By Eva Siminiceanu

If you ever need a tennis coach, a soccer goalie, someone to tell you about World War II General Douglas MacArthur, or a movie recommendation, you would need to look no further than Collegiate’s tennis courts. Every member of Collegiate’s tennis team this fall, myself included, knows that if they need help with any of those topics, a suitable place to start would be consulting with assistant coach Mike Finsterwald, known as “Coach Mike.”

Finsterwald (left) playing in a soccer game for Fairleigh Dickinson University. Photo courtesy of Mike Finsterwald.

Finsterwald was born in Queens, New York and attended high school in New Jersey. He studied history and government at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. He played in semi-professional soccer leagues, but that was not a stable career. Players were paid per game based on results and performance, so it was not steady or reliable. He joined the Army Reserves and “worked in retailing for 36 years, with the first 15 years at Gimbels,” a department store in New York. He also likes to read, saying that his favorites tend to be mysteries and bestsellers. A fun fact that he likes to share is that he attended the famous 1969 Woodstock music festival, and it was “a good time” because he “left before the rains came.” 

Finsterwald says that he “naturally gravitated to tennis as an adult after playing competitive table tennis as a youngster.” He was coaching tennis at Raintree Swim & Racquet Club in Richmond when a friend who was coaching at Collegiate referred him to Collegiate’s tennis team, which was in need of a coach. For the past six years, he has been co-coaching Collegiate’s girls’ varsity tennis team with great success in both the VISAA and LIS leagues, with multiple first-place wins in both. Last year, the team secured first place in both leagues for the second year in a row and is currently aiming for a third.

The 2022 varsity girls tennis team after winning both the LIS and state championships. Photo credit: @cougarsrva on Instagram.

When asked what he felt contributed to this success, he said that the team is “made up of good players.” He believes that a successful coach “lets the players bloom and lets their talents flow.” On the team, there is a wide range of playing styles and player types, from hard-hitting, aggressive players to consistent players who can outlast and outrun their opponents. The team environment allows each player to enhance their strengths and also improve on their weaknesses, creating a lineup of players who are different, yet strong in their own styles. 

On match day, you can often find him on the edge of a court, giving advice to a player as they take a break. Co-captain Elizabeth Mendoza (’24), who has been coached by Finsterwald for the past five tennis seasons, says that he’s “always been there during my matches supporting me and helping me make better choices.” When he’s not advising a player, Finsterwald can be seen on the sidelines analyzing our team members’ decisions and preparing for the next break. His tennis advice extends beyond match days. He often refers to a book by famous coach Nick Saviano, Maximum Tennis, to impart small pieces of wisdom during practice through quotes that help each player improve on their skills.

The flagpole overlooking the courts at Collegiate’s tennis center. Photo credit: Eva Siminiceanu.

However, tennis wisdom is not the only type of wisdom Finsterwald has to offer. Team member Olivia D’Ambrosia (’24) says, “he’s changed my perspective on lots of things because he’s… wise and always has really fun and inspiring things to say.” Whether he is including a reference to Pavlov’s dogs in a lesson about doubles strategy, or using the flag outside the tennis house to teach me about the impact of north and south-blowing winds on outside temperature, he always has things to teach the team, even when we’re not playing. Just like we are all allowed to “bloom” and grow into our own styles of play, we can also learn special facts about life and the world outside of tennis. 

Throughout the season, we will often hear references to the tennis world outside of Collegiate. Our coaches have witnessed many changes in professional tennis throughout the past few decades, notably the decline of the ‘serve-and-volley’ style as strategy and the changes in equipment that have led to stronger shots. This knowledge gives them the ability to constantly enhance discussions of strategy and technique with examples from the latest trends in professional tennis.

Modern tennis styles tend to favor strong serves. Photo Credit: Brendan Dennis on Wikimedia Commons

When asked about the future of tennis, Finsterwald predicts a continuation of the current trend—serves and groundstrokes will continue to get stronger, as will the players. However, he hopes that even as the strength and power of players continues to increase, the finesse aspect of tennis—strategic and unconventional shots like drop shots and lobs—is not lost. Fittingly, he says his favorite shot is a drop volley, a shot where the ball is taken out of the air and hit lightly with a combination of spin and angle to place the ball in a spot in the court that is ideally too close to the net for the opponent to reach. Drop volleys require precision, control, and confidence, which are all emphasized on our team. 

The more unconventional shots are valued the same as the foundational shots, and every common playing style is represented on our team. Because of that, we are each given a wider and more open perspective to the sport of tennis. When it comes to the team members, we can always feel confident in the particular way we play. When it comes to real life, we can always feel confident in our knowledge of pieces of history and references to older pop culture. When we go out to play, the last thing that Coach Mike tells us is usually “Believe you can, then you will,” a quote he always credits to the tv gameshow Wheel of Fortune. Despite that credit, the team will always attribute that brand of optimism, wisdom, and confidence to Coach Mike. 

Featured image credit: Eva Siminiceanu.