In the sports world there are countless components that work tirelessly to make the game what it is. The layers are complete with players, the stands with fans, the boundaries with referees, and yet it’s nearly impossible to find a role more important than that of a head coach. Head coaches fine-tune their team, direct how each match will play out weeks in advance, weld their unit into one and prepare them for the highest level of performance that each individual is capable of. When it comes to the tough task of being one, few do it better than tennis head coach, Bart Jeseritz. Jeseritz has accomplished an illustrious flurry of achievements throughout his budding three year career, including coaching numerous state champions for both girls and boys, and placing top five year in and year out at state. As the mastermind of both the girl’s and boy’s teams for the past few years, Jeseritz has swiftly made an impact on the lives of all his athletes. One athlete, sophomore Troy Shefsky, who is acclaimed to be one of the team’s best players, touched on his relationship with Jeseritz comparatively to his various other coaches:
“He’s a great coach, he’s always asking for our preference and our input and we’re lucky to have him for sure,” Shefsky raved.
Jeseritz has been a smash-hit hire for Westside, continuing to improve despite roster shifts and discrepancies from year to year. Last season, he and the boys took third at state as well as finished second at metros, narrowly losing after tying with Creighton Prep in point totals. For the girls, Jeseritz coached the team through thick and thin, with last year bearing its own unique challenges and triumphs to behold. No matter the result of either season from the past year, both shared one similarity in a freshman taking charge at the No.2 singles position. For the boys, it was Troy Shesky.
“Troy has that fire in him that you rarely see in a lot of athletes, and he’s been adapting really well to the older group of guys he has around him,” Jeseritz said.
For the girls, it was Amina Adhima.
“I’ve seen strides from her on the mental side of her game. She has done a wonderful job, and I’m excited to see her continued growth,” Jeseritz expresses.
It has been an eventful and impressive 3 year tenure thus far for coach Jeseritz, but to understand the depths of his young coaching career, it is integral to observe how the seed was first planted, way back in his formative years.
“I was a three-year varsity (tennis) member at Millard South when I was coming through and after that, I knew I wanted to coach,” Jeseritz reminisces.
However, achieving his lifelong goal wasn’t one that came easily to Jeseritz, as he was first given the role of assistant cross-country coach.
“I’d always run in high school, so it made sense to start there,” Jesertiz rationalized.
After a successful outing for the 2020 season in cross-country, and the departure of the current tennis head coach in the spring of 2021, Jeseritz was finally selected to step up and fill the void as the leader of both the boy and girl units.
“Fortunately, Westside’s always been blessed with some pretty amazing tennis talent. We’re just a school who’s excelled historically and so for me, the nerves came in upholding that standard of excellence,” Jeseritz recalled.
Those nerves would be settled for the rookie head coach as in his first season with the boys the standard was more than upheld, placing runner up at metros, fourth place at state, and having one athlete come out on top for the No. 2 singles category at state. Stellar first season aside, his success with the boys didn’t translate as easily for the girls that spring, as Jeseritz was tasked with the challenge of coaching a majority underclassmen squad, one that had forgone the entire 2020 season.
After their year-long hiatus, it seemed near impossible for the girls to make any noise in the metro and state-wide girl’s tennis scene, but the crew managed slight individual victories to return with and the season served as a stepping stone towards future successes. These future successes would include then sophomore, Grace Greenwald, returning better than ever in the following season and winning the No.1 singles title at Metros, a meteoric rally from the failures of the year prior. The tumultuous 2020 girl’s tennis season was one that taught Jeseritz many lessons on taking losses, lessons that were few and far between at such a prestigious program like Westside, but those losses are the ones that have forged one of the most formidable coaches in the state. Since that season, Jeseritz has produced nothing but prestige for his athletes and the district.
“We’ve had multiple top 5 finishes, we had a runner up at metros last year, we’ve had a couple of individual state champions,” Jeseritz lists off.
The word “we” serves as a tell-tale signal towards the team-oriented mindset of coach Jeseritz. He rarely mentions his own part in the team’s successes, with his selfless and humble outlook fitting neatly into place alongside the values that uphold the pillars of Westside’s athletic dominance. Although his coaching career is young, this 2024 boys season in particular holds greater emotional than one’s past. A vast majority of the roster are seniors and have been improving and learning alongside Jeseritz from the dawn of his coaching career. Jeseritz touches on what it means to him seeing that group perform in the twilight of their careers.
“We’ve got 8 seniors on the guys’ side and seeing that group of guys grow from freshman all the way through has been really impressive and rewarding,” Jeseritz raves.
His confidence in his squad remains unwavering, as the bond they have built within the past three years has advanced them all as athletes, coaches, and people in general.
“Seeing them strive and work harder has been really fun to watch,” Jeseritz remarks. “The sky’s the limit for us this year.”
