Phil Barnes of Duncan, Dick Villaflor of Der Creek-Edmund, and Skip Grace of Ada are legendary coaches at Oklahoma High School Tennis.
The trio was named National Coach of the Year five times. They have won 55 men’s and girls’ college championships. They are in nine coaches or in the Tennis Hall of Fame and have 125 years of coaching experience.
All of them have officially retired in the past three years as head tennis coaches, although they still roam the game and to some extent. Barnes and Villaflor, who served as head coaches at Heritage Hall, Deer Creek and Yukon, continue to serve as assistant coaches after relinquishing major coaching duties.
Barnes is now Duncan’s assistant tennis coach while teaching part-time. Villafor joined the Deer Creek staff as an assistant coach after retiring from Yukon. Griese gives up training altogether, but gives private tennis lessons to students at Ada.
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All three are still in the state high school tennis championships at the Tennis Center in Oklahoma City during the first two weekends in May. Last weekend was an official girls’ tennis tournament, and on Friday the boys’ tennis tournament began.
None of them can completely walk away from the game.
It’s in our blood,” Villaflor said. “I have strong coaching friends, and Skip and Phil are at or close to the top in terms of coaching friendships. Our whole career has gone very close to the same path.”
Health issues led Barnes to retire as head coach at Duncan two years ago. He now teaches physical education and works as an assistant tennis coach for Devils, Darren Coppel.
“Now he has to do the paperwork now and I don’t,” Barnes said.
Barnes said he couldn’t see himself not spending his time on the tennis courts and training.
“I still love it,” Barnes said. “I enjoy it. Darren lets me kind of do whatever I want. I coach the kids. It works really well.”
Barnes, 65, said he was grateful the school district allowed him to continue training and education in a part-time job. And he still loves to come to the state tennis tournament.
“People don’t realize what kind of tournament we’re in,” Barnes said. “It’s like a little version of the US Open.”
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Grace, 67, said he continues to attend high school tennis tournaments as a cheerleader and is not inclined to give Ada any training advice.
“I just sit and connect with the coaches I know,” Griese said. “You don’t have to worry about what’s going on in court.”
Other than giving tutoring, Grace said he spends most of his time camping, fishing, and watching his five grandchildren grow up. He is trying to convince some of them to become tennis players.
He misses the camaraderie with the other tennis coaches in the state and the competition, and “I don’t miss the yellow dog driving the car,” he said. “I don’t miss the workouts on cold days, but I do miss the training part of it. I’ve always loved the first two weekends in May.”
Villaflor, 66, now works with coach Craig Hayes at Deer Creek, who had previously worked as his assistant eight years ago. Villaflor said he would like to train for at least another year.
“I’m still having fun,” he said. “Mentally, I’m still there, even though the other two guys wouldn’t say the same about me. Physically, I’m starting to feel exhausted.”
Villaflor has had a knee replacement on one of his knees and plans to have the other knee replaced as well.
“You can’t do that forever,” he said.
Although the three coaches would probably like it.
Reporter Ed Godfrey researches the stories that affect your life. Whether it’s in the news, outdoors, sports – you name it, he wants to report it. Do you have a story idea? Reach out to him at [email protected] or on Twitter @EdGodfrey. Support his work and that of other Oklahoma journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
