Coaches are a large part of student-athletes’ success at WJ. But, there is always one component for an athletes success that doesn’t get appreciated: the teachers who help support athletes. 

The boys tennis team, noticing this pattern, decided to start their own way of recognizing their teachers. They held their own teacher appreciation day, where each athlete chose one teacher they would like to appreciate and gave them a tennis ball to represent the way the teachers have contributed to the students’ athletic success. 

Head coach Chase Rieder began this tradition this season. 

“I’ve done this with my basketball teams, and I observed how important it is to not only build a program, but acknowledge how important staff members are to our student-athletes,” Rieder said. 

Sophomore Ashvin Ellentuck chose to appreciate his Apex English teacher, Sarah Gayman.

“I chose her because she has been a great teacher throughout this school year, and she has always been helpful and flexible as a teacher,” Ellentuck said. 

Appreciating his teacher was not only an exciting moment for Ellentuck but also for Gayman. 

“I thought it was cute. He wrote me a little thank you on a tennis ball and it was a great moment,” Gayman said. “It made me feel really appreciated and recognized, but it also made me feel proud of him and his hard work.” 

After giving their ball to the teachers, each player and their chosen teacher met outside of the main office after school, and all took a photo to later post on social media to show their teacher appreciation to other teams and student-athletes. 

Following the photo, the team went down to the courts to play in their match against Northwest High School, where the teachers were able to watch them secure the 6-1 win.