Bob Behrens played tennis as a student at Nathan Hale High School 30 years ago. Now he's back at Hale for more tennis, but this time as the head coach.A 1976 Hale graduate, Behrens has been hired to coach the Nathan Hale Raiders tennis team.According to Nathan Hale's athletic director Hoover Hopkins, it was a combination of Behrens' professional tennis experience, his work as a voluntary assistant to the team and a strong recommendation by his high-school coach - who is still at Hale - that motivated his hiring. GETTING BACK INTO TENNISAfter graduating from high school, Behrens went straight into teaching tennis professionally. He worked in the business for 20 years until health issues and the need for greater financial security made him decide to move into the insurance industry."I'm old; I'm 50. Things happen," he said.Things came full circle for Behrens in spring 2006, when his daughter, Sara Behrens, entered Nathan Hale as a freshman. She wanted to play tennis at the school, so Bob Behrens volunteered with the team. This began his unofficial coaching for two years before becoming the official coach this season."Being around the high school tennis team has basically got me back into tennis," he said.Many teenagers would loathe seeing their parents at school, but for Sara Behrens, having her dad as the coach has worked out well."It's kind of nice, actually," Sara Behrens said. When she needs to work on her responsibilities as one of four team captains, she said she can "just yell down the hall."The Behrens live two miles from the school, in Wedgwood. Bob Behrens grew up in the area and is still connected to people at the school."The school looks very similar," Behrens said. "The tennis coach I had is still there."He was referring to Gary Case, who is currently a physical education teacher at Nathan Hale. Hopkins called Case "the tennis guru of the Seattle School District."'ONE OF THE BEST'The Raiders are a young, inexperienced group. They have no seniors with varsity experience on the team. Even so, the team is off to a good start, undefeated so far this season. "Hale will be one of the best - if not [the] best - of the public schools [for tennis] in Metro League," Behrens predicted. The caveat is "public schools" because the private schools in the Metro league like Seattle Prep are more competitive. Seattle Prep is a favorite for state, according to Behrens. Last year, Seattle Prep's boys finished second in team scoring.Nathan Hale boasts the highest athletic participation rate among Seattle high schools, according to Hoover.Behrens said 72 percent of all students participate in sports at Nathan Hale. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the national rate of high school athletic participation was 53.5 percent in the 2005-06 school year.Behrens wants to increase the level of involvement and excitement of the tennis program. The team has hosted barbecues during the home games and plans to do so for future home games.[[In-content Ad]]
