weebly.com/ 
    

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