One of the biggest struggles that the girls and boys tennis teams at BC had to endure for years was the quality of the tennis courts. The nine ancient courts all had some sort of issue with them, including massive cracks, ripped and broken nets, and uneven surfaces. Playing tennis on those courts was getting to be nearly impossible; teams even had to relocate some of their matches and practices to Wisconsin Hills Middle School. Recently, thanks to the efforts of Coach Dave Steinbach and Coach Jon Vogt, the school district finally took notice of these issues and authorized a total renovation of the courts.

Construction began during the summer with the intended goal to have them ready by the beginning of the girls tennis season in early August. However, the deadline was pushed back to mid-September. Meanwhile, the five girls tennis teams took turns sharing the courts at both Wisconsin Hills and Wirth Park, where practices and home matches were held. The new tennis facility at BC did not become available to them until the end of the season, when the JV teams were able to get in a small number of practices and, if they were lucky, one match. Even then, however, a couple of courts had to be redone because they were not level. Currently, there are at least two courts that still need to be built. As for the five that are complete, they are undeniably different from their antecedents.

Probably the most noticeable of changes is the color scheme — the bright hues are a major contrast to what they previously were. The old courts were a dull green with white borders and surrounded by a faded navy blue; the new ones are a striking shade of blue with clean white lines and surrounded by a vivid green. Initially players were thrown by the immense reflectivity of the courts, but they eventually adapted to the more modern and vibrant atmosphere.

Another dissimilarity is the organization of the tennis courts: what used to be a simple array of nine courts is now an L-shaped layout with one row of five courts adjacent to each other and two pairs of courts lying behind them. Instead of having three banks with three courts each, there is now a more sophisticated design to the facility, including pathways in between each bank and large gates that connect them. Clearly, these new tennis courts are definitely an upgrade compared to the old ones.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the colossal dedication of Coach Dave Steinbach, who is entering his 36th year of coaching tennis at Brookfield Central. The Athletics and Activities Department formally recognized Steinbach’s accomplishments over the years and named the new establishment the Dave Steinbach Tennis Center in honor of him. Needless to say, Coach Steinbach’s legacy will live on through the thousands of students that he has mentored, as well as through the no-cut program that he has contributed vast amounts of time and effort towards.