POULSBO — While his older brother Jared is throwing pigskins for touchdowns in leading North’s football team, Jordan Prince is causing a stir on the nearby tennis courts.
The junior tennis player is vying for the top singles of the NK boys’ tennis team this season. But the good news for the Vikings is about a dozen of the varsity players are situated not far behind Prince, on a team where depth is its strongest asset.
“We’re going to be solid,” said Vikes head coach Jay DeVries. “We’ll be as deep as we’ve been since I’ve been here.”
DeVries has been with the team four years and is now beginning to see the players he began coaching as freshmen mature into seasoned netters.
“These are my kids,” he commented. “I’ve now had them the entire time.”
Prince is eyeing the No. 1 singles position this year and said his goal individually is to attain at least a .500 win percentage over the course of the season.
It will take some work, he admitted, primarily on his net game.
“If I’ve got good volleys I could come to the net and put them away,” Prince added.
But DeVries said Prince, as well as any player, could take the spotlight this year. The team lacks a bonafide “superstar” DeVries said, but it can make up ground in team competitions, and can compete for the Narrows title head-to-head with other squads in the league.
The team lost a large portion of seniors from a year ago, including players Dan Peck and Spencer Thomas. But hard work and a love for the game could see its team members become replacements for the seniors — or fare even better than its predecessors.
“We lost a lot of players,” said the Vikings’ Evan Faulk. “But I think we could do pretty well if we work hard.”
“These guys are all hard working,” added new assistant coach Chad Gillespie. “They’re young but they’ve got a good work ethic.”
And above all else, DeVries said the team has the most important attribute for success, as well as making his time as a coach all the more enjoyable.
“They’ve got the fever,” DeVries said. “This is a group that loves to play tennis.”
