Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly

Brookfield & Elm Grove The FREEMAN THIS MONTH SPORTS DECEMBER 2013 Inside SECTION B Central's Flatley runs to glory.......................3B Steinbach's life has been all about tennis Central coach picks up 500th career victory with girls team By Daniel Mike Freeman Staff BROOKFIELD – Dave Steinbach never envisioned tennis being a large part of his life. Steinbach was a football and basketball player at Clintonville High School, where he also ran track. He went to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to study biology, physical education and history while also running for the Titans' track and field team. But there was a weekend during which Steinbach did not have a track meet. Instead of sleeping in like most college students might, he decided to find a tennis racket and hit balls against a wall. He had seen a tennis demonstration match the day before, and he was entranced by the sport. That put an idea in his head to swing a racket, and it turned out to be a life-changing moment. "The tennis coach walked by me, saw me hitting and asked if I had an athletic physical," Steinbach said. "He was leaving for Stevens Point in 10 minutes, and his No. 2 guy overslept. He asked me to fill in, and I told him I'd never played more than intramurals. He said it didn't matter; he just needed a body . "I thought, 'If he doesn't care, I don't care either.'" Steinbach was given a uniform, rode the bus to Stevens Point, won his singles match but lost his doubles match. "On the way home, the coach asked if I'd like to join the tennis team," Steinbach said. "I asked for a release from the track program and the coach granted it, allowing me to switch sports midseason." The decision to hit tennis balls against a wall one morning turned into Steinbach's lifelong love for the sport. He played several tournaments after college and still gets out on the court – although now at 77 he doesn't get out as much as he used to. But he's still instilling his love of tennis on the younger generation as the head boys and girls coach at Brookfield Central High School – a position he's held since 1982. He recently surpassed the 500-mark for girls dual-meet victories. "It's all about choices," Steinbach said. "I tell all my athletes about the choices they make. That morning I made the choice between sleeping in or hitting against a wall. That choice changed my whole life, basically ." Steinbach began as a teacher and elementary supervisor in the Elmbrook School District in 1960, and he eventually moved to middle school so he could coach at the high school level. He was a basketball coach at Brookfield East for 17 seasons, and he coached track and field for five. "At that time, I was not interested in tennis because I was a tournament player and wanted to practice my own game," he said. He began coaching freshman tennis at East in 1970, coaching the boys for 10 years and the girls for three. Central called to ask him to coach the boys team in 1982, and shortly afterward the girls position opened up. Steinbach has led the Central girls to 504 dual victories and the boys to 442 dual victories. The Central girls have won 18 conference titles, 20 sectional titles and nine state titles, finishing as the state runner-up seven times. The Central boys have won nine conference titles, 18 sectional titles and four state titles while recording six state runner-up finishes. "I coached at Franklin for a number of years, so I've known him for a long time," said Jon Vogt, a first-year assistant for the Central girls who was also an assistant for the boys in the spring. "He's really big into the education part. In practice, he breaks down not only the physical but every single aspect you could have in a match. He does that so in a match players can make their own decisions. "He breaks it down fundamental- Mary Catanese/Special to The Freeman Dave Steinbach has led the Central girls to 504 dual victories and the boys to 442 dual victories. ly so it's easy to understand. In a match, you just go back to some of that training. That's a big reason why he's so successful." Steinbach also goes out of his way to make practice fun. One of the most beloved traditions in a Central practice is hitting the dummy Steinbach has an old tack. ling dummy that one player holds while others practice overhand shots in an effort to hit the dummy . "It was just a good time to blow off some steam during practice," said Central graduate Jake Bauwens, who is now in medical school in Illinois. "Technically, we were working on overhands, but mostly we were trying to hit teammates. "If you hit it, you got to pick someone to take his place, which LIVE LIFE WELL 'tis the season! [ expressive apparel ] ALLEN EDMONDS ALLURE FAYE'S M.E. 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With a no-cut policy, the Central tennis program has boasted hefty numbers over the years. Steinbach has found a way to get players interacting with each other. "He was always mixing it up, and he did a lot of different types of drills where we'd switch partners and weren't hitting against the same people all the time," former player Kelsey Schmidt said. "It was really nice getting to know people on the team that way . "It's all because of him that we all met each other." Throughout his coaching other sports, Steinbach became a gatherer of statistics. It's not a common practice in tennis, but it helped open some eyes to players in the program. He has compiled records of players throughout his time at Central and holds a lengthy list of individual marks. "I had never really done it until I started playing for him, the way he kept track of everything," Schmidt said. "I think he wanted to show us how reputable the team had been and give us something that we had to live up to. "It was a good idea to make us aware of those statistics – and he has a lot of them." Steinbach was a physical education teacher at Central before retiring in 1998. He is now teaching tennis part-time at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His continued work with tennis has helped him adjust to retirement. "It keeps you young," the 77year-old Steinbach said of coaching. "It keeps you current. It's exciting. It's also a challenge to try to put teams together and schedules together. At this time of year, I'm basically working seven days of week. It's nice to have an offseason, but by the time February or March rolls around, you're really looking forward to doing it again and can't wait for boys season to start." Tennis has become a large part of Steinbach's family life. His wife, Nancy, was a competitive player for a number of years after college. He has a granddaughter playing tennis at Arrowhead High School and another at Shawano. Two of his grandsons were high school players. Steinbach has a granddaughter in eighth grade and he is itching to get her into high school tennis. "Tennis is pretty ingrained in my family," Steinbach said. That is obvious to those around Steinbach. "He lives and breathes tennis," Vogt said. Email: dmike@conleynet.com

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