After playing tennis competitively growing up and receiving hours upon hours of coaching and support, Torey Wahlstrom wanted to give back and pass along all that she’s learned.
Her way of doing this? Serving as the new head coach of the Chapel Hill women’s tennis team.
In her first year at Chapel Hill High School, Wahlstrom found immediate success, leading the Tigers to a winning record while learning, building chemistry and having fun.
“I feel lucky to work with a team of girls who seem to naturally be inclusive and supportive of each other,” Wahlstrom said.
What makes Wahlstrom’s success even more impressive is that Wahlstrom has never coached tennis before.
Wahlstrom started her tennis career at a young age, playing on grass courts with a wooden racket and then growing into a varsity player in high school.
But Wahlstrom didn’t pursue the sport past high school until, 35 years later during the pandemic, she decided to pick up the racket once again, playing in competitive United States Tennis Association leagues locally.
It turns out Wahlstrom wasn’t too rusty, as she qualified for nationals in her first year.
In her first year as the Tigers’ women’s tennis coach, Wahlstrom led the team to an 11-7 record, though she didn’t make winning the team’s priority .
“For my first year, if all the girls have had fun and learned something that will help them as adults, [I’m] happy,” Wahlstrom said.
Wahlstrom said that players were able to form a strong bond pretty early in the season.
After the Tigers picked up their first win in a 6-3 victory versus Seaforth High School on August 14, they went back to the team bus to go home.
Wahlstrom was astonished to witness what she did.
“When I stepped on the bus, all the girls were singing an Adele song together. It was kind of funny, and, at the same time, they were singing quite beautifully,” Wahlstrom said. “For me, the magic of sport is those moments of bonding.”
Wahlstrom’s coaching style, which prioritizes fun and learning over winning, worked out as the Tigers secured third place in the DAC-VII conference, going 6-4 in conference play.
Senior captain Genevieve Lithgow played a huge role in this success, going 3-0 in singles play and 5-1 in doubles play with her partner, junior captain Olivia Fox.
The main trait Wahlstrom wants her players to take away from her coaching is tenacity, which she views as a key quality for developing tennis skills.
“Learning to be resilient and bounce back quickly is a super helpful skill, and tennis gives you a lot of opportunities to practice it,” Wahlstrom said.
Besides the goal of the girls having fun and learning, Wahlstrom also hopes her players can improve on footwork and doubles skills.
“Coach Walhstrom brings a lot of expertise from tennis, which allows her to teach us strategy and skills that pertain to these abilities,” Fox said.
The team featured four seniors complemented by another four juniors and three sophomores, so the Tigers should have no trouble with adjusting to the departure of graduates for the upcoming season.
Additionally, the players on the team said they’ve enjoyed Wahlstrom’s unique coaching style throughout the season, which should contribute to more success down the line.
“Coach Wahlstrom is a super enthusiastic and caring coach,” senior captain Anna Taub said. “She is very supportive and committed to the team.”
