Tennis coach Aaron Fuller was recently named Coach of the Year after one year of coaching at Canyon.
The Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame chose Fuller as the tennis coach of the year in their 53rd year of recognizing coaches of all athletic events in the area. Fuller teaches both the varsity and junior varsity tennis teams and instructs the junior high tennis class.
“He’s excited to be here, and he’s excited about tennis,” junior Abigail Strickland said. “He is very motivational, makes us work really hard, and is very smart about what he’s doing with the team.”
This year is Fuller’s eleventh year of coaching, though he has only been at Canyon one year. He said his ultimate goal for the team is to win a state championship.
“We still have a pretty ‘small school’ mentality,” Fuller said. “I hope someday it’s different, but it’s a hard thing to get past. There is a big difference from 3-A to 4-A classifications, but I know some day we’ll be a really good team.”
Despite the challenges the team faces, Fuller said he thinks they have had a good year.
“We have a lot of members who haven’t had a lot of experience,” Fuller said. “We do have some really good players, they just haven’t played much. The kids don’t take a day off, though. It’s a blessing and a curse being good.”
Along with coaching tennis, Fuller also teaches two sophomore history classes.
“I never thought at my age I’d still be going to a high school every day,” Fuller said. “It keeps me young. There is never a day that I wake up and don’t want to do what I do.”
