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In 22 years as a tennis coach at Pratt High School, Mike Harvey’s players had considerable success. On Saturday, it was the coach in the spotlight when he was inducted into the Kansas Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame at a ceremony at Crestview Country Club in Wichita.
In his acceptance speech, Harvey said he never stopped to think, “Wow, if I did this or I did that, I would surely get into the Kansas Coaches Hall of Fame. What I did try to do every single day was improve each individual player, not only in ability, but also in self-control and self esteem.”
Coach Gary Bittner from Claflin, who nominated Harvey for the honor, told him that the Pratt team was never rebuilding, just reloading.
“It meant we had a natural intimidation, which is a good thing,” Harvey said. “We didn’t have to say a word...just show up and play with consistency.”
Consistency was what he impressed upon his players — that and working hard enough at home to make the tournament wins look easy.
He coached sons, Chad and Brian, and cut them no slack.
“I guarantee I was always harder on them than any other player,” he said. “I overheard Brian saying one night to a teammate during a particularly hard practice session, ‘yeah, but I have to go home with him!’”
“He was tough, but he was consistent,” said Courtney Olsen Doll, Wichita, who played tennis from 1991-95.
As she talked with other players of the era, they had the same thought: “He worked us hard, but we really had a lot of fun. He pushed us to be better and believed in us when we probably didn’t believe in ourselves.
“For a lot of players he was more than a coach, he was another parental figure,” Doll said. “He was boss for some of us (as manager at the swimming pool) and that was the best job to have in Pratt.
“He’s very deserving of the honor,” she said. “He had such an impact on so many students as a tennis coach, art teacher and pool manager. It’s nice to see him recognized.”
Harvey is the second Pratt coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Walter Blake, for whom the Blake Tennis Complex at Graves Park is named, was inducted in 1998.
Inducted along with Harvey on Saturday were Charles “Goose” Doughty Jr., Friends University, Heights, Northwest and Southeast Wichita High Schools and John Markham, Goddard High School.
Doughty, a former Harlem Globetrotter, established a foundation that has held free tennis camps for under-privileged kids in Wichita for 50 years. In his 25-year career, Markham had two state champion teams, 18 Top Eight state finishes, 112 state qualifiers, 10 regional championships and 18 league championships.
In 22 years as a tennis coach at Pratt High School, Mike Harvey’s players had considerable success. On Saturday, it was the coach in the spotlight when he was inducted into the Kansas Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame at a ceremony at Crestview Country Club in Wichita.
In his acceptance speech, Harvey said he never stopped to think, “Wow, if I did this or I did that, I would surely get into the Kansas Coaches Hall of Fame. What I did try to do every single day was improve each individual player, not only in ability, but also in self-control and self esteem.”
Coach Gary Bittner from Claflin, who nominated Harvey for the honor, told him that the Pratt team was never rebuilding, just reloading.
“It meant we had a natural intimidation, which is a good thing,” Harvey said. “We didn’t have to say a word...just show up and play with consistency.”
Consistency was what he impressed upon his players — that and working hard enough at home to make the tournament wins look easy.
He coached sons, Chad and Brian, and cut them no slack.
“I guarantee I was always harder on them than any other player,” he said. “I overheard Brian saying one night to a teammate during a particularly hard practice session, ‘yeah, but I have to go home with him!’”
“He was tough, but he was consistent,” said Courtney Olsen Doll, Wichita, who played tennis from 1991-95.
As she talked with other players of the era, they had the same thought: “He worked us hard, but we really had a lot of fun. He pushed us to be better and believed in us when we probably didn’t believe in ourselves.
“For a lot of players he was more than a coach, he was another parental figure,” Doll said. “He was boss for some of us (as manager at the swimming pool) and that was the best job to have in Pratt.
“He’s very deserving of the honor,” she said. “He had such an impact on so many students as a tennis coach, art teacher and pool manager. It’s nice to see him recognized.”
Harvey is the second Pratt coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Walter Blake, for whom the Blake Tennis Complex at Graves Park is named, was inducted in 1998.
Inducted along with Harvey on Saturday were Charles “Goose” Doughty Jr., Friends University, Heights, Northwest and Southeast Wichita High Schools and John Markham, Goddard High School.
Doughty, a former Harlem Globetrotter, established a foundation that has held free tennis camps for under-privileged kids in Wichita for 50 years. In his 25-year career, Markham had two state champion teams, 18 Top Eight state finishes, 112 state qualifiers, 10 regional championships and 18 league championships.
