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Not only was it a comfortable September afternoon, history was on the line for the Park Ridge Girls Tennis team. After the last set concluded, Park Ridge had reigned victorious. Most people just thought of it as Park Ridge Girls Tennis getting their first win of the season, but this was an incredible moment for head coach Mr. Awais, his 100th win with the girl’s tennis program. 100 wins is an incredible milestone for any coach, but this was special, considering Mr. Awais has been only coaching for seven seasons.

Since Awais’ first year head coaching in 2010, Park Ridge girl’s tennis has been incredibly competitive. In Awais’ first year, the team won the league title for the first time in nearly 20 years, and hasn’t looked back since then. When asking about the consistency of the tennis team and how they’ve evolved into a top tier program, Mr. Awais said, “I like to believe that we have been competitive against every team we have ever competed against. The work ethic of the athletes have been amazing and their fight has always been strong, you couple those two things together, you will always have a chance to win.”

Awais also credits his incredible assistant coaches, John Fogarty and Kristin Ellingsen, for making his job so enjoyable and worthwhile. Coach Awais has learned few valuable lessons too.

“The lessons I have learned is that I take nothing for granted.  Winning is not easy and just because you may have won against an opponent one match, nothing is guaranteed for the next match.  I treasure every win, because I know how difficult they are to come by.”

Coaches tend to change a lot in their time as a coach. They develop healthy relationships with their assistant coaches and with their players, too. After asking Coach Awais about how he’s changed as a person and progressed as a coach, he had an incredible response.

“In terms of change, I don’t really know how much I have, but I know I have – having two children since coaching, it’s only natural to change.  I tried to infuse yoga and meditation during some practices, but I know I have also focused on the very technical aspects of tennis.  If there was one thing where I have changed the most is that I am not afraid to challenge the athletes.  I have coached some of Park Ridge’s finest young women for the past 8 years, I have learned to respect each one of them as athletes and young ladies, but I have also realized that they are more than just a tennis player on the team: they are students, daughters, teammates, etc – and I am forever thankful for every player who has passed through the program, as I wouldn’t be the coach or person I am today without them.”

This milestone was accomplished along with an incredible season, where the team finished with a record of 13-6, falling in the State Tournament to Glen Rock (via Nj.com). The team featured nine total seniors, too.

It is very clear, Coach Awais is a very compassionate coach who cares deeply for the game of tennis, and cares even deeper for his players. Congratulations to Coach Awais, Coach Fogarty, and Coach Ellingsen and the Park Ridge Girls Tennis team on an unforgettable season.