Kylie Moore is the new head girls’ tennis coach at Effingham, and she is coming with a loaded resume.
Moore — an Evansville, Indiana native — was the No. 1 singles player in Indiana her sophomore season at Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana. She finished the season 21-1, earning a spot on the Indiana All-State Tennis Team.
Moore eventually became the No. 20-ranked player in the Midwest by the time she was a senior and was also the No. 163-ranked player nationally. She attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she played on the tennis team for four years.
Overall, tennis is just in her blood.
“My dad constantly traveled — he worked with a professional tennis player, so I was always around the game, and I traveled with him,” Moore said. “I grew up playing USTA tournaments at 12 and 13. I wanted to get a tennis scholarship, so I dedicated all my junior high and high school time to tennis and traveling. I had an excellent opportunity to meet, coach, and play with all types of people nationwide. I went to Marquette and got a Division-I scholarship there, and then after, I came back to Evansville and began coaching at Tri-State Athletic Club. I worked with the coaches who raised me and helped mentor me. Our job there has been to promote tennis in the Evansville area.”
Moore’s dad, Peter, played tennis collegiately at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
Additionally, Moore said that she has some family members that live in the area, giving her an understanding of the lay of the land, even though she had her worries.
“I was intimidated because there were no indoor tennis courts or facilities, but I thought this was a great area,” Moore said. “There are a lot of great kids here, and I thought this was a good opportunity for me to separate from my club, create my own identity, and build tennis in an area with huge potential.”
The cupboard in her first year at the helm of the Flaming Hearts is far from bare, too.
Effingham only loses two starters from its rotation as the team hopes for another shot at an Apollo Conference Tournament championship and beyond. The Flaming Hearts finished second in the conference tournament last season, losing to Mattoon.
Moore said that she sees a lot of potential in her group and believes that her experience in the game can help.
“With my main experience dealing with elite-level players and player development, my plan with these girls is to put them on that strong, elite-level plan,” Moore said. “We’ve already been doing a lot of mental and physical training; I want to push these girls because I see great potential.”
Moore added that her team has also been receptive to that in her first week of work.
“They’ve been so open, receptive, and respectful,” Moore said. “They’ve been responding well; it’s an exciting thing. This week, I’ve been throwing so much information at them to build a strong structure, but I always tell the girls that to be great tennis players, we have to train like great tennis players.”
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