Jaquina Dobson, the head coach for the girls tennis program at Rejoice Christian, will be entering her third year leading the Lady Eagles. Dobson has been a part of the Rejoice family for over a decade and began volunteering with the tennis program when her daughter took a passion in the sport. For a short period of time Dobson helped the team with strength and conditioning exercises as a volunteer, but when the former Rejoice tennis coach left a new opportunity appeared.

“Rejoice asked me and another parent, David Limerick, to coach,” Dobson said, who admittedly had limited tennis experience. “Thankfully, Coach Limerick played college tennis. I am always looking for ways to improve and keep my team improving and staying engaged, but my passion is injury prevention and making sure my team is physically ready to perform. Tennis is my daughter’s passion and I will do anything for my children, including coaching, to give her and her team the opportunity to play.”

Last season was the first for a lot of Dobson’s athletes to play at the varsity level for the first time and the team focused on duals. This year, older and more experienced, the team is looking forward to competing in some more tournaments in the Tulsa area and some venturing to OKC for new competition.

Dobson’s coaching isn’t just limited to the courts, however, she wants to make an enduring impact on her athletes’ lives.

“We tell our team all the time, we aren’t here just for tennis. As coaches, we really are here to teach them life skills and tennis is just the way we do it,” Dobson said. “Sports in general teaches so many life lessons, but I think tennis teaches a lot of self control, perseverance, integrity and polite sportsmanship.”

Coaching has been a rewarding experience for Dobson and every day it creates new and wonderful memories for her to collect.

“I have mental snapshots of different things; my newest girl’s smile after her first win, seeing another girl handle a loss without falling apart, helping a player overcome some mental obstacles, one of my girls coming from behind to win in a tie break when I thought she had given up…” Dobson said. “My daughter, who is one of my players, going to state last year was amazing, but the small victories I see in the hard work and mental toughness I see her and the other kids developing are probably my proudest achievements. When they call me coach, it means the world to me. They accept me for what I bring to the table and know I am doing everything in my power to help them and the program grow.”