From being the assistant coach for the boy’s tennis team to being the head coach of the varsity girl’s tennis team, Dominic Audia has been managing different roles for nine years.

Audia has been a part of the City High tennis community since 2013 and has been playing tennis since he was 12. When the previous City High girl’s varsity tennis coach received a job offer at Iowa City West High School, the job of head coach opened up. Audia went through the application process and received the title of head coach for the City High varsity girl’s tennis team.

Starting this new position meant that Audia was taking on lots of new responsibilities including reporting scores, ordering uniforms, clearing athletes to play, fundraising, and keeping track of finances. With the lack of tennis courts at City High, all four of the junior varsity and varsity teams have had to accommodate by finding other courts to use. Audia has arranged for the varsity girl’s team to use the University of Iowa’s outdoor courts at Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center (HTRC) and the North Dodge courts when the weather requires it. The task for Audia to arrange these courts for the team is not an easy task. He has to make sure the team has enough funds to pay for the courts and has created a partnership with North Dodge to ensure that the team almost always has a place to practice.

Along with his new responsibilities, Audia has been acclimating to coaching a little differently. Girl’s and boy’s tennis have different rules and strategies. The main goal for Audia this season is to teach the team to get up to the net and attack from there. Over the past few months, Audia has noticed a tremendous amount of development amongst the team and individual players. 

Audia has noticed a strong connection between the players on and off the court.

“In doubles, [the team] learns how each other plays,” Audia stated. “They can almost talk telepathically and they know what the other person is going to do.”

While off the courts, Audia has recognized just as equal a relationship between the team.

“They were laughing hysterically for forty-five minutes all the way up to [one of their matches] and forty-five minutes on the way back,” Audia described. “Seems like [the teammates] are all really good friends.”

The increase in players from last season to this season is very exciting for Audia. Last season, only fifteen players between junior varsity and varsity played tennis while this year, there are around forty players between the two teams. This increase in players has accentuated the potential for the team; considering the number of young players on the teams. Putting aside the competition aspect of the sport, Audia focuses on a main goal: having fun.

“It has always been my primary goal to make sure that all the girls develop a lifelong passion [for tennis]. Winning or losing is secondary,” Audia said.

Coach Audia wants his team to enjoy the game, have fun, and continue to play forever.