SSN Coach Profile: Kirk Webber, boys and girls tennis
September 2, 2020
Kirk Webber has been coaching at HSE High School since the 2006 season.
Like many of his colleagues, his coaching career began with little knowledge of what the program would like years from then. He coached freshman basketball in 2005 and then switched to coaching tennis until 2013 where he became the Girls Head Coach and the Boys Head Coach.
Since the beginning, Webber has strived for success. He has led the girls to win the sectional championship 6 years in a row and has led the boys to 4 sectional championships.
Webber is a part of the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association and also works on Clinics for the Girls Tennis team. Webber is a two-time recipient of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference Coach of the Year award.
Webber became a coach after many years of being involved in athletics himself. During high school, he played numerous different sports, including Golf and Basketball. But what inspired him to begin his coaching career was his dad, who from a young age was involved in his basketball years in high school. “He is a Bobby Knight king of guy, that’s how I describe him when he coached sports.”
Over the years, Webber has shown his players that high school athletics are more than just the competition, he believes they help to get the players physically and emotionally tougher while making sure to have some fun while playing. Webber is a coach that helps the players add to their work ethic, sportsmanship, and teamwork. After being a coach for so long, he still pushes them to work hard and to win together as a team, or lose together as a team.
Before every game he brings the team together and lets them know regardless of what they know or think heading into the courts, they should still strive to do their best and work hard.
One of the many highlights Webber has experienced over the years is when one of his freshman players came back to win the sectional championship 5-0. Moments like those are why Webber pushes his players to their fullest potential. Without his encouragement, giving up would be easy.
Although Tennis is his main source of recreation, Webber also dabbles in playing the ukulele, guitar, and piano. His favorite math class to teach is Geometry and he loves spending time with his 2 kids. Sometimes Webber can be found riding around his neighborhood on his electric scooter. On the weekends, he will occasionally spend time out in the woods camping or playing Tennis.