Emilyn Callado gets out of class with 40 minutes to get the kids to their last tennis match of the season.

She has to pick up the kids in two carloads because her van order was lost. Stressed out over school projects and matches, she keeps on pushing because she knows it is important to the kids.

Callado, an SF State geology and biology major, began coaching the boys and girls tennis teams at Oceana High School in Pacifica after budget cuts in 2003 threatened to take one of the last three sports left at the school.

“I keep coming because I know that they want to play, and that it’s an important part of growing up,” Callado said, as she watched the kids start their matches against South San Francisco High School last Friday.

Callado played tennis during her junior and senior years at Oceana. She graduated in 2002.

“We used to have lots of sports but slowly, one by one, they got pulled until we only had basketball, volleyball and tennis,” Callado said. “Right after I graduated, tennis was going to be cut unless they could find a coach.”

That’s when an old teammate asked her to coach the team.

“I was really excited and honored and wanted to save the program,” Callado said.
Callado is not the average coach who is consumed with winning. She coaches her kids with a more relaxed and fun method that she said she hopes will teach them there’s more to sports than just winning.

“I don’t know much about coaching, so I try to teach them what I know is important,” Callado said.

Callado said that wins and losses aren’t important to her as long as the boys and girls are having fun and giving it their all.

“She supports us no matter what,” Nolan Rosquites, 15, said. “She wants us to have fun, and lets us play how is comfortable to us.”

Callado has experienced a few hurdles since she began coaching for Oceana, citing the difficulties of really communicating with her students.

“There are a few kids who just don’t communicate with me about schedules and practices and will just not show up for a match,” Callado said. “I try and get them to think about the whole team and show them that it isn’t only about them.”

Since Callado is only a few years older than some of the kids, she has noticed that some don’t take her as seriously because of her age.

“They look at me as a peer, not as a coach, so some kids will tell me what they think we should be doing in practice,” Callado said.

Some of her other players think youth is a positive asset to her coaching.

“Emilyn doesn’t force us to do anything we don’t want to,” said Mary Rakin, 17. “I can talk to her (Callado) about my game or how I can improve. I feel really comfortable with her.”

Funding the program has been a challenge. Callado is responsible for any purchases like balls and uniforms, and though the school must approve all her purchases beforehand, she pays for equipment and is reimbursed by the school.

“We are short on tennis balls, so after every practice, I count how many balls we have,” Callado said. “For every ball missing, the guys (and girls) have to run a lap for each one.”

Besides the rough patches, Callado said she has seen a lot of positive improvements in the kids and thinks it’s all worth it.

Many of the players on the team didn't know how to play tennis in the beginning, so she had to teach them the game from the ground up.

Callado has also seen how the kids have developed more relationships and have huge support systems with each other now.

“The relationships on the team matter more than the wins,” Callado said.
Callado has been coaching for two years now but recently, her school load has been conflicting with her coaching schedule.

“I’m not sure how much longer I will be able to do this for,” Callado said. “I can only do it as long as I can finish school. If it gets too stressful, I may have to change things.”

For now, Callado will continue to coach but she said she is grateful to have been able to keep tennis
going for the kids.

Her players said she’s created a love for tennis in them and that they hope to keep playing after high school.

“After I win all my grand slams, I’ll be a coach too,” Rosquites said, while talking with his teammates during warm-ups.