Tennis coach wins 4A division honor

Coach Tamzy House

The coach for the Mountain Home Tigers' tennis team was honored by the Third District Coaches Association for Southwest Idaho as the 4A division's girls coach of the year.

Tamzy House received the award during the Spring Sports Banquet, held Oct. 12 at the Rodeo Club in the Idaho Center in Nampa.

In her acceptance speech, House thanked all the coaches, athletic directors and faculty she has worked with over the years. In addition, she especially thanked the students who have been part of the school's tennis team.

"At Mountain Home High School, we have the challenge of having only three courts in the town, none at the high school, no professional tennis instruction available locally, no feeder program in the lower grades and a rotating population due to the military base," House said. "But we do have something very special -- we have kids who are willing to try something new no matter how athletic they are, to work hard, not give up and become part of a lifetime sport community."

The coach added that she remains very proud of the Tiger tennis team, adding that it's been "a great privilege" to work with these teens over the years.

Starting her 12th year as the head coach for the high school tennis squad, House paused to look back at the evolution of tennis in Mountain Home and District 3.

"When I took over the team in the fall of 2005, the overall program was loosely structured, so I brought in the concepts of the United States Tennis Association," she said.

The no-cut coaching program teaches the technical skills, rules, competitive etiquette and fun associated with this lifetime sport.

"With the great help of parks and rec, I also set up a USTA Quick Start tennis program for the young kids of the community, which has been very successful with indoor tennis clinics twice a year and two summer camps," she said.

During this time, the District 3 tennis program was also evolving, she added.

"There was a strong desire to restructure the Idaho high school structure from a combined boys and girls team to individual boys' and girls' teams and still keep the mixed doubles format in the match play," House said. "On top of all that, the IHSAA conference was restructuring into 1A to 5A schools across the state."

House admits she was fortunate for the opportunity to work on the solution that led to the current structure and team scoring format for the 4A schools.

"Since I was also a certified USTA tennis official, I was also able to push through the incorporation of USTA rules of tennis, conduct and etiquette into the district and state play for matches and tournaments, including the role of coaches in enforcing the USTA's 'The Code' for non-officiated matches," she said.

Already looking ahead to next year, House remains excited for the 2017 season.

"I strongly encourage high school students of all grades to consider coming out for tennis," she said. "It is a lot of fun (and) it is a sport you can play the rest of your life."

Open gym starts in January with the season starting the end of February.

"Some kids want to play two sports in the spring, and our program will do our best to accommodate that desire," House said.