Bob Blute is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Marcos de Niza High School for AZPreps365.com

The Marcos de Niza girls tennis team has become a family affair for the Blackwelder’s.

Head Coach Brian Blackwelder has been coaching tennis for 16 years, about as long as he has been in the sport entirely. The best part about this for him has been that he is able to coach his two daughters, Mallory and Lydia, and coach alongside his wife Kathryn. 

Tennis has not always been in the Blackwelder family, as neither Brian nor Kathryn played the sport growing up and their eldest Lydia did not start playing until eighth grade. 

The family got into the game through their dad’s relationship to the sport that began when he was asked to coach the boys team at Alhambra High School in 2009, and it worked out to be an extremely positive change in his life. Coach Brian “fell in love” with the game after that. 

Now the tennis court is where the entire family spends a lot of their time together, especially with the younger of two sisters, Mallory, joining the squad this year as a freshman. She is playing for the junior varsity team, however they all practice together. “It’s fun to have her on the team,” Lydia said about her sister. “I’m excited for when she can be on the bus with us because that’s the fun part.” 

Kathryn Blackwelder, the assistant coach for the Lady Padres, took up tennis when their youngest got into the sport. “I thought I better learn too so we have something to come together and do as a family,” and that exact thing became reality earlier than she had expected.

The sisters never played the sport competitively at a young age. “When we were younger, we would go and play a tennis tournament with our grandparents,” Lydia said, and that was just about their only relationship to the sport early on in terms of playing. Now, she enters her junior season as the number one on the roster. “It’s super fun because I’ve always watched tennis my entire life and watched clips.” 

“I never wanted to force them [to play tennis]” their dad mentioned. When Lydia decided to play tennis in high school, he switched from coaching the boys team to the girls team. 

Perhaps the most interesting thing is the “double-edged sword,” as Brian described it, between family life and coaching. “There is a very distinct line there, when we are here he is my coach, and at home he is my father,” Mallory made very clear. The two daughters even call their parents coach when they are at the courts. 

After a few years of trying to balance life at home with life on the court, the head coach made it very clear that it is an awesome experience overall. “Now, I could stay out here all night because the fam’s here.” 

The head coach made sure to mention that even though it is easy to highlight the fact that the Blackwelder’s family relationship to the team is a big story, he believes everyone who has joined the team over the years are his family in their own way as well. “We want to continue adding to the tennis family with every graduating class.” The players love him and the family affair for the Lady Padres’ tennis team goes further than just the Blackwelder’s.