Jerry Pate in Final Season at CSAS

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Jerry Pate has been coaching and/or playing tennis for a more than half a century and he feels it’s time to step aside. At least from the coaching aspect of the game.

 

Now in his 23rd and last season as boys’ and girls’ tennis coach at Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, Pate has developed CSAS into one of the top A-AA net programs in the area.

 

"Coach Pate has done an outstanding job with our tennis program over the years, is a great role model for our students and will be greatly missed," said CSAS athletics director Mark Dragoo.

 

Known as the godfather of tennis on the 3rd street campus, Pate has his boys’ team at 6-0 this season after a school-best district, region and sectional title run a year ago and a spot in the BlueCross Spring Fling A-AA state tournament in Murfreesboro.

 

The 2012 girls' team is 3-3 and led by seniors Maria Allen and Cindy Ormaza

 

“Up to now, the 2011 team is my best boys’ squad (11-2 and state quarterfinalist) and hopefully this year’s team can duplicate that effort and make a return trip to the state,†said Pate who played high school tennis for Austin High in Knoxville in the late 1950s.

 

The Knoxville native had planned to retire from teaching and coaching last season, but his players thought otherwise.

 

“We wanted him to coach us through our senior year and we were able to convince him to come back for one more season,†said current senior Jackson Lenoir who has played No.1 singles for Pate for four years and has signed scholarship papers to played tennis next year at Milligan (Tenn.) College.

 

Pate taught required courses in physics and calculus for 25 years at CSAS, and his high level courses have reaped dividends on the court as the current seniors have done more adding than subtracting and made more accurate than inaccurate deductions on the location of their ground strokes and overheads resulting in an impressive 46-6 win-loss total in four years going into Monday’s district home match with Chattanooga Central.

 

“Collegedale Academy is always tough and CCS is undefeated in their district so we will most likely have to beat both those teams in the playoffs,†stated Pate who earned a B.S. and a master’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee.

 

Pate’s girls’ teams have also had success in recent years with district titles in 2007-08, while the Kelly sisters (Kayla and Ahmee) won state doubles crowns in 2009-10.

 

The Kelly sisters are now sophomores at Milligan College and along with older sister, Albany, (who also played at CSAS), have led the Buffaloes to a third straight women’s tennis conference title this spring.

 

“I am sure that next February (the start of tennis practice) I will probably have that interest to get out on the court and coach, but I feel this is the right time to step aside and let someone else coach these teams,†Pate said.

 

“There is plenty of talent returning next season on both the boys’ and girls’ teams for the next coach to keep things going in the right direction.â€

 

Pate and his players are working hard for the next six weeks to make sure this year’s team continues to move in the right direction for a return trip to the state tournament.

 

story also posted on chattanoogan.com

 

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net

Edited April 12, 2012 by bbb