By Andy Dong
Have you ever heard of a high school tennis team that had 90+ people in it? Probably not. Well, Tony Cherone (Coach Cherone) made it happen. He created a tennis team with 90+ people in it. He also became the coach of the whole town of Collierville, in the suburb of Memphis with ages ranging from 4-70.
Coach Cherone had an unexpected path to becoming a tennis coach. He started to play tennis when he was at the age of 11 years old. He also played tennis when he was in his freshman year at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He later challenged and beat a pro tennis player and got a job as a tennis coach back in Memphis to coach juniors. He said that becoming a coach was just an accident but he liked coaching after his first day of work. His special philosophy is his no-cut policy. “Having a no-cut policy is the foundation for what we do here in Collierville,” said Cherone. “If there is a child or an adult who wants to play, we will be there for them.” Because of this no cut policy, he has coached over 4000 players and he has seen a big increase of the tennis players in the town since he arrived 11 years ago. He manages the scheduling so that every player gets some playing time. His best team won the regional championship for the last 5 years.
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