Creating a successful dynasty in high school sports is a very difficult task, but when one is created, all we can do is thank the coach.
John Czartosieski, coach of the Westhampton Beach Hurricanes boys’ and girls’ tennis teams, picked up his 200th career win on October 11th versus Half Hollow Hills.
About his recent achievement, Ski said, “The Westhampton Varsity Tennis program has been the most successful program in the school’s history and I am honored to not only be a part of it but also to try and keep the winning tradition alive.” most people would like to think that there wouldn’t be a successful tennis program if Coach Ski wasn’t there.
WHB students are so used to the tennis teams dominating every year that they don’t often think how difficult it is to create such a dominant program. With talent constantly coming and going, it is hard to be as consistent as Coach Ski and the Hurricanes have been in the past. How does he maintain such consistency? Ski says, “Some years I receive a few new talented players and other years not as many. My job is to find the line-up that is best for the team as well as making sure the doubles partners can work together. Also, they learn how to play doubles the correct way. Singles players learn more about how to construct a point and hopefully this translates to wins.” Clearly it has.
But where did this man get enough knowledge about the game to become a top tennis coach in the entire state? Years ago, Coach Ski earned his United States Professional Tennis Registry instructors certification, or USPTR, at a clinic in Virginia given by a prominent tennis guru Dennis VanDerMeer. Coach Ski says “That has not only helped my game but also has helped me as a coach. I feel I have become pretty good at diagnosing problems with my players’ mechanics when they are hitting whatever stroke and as a result can help them become better players.”
However, at the end of last year’s boys’ tennis season, controversy arose between WHB and Ross School. Ross School’s coach Vinicius Carmo allegedly claimed that Coach Ski stacked his doubles lineup. Section XI tried this case and ruled in Ross’s favor, stripping WHB of their League VII title. Being in the same league, WHB and Ross School play each other quite a few times in both the boys’ and girls’ seasons. “Unfortunately, the Ross coach and I have had many run-ins over rules, stacking, inappropriate behavior, etc. It’s not fair to any other school that Ross is allowed to recruit when we cannot! They have stolen my top boys singles player and one of my top girls singles players. We try our best to beat them every time we play.” After last year’s incident, Coach Ski looks forward to their match up. He said, “You have no idea; I expect to beat Ross fairly easily in the spring.”
When students sit in their spots in gym, you can’t help but look around the walls at all the various banners surrounding the gym. You notice names like Sean Farrell and Dale Menendez, yet there is no John Czartosieski. I believe that after this 200th win, Coach John Czartosieski has officially created a legacy for himself in WHBHS and deserves his name to be hung up in the gym next to all the WHBHS greats because now, after 200 wins, he is officially in the category of “great.”
