For some, it might seem a little odd to see the head coach of the Douglas boys' basketball program roaming the tennis courts at the high school.
But Rob Streeter is plenty familiar with the game. Streeter added girls' tennis coach to his list of duties heading into the 2006-07 school year.
"We're still getting used to each other," Streeter said. "They've all heard the stories about the basketball coach, but it's different out here. The girls have been great so far.
"They're very energetic. They've taken everything I've thrown at them and they've really gotten after it these first few weeks."
Streeter played tennis in college at the University of Montana and then coached a high school team for three years while attending Western Montana.
"I got really involved with the high school up there and that got me into coaching tennis and basketball," he said. "It's not something new, I just haven't done it for the last 11 years or so."
So far, he's stepped up the team's conditioning routine and focused a large portion of practice on perfecting the fundamentals.
"We have a lot of girls who are brand new to the game, so learning the fundamentals is obviously good for them," Streeter said. "But it's great for the returning girls too. We're just getting back to the basics and make sure the ground strokes and everything required to excel at this game is solid.
"We've been tightening up some bad habits they might have picked up over the summer. For the most part, it's just been a process of them getting to know me and me getting to know them.
"As far as conditioning goes, you have to be in shape to get to the ball, so we're just trying to give everyone the best shot possible to compete."
The Lady Tigers return several regional qualifiers and seven starters from last season.
Patricia Salazar leads the charge for the Tigers and will enter her second consecutive year as the team's No. 1 singles player.
Last year's No. 1 doubles squad of Sarah Barnhill and Lauren Seymour return, as does Kristy Jilk who qualified in doubles last year.
Other top returners include Samantha Barns, Morgan Barone, Amanda Lugone and Jonica Hintze.
The team also boasts a class of athletic newcomers, including Paula Sigala, Jenna Dykes, Madison VanderByl, Jackie Sunderland, Amanda Soto, Sophie Lyles, Catelyn Kegg, Cesarina Ceglia and Jessica Adam.
"We should be very competitive," Streeter said. "We want to take what the team did last year and improve on it. We're looking for a couple of regional qualifiers, possibly a state qualifier and hopefully qualifying for the regional playoffs as a team."
The Lady Tigers opened their season Tuesday at home against Spanish Springs and will continue to be home every Tuesday throughout the season. Home matches will be played at the high school.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
