ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997 TAG: 9704240032
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PEARISBURG
SOURCE: CHRIS LANG THE ROANOKE TIMES
Veteran Giles High girls tennis coach Kay Rakes reunites with daughter Pam Monk, her former coaching rival, to give the Spartans a mother-daughter coaching double team.
On the one hand, the Giles Spartans girls tennis team has "Momma Coach."
On the other hand, helping "Momma Coach" at Giles is "Daughter Coach."
And it's all just one happy tennis family, Giles junior Amy Ryder said.
Kay Rakes, aka "Momma Coach" is in her 10th season at the helm of the Spartan tennis squad. Her daughter Pam Monk, formerly the coach at cross-county rival Narrows, is now a volunteer assistant coach for the Spartan squad.
They are former rivals united by the same goal.
"Instead of trying to beat each other we try to beat up on everyone else now," Monk said.
The plan is working. The Spartans were 7-1 on the season going into Tuesday's home match with Three Rivers District foe Glenvar, with the only defeat coming at the hands of perennial powerhouse Radford, 5-4, last week.
The experienced Spartans, with all six seeds back from last season, have benefited from the presence of two coaches on the court this season. Rakes does not have to be in all places at once during matches, and more individual attention is given the players.
"It's helped a lot," said sophomore Holly McCall, the Spartans' No. 3 seed. "On the days that one can't be here, the other one always can. When you have to change over during matches, you don't have to wait for somebody to come over, because one of them is always there."
Monk, having played at Narrows and at Emory & Henry College, has the more tennis expertise of the two, Rakes said.
"I played under a really good coach at Emory & Henry," Monk said of retired coach Elanor Hutton, who was the Division III coach of the year during Monk's freshman year at the school. "It's helped me watch the girls and tell them what they're doing wrong. As far as strategy goes, it certainly helps."
Said Rakes: "If she's not out here [the girls] all want to know 'Where's Pam?' I think they appreciate her expertise out there."
Monk was the coach at Narrows for the past two seasons, but because of the time constraints of a new job, she had to quit the post. But still wanting to coach, she found that helping her mother at Giles was the best answer.
"I'm on the road at least two days a week this time of year," Monk said. "I can set my own schedule and come here for all the matches and most of the practices. I just couldn't [be a head coach] on my own right now."
With the mother-daughter tandem around at Giles, practices have been more productive and match situations have been much easier to handle.
"Now she can take a group and I can take a group," Rakes said. "With two people, you can do drills on separate courts. It does help the coverage during matches."
Still, the coaching remains the same at Giles. Both Rakes and Monk say that there's no real change in the coaching styles for the team since Monk has joined the staff. That fact probably has a lot to do with just how alike mother and daughter are.
"I think it's worked out well," McCall said. "They're really a lot alike. At least that's the way it seems to me. Right now they're even dressed alike."
The Giles players can remember last season, when Monk's Narrows team and Rakes' Giles squad met. Both women are very competitive, but on the tennis court that day, a fun atmosphere prevailed.
"There wasn't really any tension," McCall said. "It was fun. Before the match, Pam told me how my [opponent] played, so it kind of helped."
Said Monk: "When I played against her when she was coaching, now that was a little heated."
With Radford set for the return match with Giles in Pearisburg next week, Ryder stressed the importance of the family theme with this team.
"We all call coach Rakes "Momma Coach" because she makes us food before the matches," Ryder said. "And we call Pam "Daughter Coach." And they joke around a lot and tease us and kid with us. We're like a big tennis family."
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM THE ROANOKE TIMES. Pam Monk (left) and herby CNBmother, Kay Rakes, talk to Michele Johnston after her match. color.