GIRLS TENNIS | Varsity

Head Coach: Jeff Niemiec (3rd Season - 16-5 Overall)

Email: jdniemiec1@cps.edu

Conference: Blue Ace

Program Highlights:

Conference Championships: 2018

Coach Niemiec is a life-long recreational tennis player who took over the girls tennis program in 2016 to introduce the sport of tennis to the students of Solorio.  In 2018, the team went undefeated in conference and earned their first ever trip to the Chicago Public League Championship.  His program is partnered with After School Matters and Love to Serve whose instructor, Lori James, has offered our tennis players the opportunity to play and learn tennis year-round.

Coach Niemiec is also the Athletic Director at Solorio and has held that position at the school since 2013.

Getting to know Coach Niemiec:

Why did you get into coaching?

"I started coaching a variety of sports back when I started my teaching career in 2007 and have had to take a step back in recent years.  I have always loved the preparation and creating a team from a group of individuals.  It's always been clear to me that you can take what you learn from athletic competition and incorporate it into all aspects of your life and I have always enjoyed spreading that message."

What are your goals for your program/team?

"Our two goals for every match have always been to have fun and to compete.  If we do those two things we'll be win our fair share of matches and we'll produce life-long tennis players."

What is your favorite part of coaching at Solorio?

"Watching our tennis players start off their freshmen year usually never having played the game before to seeing them improve exponentially through hard work and enthusiasm for the sport is incredibly rewarding."