Tom Osbeck named assistant coach of the year

For 14 years, Tom Osbeck has been an important part of Chelsea High School’s tennis program.

And, his sustained, positive and outstanding efforts were recently recognized by other tennis coaches throughout the state.

Osbeck, the Chelsea High School JV girls tennis coach, was awarded the Michigan Assistant Coach of the Year – an award given by the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association.

“We’re very fortunate to have the coaches that we do for our tennis program,” says Head Coach Matt Pedlow.

“Tom has done an amazing job over the past 14 years connecting with the girls in our program,” he says.

For the last three seasons, the girls’ JV team went undefeated.

“This is a first for us and Tom has built the JV program into a team that routinely wins every flight during matches,” Pedlow said.

In both the girls and boys seasons, he has taken the JV teams against varsity squads and often won those matches as well.

Osbeck teaches the fundamentals of the sport, but more importantly, Pedlow says, “He makes sure they have fun out on the courts.”

It’s a sentiment that all the coaches live by – if the girls aren’t having fun, they aren’t going to want to play the game.

Brain Tucker has coached with Osbeck for the last eight years.

He called the experience “an honor.”

“As a coaching staff, we always take time to reflect on each season, and what we accomplished as a team and staff,” Tucker says, “When I, personally, reflect about Coach Osbeck, his coaching style and demeanor, my thoughts are “calm” and ‘fun’.”

Tucker says, “Coach Oz has always strived to make sure our team was having fun both on and off the court.”

Even when a player was having a down day, Tucker says, “Coach Osbeck always found a way to make a funny joke to help try and make a situation better.”

Tucker credits Osbeck with the “keen ability to help his players maintain a sense of calm during difficult matches – using funny words or phrases for encouragement.”
Fellow Coach Misha Moore agrees wholeheartedly with Tucker’s sentiments.

“I have grown tremendously from working alongside him Osbeck), “she says.

“He is always calm, always able to defuse situations when maybe a parent or coach or player’s emotions are running high, always optimistic and good humored, and he brings out the best in the girls and shows them how to be good teammates to each other and how to approach life with joy and optimism.”

And, if you asked any of his former players, Pedlow said, “the one thing they would all say about Tom is that he’s always positive.”

In fact, Pedlow says he’s not sure if he’s ever seen Osbeck without a smile on this face.

“All three of us have grown as coaches from spending time with Coach Osbeck,’ Pedlow says, adding, “His love of life is infectious – he really is the most optimistic person I’ve ever known.” 

Osbeck will be honored at a dinner at the MI Tennis Coaches Clinic on Feb. 1 in Holland.