Monday, April 23rd.  Coach Jim Alberston paced along the fence at Midlothian High School, as his Clover Hill boys' tennis squad defended their undefeated record in the Dominion District. Now and then he stopped to offer encouragement to a player in a tight match, although there weren't too many of those. Matt Hickey, the 6' 2" undefeated senior, towered over Midlo sophomore Patrick Sjogren at #1 singles. Seniors Kris Kirksey and Charles Antwi also looked to be on their way to posting wins on courts 2 and 3.  But still, he paced.

"There are no losers in this match today, either way," he commented to a group of parents on the sideline.

I had asked to interview Alberston a couple of weeks prior, but initially he deferred.  "I knew this might be a tough match, and I just needed to wait until it was over with," he said.  (Midlothian took Clover Hill to 5-4 in each of its district match-ups this season).

Alberston, who currently teaches Intro to Civil War, Practical Law and US History at Clover Hill, has decided to retire from coaching. He is "99.9%" certain that this year will be his last.  

His daughter, Shana Davis, who teaches AP Chemistry at Thomas Dale, is expecting her first baby in a couple of weeks.  Son Ryan, a conductor with CSX, and his wife had their first child in January.   The long-time coach, who has spent over 40 years in the classroom, is now looking forward to spending time in other places.

Being a grandpa, for one thing.  Playing golf and tennis, and running in road races.  Participating in Civil War Groups - he's a member of at least 12 history organizations.  He'll also try to continue to travel with his wife, Marcia,  via cultural exchanges that he says are "a lot of fun". 

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The Clover Hill boys' varsity tennis team hasn't lost a district game in three years.  Seniors Hickey and Kirksey are undefeated in singles play this season, and as a doubles duo, they overpower their opponents.  Charles Anwti (who is only 16), Alex Van Ness and Jordan Melland are the other three seniors who make up the top six.   All are excellent students who will be at UVA, VA Tech or JMU next year.  

Alberston has coached tennis at Clover Hill for ten years, and has earned six Dominion District Championships in that period.  He coached 1992-1998, took a few years off, then returned to coach the last three seasons 2005, 2006, and 2007.  

"This group of five seniors has only known me from the last three seasons - they've been pretty good," he said.  

The current group of seniors has been part of a team that has brought home three district championships, and a district record of 35-0 to date.  In ten years, Alberston's teams have a total record of 129-27-1, with the top year being 1998, when Clover Hill was 2nd in the Central Region.

In Chesterfield County, once you fill out the retirement paperwork, you aren't allowed to coach. Alberston gets to go out with a bang, although  "I get to lose once again in the Central Regional Tournament," he laughs, referring to the domination of the Mills Godwin team on the other side of the river.

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Alberston talks up his team before the doubles players take to the courts.

Alberston rattles off names of players he's proudly coached over the years.  In the 90s: Bunti Bohra, Ryan Hatcher, Robert Alpen, Jeremy Turner, Luke Lang, Shell Lam, Chandler Patterson, Austin Kim.  Greg and his brother Grant, who took third in the States.  David Rauschberg, who had the most wins (126 in singles and doubles) in school history.

Recent days:  Kenneth Nguyen, Janek Nikicicz, Michael Bourne, Matt Staub, Matt Hickey, Charles Antwi, Alex Van Ness, Jordan Melland, Kris Kirksey.

It's an impressive list of names, and he's felt honored to have known them all.  But the list of names of kids he's coached includes more than just tennis players.  Alberston has been a Head Coach at Clover Hill for 15 years, but usually led several sports during those same school years.  So, his resume includes many special coaching moments.

"I think winning your first Championship is usually the one you remember best....or, perhaps the last championship also," said Alberston.

"Going to the state team tournament and having Grant Semon take third in singles in 1998 was very special.  I had a memorable moment years ago when the Girls Team I coached for three years won a playoff versus Monacan, sweeping the three doubles matches to win 5-4.  That was really nice!

"Each sport: Golf, Cross-Country, Wrestling, Soccer, Girls' and Boys' Tennis have all had their special memories.  I have been very lucky to have had good kids and very supportive parents over the years."

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Alberston keeps it light and easy when coaching. When asked to pose for a photo with his team, he grabbed a racquet and turned to senior player Alex Van Ness. "OK this is  a racquet..."

Rich Munroe, who coaches boys' tennis at Manchester High School, had nothing but praise for Alberston.  "It has always been a pleasure to coach against him.  The kids always had a good experience.  You knew going into a match you would be dealt with fairly."

Munroe met Alberston head to head as well when they were both wrestling coaches.  "We [Manchester] were always on the losing side of some tight matches, but we never felt bad about the experience.  Alberston treated kids with respect and the other coaches with respect."  Munroe said his wrestling team eventually experienced success when Alberston left wrestling to coach tennis.

"I will miss the friendships with students, parents and other coaches," said Alberston.  "But, I will be 62 years old in a few weeks, and have some health concerns. It's a good time to retire.  I've seen everything, I suppose, in 40 years."

In the meantime, Alberston still has some good matches to be played as Clover Hill gears up for the play-offs.  He anticipates meeting Tommy Hoy, and his powerhouse Godwin team again.  "I got to know Tommy through coaching golf and tennis.

"99% of the time, Clover Hill lost to Godwin, but we usually had fun together pulling for Central Region teams in big tournaments or at states."

"Jim Alberston's retirement will be a big blow to high school tennis in the Central Region," said Hoy.  "He is a model for younger coaches."