This was a year of many firsts and fantastic outcomes for Alex Slezak, coach of the Fox Chapel Area High School boys’ and girls’ tennis teams. One of those highlights was having his peers elect him as the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Middle States-Allegheny Mountain Region High School Coach of the Year. But true to his belief that awards don’t make the man, he instead chose to stick with his normal Sunday evening plans instead of attending the planned awards banquet.
“I was pretty shocked to hear I had won the award,” says the first-year boys’ coach, “but we go to my in-laws every Sunday at 5 p.m. Family dinner is more important to me. Awards come and go, family doesn’t.”
This award, however, is a pretty big deal. Coach Slezak was selected from a pool of all boys’ and girls’ high school tennis coaches in 24 counties in Western Pennsylvania and four counties in West Virginia. A headcount of coaches in that broad area can be imagined as extremely plentiful.
But rather than talk about his own accolades, he’s more apt to steer the conversation to his teams and players, what it takes to motivate and engage teenage athletes and the techniques he uses to get his athletes’ mental games on par with their technical skills.
His players say he does that by telling stories and sharing quirky maxims – lots and lots of them – such as “inch by inch, it’s a cinch, yard by yard, it’s too hard,” and “you have to become comfortable being uncomfortable.” He agrees these are things he says to quickly drive home his point.
“My sayings and stories are presented in a way that is unique and grabs their attention so they have to stop and wrestle with them mentally,” explains the Kerr Elementary School physical education teacher. “Once they can make that emotional connection with the concept, it will never be forgotten.”
Best year ever for boys’ tennis
Some people might attribute Coach Slezak’s first year success heading the boys’ tennis team as beginner’s luck since he had an abundance of talented players. But it was no fluke; it was due to excellent coaching from someone who knows how to motivate and inspire his players.
The payoff was a perfect record, 20-0, up until the final match at the PIAA boys’ team championship. It hasn’t been determined whether those results were a new record for Fox Chapel Area High School, but it’s definitely a fact that they made history when they won the school’s first WPIAL boys’ team championship.
Their loss in the PIAA AAA team finals was a heartbreaking blow for the boys and their coaches, but their finish as second best in the state was a prodigious showing for a very young team with a new coach. Mr. Slezak’s optimistic demeanor and his penchant for turning defeat into life lessons didn’t really console the players at the time, but he knows his words will sink in and become inspiration for them over the summer when they play in USTA tournaments and then next season.
“I am a teacher first, coach second and tennis guy third,” says the coach. “The game truly is the greatest teaching tool in the world.”
Less than a week after giving his team that pep talk, Coach Slezak accompanied freshman phenom Robby Shymansky and another outstanding player, senior Sidd Rajupet, to the PIAA boys’ singles championship. Robby, who is ranked as the number one freshman singles recruit in Pennsylvania, won the silver medal and Sidd took third place, up from his fourth place finish last year. Their medal-winning performances represented the first time in PIAA history that two teammates shared the winners’ podium together.
“Coach Slezak kept us focused and our practices were always productive,” says Sidd, a Case Western Reserve University recruit. “More than anything, he motivated us to do well and made sure we were in the right mindset.”
Coach Slezak led girls’ team players to some “firsts” too
Coach Slezak’s style of instruction not only helped the boys’ team reach great heights; it’s also been a winning formula for the girls’ team. During the seven years he’s overseen the squad, and in the 16 years he’s been coaching, Coach Slezak has always been a proponent of individualized attention. It’s an approach that’s worked well for him in the classroom as well as the courts.
The teacher’s leadership and inspiration helped propel the Lady Foxes to a near-perfect record last fall. Senior Laurel Shymansky and sophomore Amanda Nord bettered their second-place finish last year at the 2014 PIAA AAA doubles’ championship by winning the gold medal in 2015. They also won back-to-back WPIAL titles last season and were the first WPIAL girls’ doubles team to repeat consecutive titles since 2008. Under Coach Slezak’s tutelage, Laurel earned three WPIAL doubles titles in her high school tennis career and became the first girls player to earn that many WPIAL championships in more than 20 years.
“I think what I’ll most remember most about playing high school tennis was that we had so much fun all four seasons I played,” reminisces Laurel. “Coach Slezak is always optimistic and encourages us to work hard. He really loves tennis and is passionate about coaching.”
“Everything I do in life is fun; life is too short to not enjoy what you are doing,” adds the coach who has authored dozens of articles and saw his first-ever book, “The Physical Education Revolution,” become a bestseller last year.
An upstanding role model for youth
Coach Slezak has said that keeping his players humble and seeing them buy into his culture of hard work means more to him than any one victory. While he is still fiercely competitive, the coach’s philosophical ideology seems to help quiet some players’ pre game nerves, especially before key matches, and has resulted in many career highs – two PIAA doubles champions and a silver and bronze medalist, the school’s first-ever WPIAL team championship, three WPIAL doubles champions and numerous team and individual section titles.
“There are more than 3,000 players in high school tennis across the state,” he comments. “No one can really understand what it takes or how difficult it is for players to attain that level of achievement.”
Besides being a darned good coach, the teacher has proved himself to be an outstanding role model as well.
“Alex is exceptionally dedicated to his students at Kerr Elementary and the students of our school district,” says Michael O’Brien, director of athletics for the Fox Chapel Area School District. “He works tirelessly and enthusiastically to help his players improve and to advance the sport of tennis. We are proud of his accomplishments and the fantastic job he did this year.”
The school year might be over soon, but Coach Slezak still has one more thing that he’s anxiously awaiting to occur before another tennis season starts in September.
“My next big undertaking is becoming a first-time father in August,” he says with much joy. “That is my main focus moving forward, along with my career as a teacher and coach. We’re not sure if we’re having a son or daughter; that surprise will be left for the birthday.”