Moore County tennis left without a court

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Moore County tennis has built itself into a competitive program without ever having its own courts. Now even the borrowed home is gone.

The Raiders have been playing and practicing at Lakewood Country Club in Tullahoma, but Tullahoma’s growing tennis program now needs the space. That leaves Moore County looking for somewhere to practice and, come spring, somewhere to play its home matches.

The problem came before the Moore County Board of Education during its Monday, Sept. 14, meeting, when District 4 member Kaleigh Hatfield said the school system needs to start looking for an answer.

“It’s obviously a concern; the tennis programs are currently doing well,” Hatfield said. “It’s going to be a big undertaking, but we need to start those discussions.”

Coach Manny Buchanan told the Observer last week there are no hard feelings toward Lakewood.

“I appreciate what Lakewood did for us,” Buchanan said. “They let us put in sweat equity – stain the deck, maintain the porch, whatever. It’s just the way it is. If the situation were reversed, obviously we would take care of our own family, too.”

Buchanan said his players understood from the beginning that they were guests and tried to treat the property that way.

“Since we’ve been at Lakewood, I’ve told the kids to try to act right, dress right, be respectful, no loud music when we’re practicing,” he said. “But now we’ve been moved out, but not for anything stupid, not for anything we did wrong.”

Practice is the first problem

Right now, Moore County needs somewhere to practice. Hosting matches is another matter. Hatfield said the program needs at least four courts available for home play, something Moore County does not currently have.

“You have to have four courts available, at least,” she said. “The biggest issue right now is finding a place to be able to practice.”

The courts at Wiseman Park do not offer an easy answer. Hatfield said they have dealt with flooding and were vandalized at least a couple of summers ago.

“I’m not sure that it was ever repaired or that they can even use it,” she said. “So it’s an issue.”

Another possibility at Motlow State Community College is no longer available after the former court area was cleared and graveled for additional parking.

Board members also revisited the possibility of eventually building courts on school property near the cafeteria side of campus. That would give the program something it has never had – a home of its own – but getting there would require a broader discussion about where the courts could go and how the project would be funded.

For Buchanan, the concern is simpler. His players need somewhere dependable to get on a court. “I don’t want the program to die,” Buchanan said. “It’s hard enough to have a good program whenever you thrive.”

He added that discussion around building on-campus courts “might be a good thing in the long run.”