Stevenson’s Barnes has a formula for long-lasting coaching in the “sport of life” tennis – Macomb Daily
Mike Barnes has the formula for success and longevity.
Barnes, a former chemistry teacher at Stevenson University, will begin his 50th consecutive season as boys’ tennis coach at the Utica County school this fall.
The only coach in the program’s history, which debuted in the spring of 1976, Barnes has led the Titans from humble beginnings when they had just three courts to the era of a megaconference, through format changes at the local and state levels and a worldwide pandemic.
Barnes’ tenure also included the 2007 season postponement by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which resulted in him coaching two boys campaigns in the same calendar year.
“I did two of the 50 seasons in one year,” Barnes recalled as the Titans played L’Anse Creuse in a Macomb Area Conference crossover game on Monday.
Marc Bates has coached L’Anse Creuse since 1993. Even after more than 30 years in four decades at the helm, Bates is surprised by Barnes’ longevity.
“It’s amazing that Mike is still doing it after all this time,” Bates said. “I think he’ll do it as long as he can.”
Barnes, who retired from teaching in 2007, spends winters with his wife in Florida, where he teaches a bird identification course for the Audubon Society.
He recently stepped down as the girls’ coach so the couple could spend more time in the Sunshine State.
The Titans, members of the MAC White Division, played in two tournaments before facing L’Anse Creuse in their first dual meet of the season.
“The great thing about working with these guys is that they are there for each other and support each other,” Barnes said.
“Last year it was one of the closest teams we’ve ever had.”
Like all men and women who have spent decades as teachers and coaches, Barnes is touched by the former students and athletes whose paths sometimes cross years after the young people have graduated from school.
“It’s great,” he said.
Tennis, he added, is well suited to these connections.
“This is a sport you can play for a lifetime,” Barnes said. “It’s great to know that many of them are still playing.”
When Stevenson started his program, the lineups consisted of four singles flights and three doubles flights. The Titans’ three courts were not enough to host competitions.
“We played all our home games at Ford for at least six years,” Barnes said. “Maybe it was longer.”
The Stevenson campus on Dodge Park Road did not have enough room for a major expansion, so the later expansion to six spaces—the number the school has today—came at a cost.
“We took away half of the football team’s practice field and enough parking for about 35 cars,” Barnes said. “I heard about it (at the first faculty meeting this school year).”
When the Titans had three courts, they did double practices. Depending on the size of the team, triple practices were sometimes necessary.
“Some years,” Barnes said, “we had two JV teams.”
Stevenson competed in the Eastern Michigan League when tennis was added there.
“We played fourth doubles in the EML,” Barnes said. “A group of us coaches from the EML pushed for fourth doubles (at the state tournament level). The state adopted it a few years later.”
Stevenson moved from the EML to the Macomb Athletic Conference in 1980, which continued to add more schools and was later renamed the Macomb Area Conference. The MAC now has 36 schools, 26 of which sponsor boys tennis.
Bates is aware of the appeal of coaching for someone like Barnes.
“It gets into your blood,” Bates said.
L’Anse Creuse wins despite Stevenson’s championship in Buzdugan singles
Stevenson’s best singles player is Daniel Buzdugan, who won his first seven matches of the season. Buzdugan, now an 11th-grader, did not lose to a Macomb County opponent in 2022 when he played 2 singles, and he continued his streak of 1 singles last season when he was named to the county’s Dream Team.
Barnes looks forward to coaching Buzdugan for the remainder of his career with the Titans.
“That would be at least 51 years,” he said, “and maybe a few more after that.”
:quality(85):upscale()/2024/08/08/962/n/1922729/16c9855766b5414e7a6548.18525719_.jpg "Through the Olympics I learned to value my own mind and body")
