York Tennis Coach Honored As Assistant Coach Of The Year

ELMHURST, IL — Kara Dollaske, York Community High School counselor and assistant girls' tennis coach has been recognized as Assistant Coach of the Year for girls' tennis by the Illinois High School Tennis Coaches Association. According to the district, Dollaske has served as an assistant girls' tennis coach at York for the last six years.

Some of her team highlights from this past season include:

• Most dual wins in JV1 history (27-2). Went 5-1 in Conference Dual meets.
• Entered conference tournament tied for 2nd place (28 points)
• Placed 2nd in Conference Tournament (40 pts), only 1 point behind the tournament winner.
• Solidified Conference 2nd place position with 68 points.
• All 7 positions advanced forward in the first round of the conference tournament.
• Won York Invite (random draw, 8 team invite) and DGS Doubles Tournament (5 doubles, random draw, head to head winners advance)

Dollaske said in a release this year's season as a special and historic one.

"While we had many great accolades in terms of our match results, what I am most proud of was how the girls worked together as a team," she said. When I first started coaching tennis at York, we had about 50 girls over 3 levels. Since then we have grown to 112 athletes, which brings a great amount of depth and talent to the York program, and also larger numbers to each team."

"I know that my team's success isn't just the direct result of my coaching or their training, but it is an outcome of the strong program that Coach Heimann and my other assistant coaches have built together," Dollaske said in a release. "Success at the top level always starts with a strong program overall and that is what we work hard to create and cultivate at York."

“The one area that sets Coach Dollaske apart from most coaches is her ability to motivate student-athletes. She does not use a 'one size fits all' approach," Head Coach Tres Heimann said about Dollaske. "She values relationships and responsibility and reaches every young lady in a unique way. All athletes respond well to her.”

Photo provided by District 205.