Girls tennis gets new head coach

Courtney Collins was recently named as the new Sisters High School girls tennis coach, and although she is just 24 years old she brings with her many years of tennis experience.

Collins started playing tennis when she was 4 years old. Courtney was taught by her father, a teaching tennis pro, who has worked with many professional tennis players, including Elena Dementieva, Nate Schnugg, and Kellen Damico, to name a few.

Courtney was home-schooled through junior high to make it easier for her to travel. She traveled all over the country and competed in big international tournaments as a junior tennis player. She would compete every weekend throughout the year, trying to build up points in hopes of getting invited to one of the four international tournaments held in the United States every year.

Only top junior players are invited to the international tournaments, and Collins received invitations to two of the prestigious events. At the Winter Super Nationals held in Tucson, Arizona, Collins, at age 13, won the doubles event and the Gold Ball.

"Anyone who knows anything about tennis knows that winning the Gold Ball is a big deal," said Collins.

Courtney told The Nugget she attended high school to get some social experience. Collins kept competing on an individual basis and also played on the high school tennis team.

"The biggest thing for me in high school was when I was a sophomore and our team took fifth," said Collins. "And, getting fifth in California is a really big deal. California has such a higher level of competition, so getting to state was kind of like going to nationals."

Attending high school proved to take up too much time, and so Collins went back to being homeschooled her junior year. Collins' family moved to Dothan, Alabama, in her junior year. Courtney studied and got her GED and then moved on to compete at the collegiate level in what would have been her senior year of high school.

Courtney attended the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia, due to the fact it is the only art school with an athletic program.

"It was the best of both worlds," said Collins.

Collins pursued a degree in photography and competed as a No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles player all four years. SCAD had a strong tennis team and won district all four years Collins attended. The squad also made it to nationals every year, and was No. 3 in the country.

Courtney graduated in 2012 and immediately became a teaching tennis pro. Collins was hired as the head tennis pro at West Chop Country Club in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

"It was a high-intensity seasonal job," said Collins. "I was on the court from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. six days a week for 12 weeks. It was pretty grueling."

In the fall of 2012, Collins got a position in Indian Wells, California, where she had grown up. She was hired as the tennis pro at the very prestigious Vintage Club, and was there until summer and time to head back to Martha's Vineyard.

The summer season ended and Collins packed up in September, 2013, and moved to Sisters. Courtney was familiar with Sisters and had visited Sunriver many times as a child.

"I remember it being a beautiful place," said Collins. "My grandparents, Jim and Barb Hamilton, moved here two years ago, and so I decided to switch it up and move here and pursue photography. I'm a fine art landscape photographer, and I thought what better place to move than Sisters."

Courtney immediately got a job as a waitress at The Open Door and now has her art on display at Clearwater Gallery, owned by Dan and Julia Rickards.

"Dan and Julia are amazing, and the gallery is right there," said Collins. "They normally don't carry photography, but they have been so supportive of what I do. I feel so lucky to have my work up in their gallery."

Collins will continue to further her career in photography as well as make time to mentor and pour her knowledge and experience of tennis into her players.