Price keeps game fun

It’s 3 p.m., the beginning of yet another Monday practice on the tennis courts at Hickman. Weary from a long weekend of gown shopping and other pre-homecoming madness, the Kewpies are reluctant to begin.

Despite the Kewpies’ dawdling, coach Jerry Price isn’t snapping at his team. He’s not barking orders or calling out drills. He’s whistling. Not the Hickman fight song or a shrill call to the courts, either. For Price, it’s the chorus of “Under the Sea,” from the movie “The Little Mermaid.”

It’s not just the little quirks that set Price apart from other members of the coaching fraternity. Unlike many of his colleagues, his philosophy is one of positive reinforcement and downright friendliness. Armed with that philosophy and a healthy dose of perspective, Price creates a warm environment seldom seen in high school athletics.

Although his demeanor suggests apathy to some, Price is anything but soft. His players know not to take advantage of their coach despite his friendliness.

“Yeah,” Kewpies junior Harmony Gutwein said. “I save the attitude for my mom.”

Behind the whistling, the wisecracks and the warmth, Price’s objective is familiar.

“No matter how it looks on the surface,” Price said, “I want to win more than anything.”

As badly as he wants to win, Price is unwilling to sacrifice his players’ experience in exchange for a few more victories.

“You can’t motivate with fear,” he said. “Most of these girls will remember high school tennis for the rest of their lives. As a coach, you can have a great influence.”

Price is determined to make that influence a positive one, and he starts by going beyond the traditional player-coach relationship. He allows his players to call him Jerry or “JP,” noting that it’s not what his players call him, but how they address him that matters.

“You can say ‘Jerry’ very sweetly,” he said, “and you can say ‘coach’ in a very nasty way.”

Price also uses humor in some unlikely situations, using meetings between sets as opportunities to lighten the mood.

“You’ll see when a girl is losing, and I go out to talk to her, she usually comes out laughing,” he said.

Senior Megan Darter has spent three seasons playing for Price, and the two constantly tease one another. She said that while her coach can get serious when necessary, his attitude helps her be comfortable on the court.

“He’s more like a friend,” she said. “You can buddy up with him.”

Freshman Dina Kaissi, the Kewpies’ No. 1 singles player, has played competitive tennis since she was 8. Kaissi said Price is like no coach she’s ever played for.

“My other coaches were really to the point,” she said. “He’s a really good coach, and he makes it fun.”

If Price seems to have his priorities in line, it’s only because he has experienced the darker side of high school sports.

“It’s a very emotional state for parents when they are watching their kids play, and some can turn into real monsters,” he said. “I’ve been there. I’ve worn that parent hat. I’ve been the guy who had to go jog while his daughter played, not wanting to say anything negative.”

For Price, coaching is an ebb-and-flow proposition.

“These players throw curveballs at you all day long,” he said. “Sometimes you swing, sometimes you duck. It’s about confronting the situations that come up.”

According to the coach, those situations are often much more important than hitting topspin on a forehand, or learning how to achieve high net clearance.

“It’s about learning how to handle elation, how to handle disappointment,” he said. “It’s about earning how to handle leadership. You have to realize that these girls have a life outside tennis.”

Price, who is also a travel agent and runs his own business and doesn’t teach at Hickman, said he is thankful for the opportunity to teach the sport he loves.

“I feel really blessed that I can do this,” he said. “This is such a great school, it’s a rare opportunity.”

In the end, though, Price teaches much more than tennis, he teaches life. And for that, he’s not the only one who’s blessed.