He steps onto the courts for the first time. He is aware of the many legends that have been in the shoes he now fills. Tennis has long been a part of his life, but now he starts a new journey at Texas High School. Although he has high expectations to meet, he stays confident in his skills as a coach, hoping to make his own impact and improve not only this year’s team, but also the entire Tiger Tennis program.

James Sinard has been a major tennis player for most of his life. After being captain of his college team, where he holds five out of eight of their school records, he went on to be the head coach at a 3A school near Corpus Christi. Now, Sinard will be taking on the position as the head tennis coach here at Texas High.

“The amazing tradition and setup really brought me to Texas High,” Sinard said. “The school has a great facility, and the ability to teach tennis classes all day also ensures the future of our program along with having great assistant coaches like Coach Tarwater and Coach Carter.”

Taking on a head coaching job at a new school is difficult enough. Not only that, but Sinard is also replacing the newly retired, Coach John Watson. Watson has been apart of the tiger family for many years, and has won district 25 years in a row.

“It feels reassuring to come in after a great, like Coach Watson,” Sinard said. “The framework has been set for years here, so a tradition has been established. It was very difficult for me to leave my old school, because of everything that we had developed, and my only hope was that someone could come in and at least attempt to keep the program growing. I know that is Coach Watson’s hope, and the coaching staff and I will do everything in our power to keep that going.”

Sinard is not just a lover of the game, but he is a lover of coaching the game as well.

“I love coaching because of the immediate impact we have on our players,” Sinard said. “Tennis tests you in so many ways and it really pushes you beyond what you thought you were capable of. I really enjoy engraving lifelong lessons into the players minds along with helping them develop good morals and ethics.”

Sinard has high hopes about this season, and he feels that as new head coach, there is a lot that he will be able to bring to the team.

“I feel great about this group of players,” Sinard said. “They work extremely hard and have great energy; even in this summer Texas heat. I’ve always cared tremendously about the game and do genuinely care about them, in not only tennis, but in their world outside of it.  My hope for this team is to leave everything we’ve got on the court, with no regrets.  If we do that, we can’t lose.”