Pahrump tennis coach to start a “Tennis dynasty” after making state playoffs

When Michael Dela Rosa met with the Pahrump Valley High School Principal Desiree Veloz over the summer, he didn’t want to sound over-confident but he had a good feeling how his tennis team would perform this season.

Dela Rosa, a paraprofessional at the school and head coach of the Trojans tennis teams, has been building a freshman class of student athletes for the past three years. And this year, as seniors, they got to show the state what they had been working toward.

For the first time, the Trojans tennis team was able to finish second in the league and travel to the state playoffs.

To the coach, tennis might be a hard sell to the students as the sport has a “rich” connotation. But it doesn’t have to be, as after building his athletes, the team was able to compete with the top Class 3A teams in the state.

“It took lots of patience, I knew that they’re like babies in tennis,” Dela Rosa said. “I don’t have high expectations, they stuck around and by the time they become seniors if you spent enough time with me in practice you’ll be pretty good.”

Hard work

As the season was underway, both the boys and girls teams were dominating the court. Last year, the boys team finished their season in sixth place with a 6-4-1 record. This season the Trojans were 10-1 before the postseason and finished as No. 2.

The girls team also improved this year. Last season, the girls finished in No. 4 with a 7-3-1 record and this year the Pahrump team finished in third place with a 9-2 record. The team would be eliminated in the regional playoffs semifinals game against Cimarron.

It was the boys team that managed to make it to the regional championship game, but would lose to Boulder City this year 13-5. Along the way, the Trojans defeated Adelson and Sloan Canyon in the playoffs.

This allowed the Trojans to advance into the state playoffs, a goal the team was unable to achieve until now. Pahrump was eventually eliminated by South Tahoe, the Class 3A state champions in the state semifinals.

The boys also had a successful doubles team. Lucas Johnson and Jace Eichner told Dela Rosa at the beginning of the season that they wanted to play together.

By the end of the playoffs, the duo placed as one of the top four teams that would advance to the state playoffs. But there, the Trojans were set up with the doubles state champion team, Brodie Wallisch and Ralston Pierce from South Tahoe, and were eliminated.

“The best part is, the other coaches say they are such nice kids,” Dela Rosa said. “They’re well behaved and have good attitudes and good sportsmanship.”

Dela Rosa boils their performance down to a lot of hard work both in the offseason and during the season.

“The seniors were working hard for four years and then they finally made it through [with] their hard work,” he said. “I’m thankful for them and I’m here for them.”

The coach doesn’t expect perfection from his kids, and encourages them to make mistakes; he only asks for students to put in the effort.

“I appreciate all my seniors graduating,” Dela Rosa said. “I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication. I hope my future players will have the same attitude to keep winning.”

Rebuild

Dela Rosa has seen a steady improvement to the program after 2022. He believed the team was bound to make it to the state playoffs. And in high school sports, needing to rebuild the team every year can add extra hurdles in the way of progress.

This year, the tennis team will graduate four girls and five boys, which nearly cuts each team in half. Dela Rosa’s next priority is recruiting for the team, something he has had trouble with as he’s competing for students who would rather play football. But the tennis coach has a dream for the program.

“In order for a program to be great, a coach has to dedicate more,” he said. “This is all because I have passion and love for this and starting a dynasty in Pahrump.”

And to keep the program competing at a high level, the team needs more supplies. Dela Rosa is asking local businesses and donors to participate in a raffle that ends on Dec. 13. When a business or an individual donates, they are automatically entered into a raffle that will be announced on the coach’s Youtube account, Michael DelaRosa@michaeldelarosa6890.

The money raised will go toward players’ warm-up jerseys, a tennis ball machine and other tennis equipment.

The prizes will range from a free massage session, oil change or cash.

To reach Dela Rosa to donate, contact him by phone at (775) 910-9017 or email him at mdelarosa@nyeschools.org.

Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@pvtimes.com. Follow @JimmyRomo.News on Instagram.