How Wayne Tanis started up the Hamilton varsity tennis and the effect he had on it.
By Samuel Halstead
In 1963, Wayne Tanis brought an idea to the Board of Education with an offer that could change Hamilton’s sports. The team would only start with 3 courts and eventually convince the board to give them more. Wayne showed commitment during this time to give everything he had to making a tennis team, and his work paid off.
Wayne Tanis struggled to get the Board of Education to agree on making a tennis team, because the athletic funding was not in a good spot during this time. Wayne would not take no for an answer. He went to the board again and told them that he would coach for free, and that they didn’t have to build courts right away.
The board saw the growth that they had and finally decided to give them 6 new courts in 1988.
Later on, Wayne would get inducted into the Hall of Fame for his hard work he did for Hamilton by not giving up after he got rejected the first time. But also the example he set for the kids and coaches.
Wayne started out coaching basketball and would get Coach of the Year after his team won the state championship. Showing that he is not at all new to coaching or even getting rewards.
The only person who could’ve pulled this off is Wayne, and he did an amazing job at it. With his hard work, the Hamilton tennis team has won 8 regional titles, placed 2nd 3 times, and made 8 consecutive appearances at state finals since 1981.
