Chris Caporale, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
BRIAN BEYER
Former Shawano tennis coach Brian Beyer, who spent one year in the school district coaching both the boys and girls teams over the 2015-16 season, has resigned from his coaching positions as well as his fifth-grade teaching position at Olga Brener Intermediate School, effective June 3.
The boys tennis team had seven first-year players on its roster and managed to take third place in the Bay Conference. Over the course of the season, Beyer said he was able to see improvements, especially in the No. 2 (Carter Peplinski/Ceasar Ramirez) and No. 3 (Chris Black/Donald Chen) doubles teams, both of which placed third at the conference meet.
“These guys came out to practice every day and enjoyed practice. It’s something that’s contagious,” Beyer said. “They wanted to get better. They wanted to be out here and have fun.”
The fall he spent with the girls tennis team will also follow Beyer wherever he goes next, he said.
“What you mostly remember is the time you spent with them and even as something as simple as going out to dinner after a weekend meet,” Beyer said. “Those are the things you always remember how you felt about a group, and I always felt respected and appreciated when I worked with the girls.”
Beyer, who completed his sixth year as a varsity tennis head coach, believes he might be back coaching as soon as next fall, if he’s able to find a position that suits him.
“My goal is to figure out what I want to do professionally and keep tennis a part of my life,” Beyer said.
With a few more years in Shawano, Beyer believes he could have turned the Shawano tennis program into conference contenders.
It also bodes well for the future coach, as Beyer said the the teams both competed in every single match at the end of the season, not letting the opposition dominate them.
“I think both the girls and the boys teams are poised to compete for conference titles next year,” Beyer said. “We have some good competition in our conference, but I really felt like we could have turned this into a winning, championship program, just given a little more time.”