MONROE - As Monroe's Jim Bartholf prepares brackets for the 40th annual city singles tournament, he recalls how rewarding a family sport like tennis has become.
Bartholf was inducted into the Wisconsin Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame in 2009. He has been the director of the tennis tournaments in conjunction with he Monroe Parks and Recreation Department for 40 years. He ran three tournaments for three summers on his own before he organized the first tennis tournament with the department in 1972.
"I wanted to get them at 9 or 10 playing competitive tennis," Bartholf said. "I wanted to get some interest with the kids 14 and under. I wanted to get a feeder program going so by the time they got to high school they had some experience."
Bartholf has been a fixture in the tennis scene in Monroe for almost a half a century. His successes in 44 years as the Monroe's boys tennis coach and 17 years as girls tennis coach include winning 28 combined Badger Conference titles, winning the WIAA boys Division 2 state championship in 1996; and having two girls state runners-up teams.
Bartholf compiled a dual match record of 365-110 and had at least one player in the state tournament in 42 of the 44 years he coached. He focused on getting kids under 14 to play tennis. The tennis lessons taught to children decades ago weren't enough for Bartholf. He wanted to keep the passion for tennis going.
"Once the lessons were over, kids didn't pursue tennis because there wasn't anything to play in," he said. "I think in the long run it helped my teams. It got them interested and enthused about high school tennis."
He started several tennis tournaments with the singles tournament being one of the most popular. At its peak the city singles tournament would draw 120 tennis players and was played over three days, Bartholf said.
The singles tournament now draws 40 to 45 players and is played over two days. There is a men's Class A division, for experienced players and a men's Class B division for intermediate players. There are also Class A and B Divisions for women.
Bartholf said the numbers for the singles tournament have been down over the last few years because there's so many other sports options for kids - from softball to baseball and basketball summer leagues.
"There are just so many things going for these kids that tennis kind of has to take a backseat," he said.
Bartholf said the tennis-playing families he's worked with remain memorable to him. He recalls Peter Mueller, who won 25 to 30 singles titles.
"He was the best tennis player we have ever had in this tournament," he said. "He was ranked top 10 in the state at the time."
Bartholf said some families kept producing good tennis players, including the Deignan, Stormont and Milz families.
"It's kind of a family sport," he said.
Al Schroeder has won five straight Monroe Class A Men's singles tournament titles. And he is the favorite to win a sixth consecutive championship. Schroeder defeated Kevin Monahan 6-1, 6-3 for the title last year. Schroeder and Monahan have met in the championship match five times. The last time Schroeder lost at the all-city singles tournament came in 2005 when Monahan beat him in three sets to win the championship.
There is still time to sign-up for the city singles tournament. The deadline to register is noon Friday.
"I think Al is the bet to take that again," Bartholf said of the men's Class A title.
However, the field will be filled with top singles player including Ben Main, who was an Illinois state tennis qualifier as a No. 1 doubles player one year ago. Main won two matches at the tournament last year before he had to go to the University of Illinois for freshman orientation. The other top contenders include Joe Soddy and Carson Root.
"We have a lot of talent," Bartholf said. "Al probably has the inside edge. It will be very competitive."
Bartholf was inducted into the Wisconsin Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame in 2009. He has been the director of the tennis tournaments in conjunction with he Monroe Parks and Recreation Department for 40 years. He ran three tournaments for three summers on his own before he organized the first tennis tournament with the department in 1972.
"I wanted to get them at 9 or 10 playing competitive tennis," Bartholf said. "I wanted to get some interest with the kids 14 and under. I wanted to get a feeder program going so by the time they got to high school they had some experience."
Bartholf has been a fixture in the tennis scene in Monroe for almost a half a century. His successes in 44 years as the Monroe's boys tennis coach and 17 years as girls tennis coach include winning 28 combined Badger Conference titles, winning the WIAA boys Division 2 state championship in 1996; and having two girls state runners-up teams.
Bartholf compiled a dual match record of 365-110 and had at least one player in the state tournament in 42 of the 44 years he coached. He focused on getting kids under 14 to play tennis. The tennis lessons taught to children decades ago weren't enough for Bartholf. He wanted to keep the passion for tennis going.
"Once the lessons were over, kids didn't pursue tennis because there wasn't anything to play in," he said. "I think in the long run it helped my teams. It got them interested and enthused about high school tennis."
He started several tennis tournaments with the singles tournament being one of the most popular. At its peak the city singles tournament would draw 120 tennis players and was played over three days, Bartholf said.
The singles tournament now draws 40 to 45 players and is played over two days. There is a men's Class A division, for experienced players and a men's Class B division for intermediate players. There are also Class A and B Divisions for women.
Bartholf said the numbers for the singles tournament have been down over the last few years because there's so many other sports options for kids - from softball to baseball and basketball summer leagues.
"There are just so many things going for these kids that tennis kind of has to take a backseat," he said.
Bartholf said the tennis-playing families he's worked with remain memorable to him. He recalls Peter Mueller, who won 25 to 30 singles titles.
"He was the best tennis player we have ever had in this tournament," he said. "He was ranked top 10 in the state at the time."
Bartholf said some families kept producing good tennis players, including the Deignan, Stormont and Milz families.
"It's kind of a family sport," he said.
Al Schroeder has won five straight Monroe Class A Men's singles tournament titles. And he is the favorite to win a sixth consecutive championship. Schroeder defeated Kevin Monahan 6-1, 6-3 for the title last year. Schroeder and Monahan have met in the championship match five times. The last time Schroeder lost at the all-city singles tournament came in 2005 when Monahan beat him in three sets to win the championship.
There is still time to sign-up for the city singles tournament. The deadline to register is noon Friday.
"I think Al is the bet to take that again," Bartholf said of the men's Class A title.
However, the field will be filled with top singles player including Ben Main, who was an Illinois state tennis qualifier as a No. 1 doubles player one year ago. Main won two matches at the tournament last year before he had to go to the University of Illinois for freshman orientation. The other top contenders include Joe Soddy and Carson Root.
"We have a lot of talent," Bartholf said. "Al probably has the inside edge. It will be very competitive."
