Pennfield tennis standout Vivian Burns wants to follow in her dad's footsteps and coach
BATTLE CREEK - Pennfield senior tennis player Vivian Burns has been around sports her entire life, with her dad being the varsity basketball coach for the Panthers.
So, it makes sense that Vivian would want to continue that beyond high school - with a goal of being a coach herself one day. Even if she never let her own dad coach her when she was younger.
"I have never been allowed to coach her. Those were her words since she was a little girl," said Pennfield varsity basketball coach Nate Burns. "She will let me work with her in the gym on condition and agility stuff. But as far as being a coach, at a young age, she never wanted me to be one of her coaches. So I was never able to coach her, officially.
"But, I still get my comments in during her matches," he said with a chuckle.
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Despite no one-on-one coaching from her dad, Vivian does see him as an inspiration. Being a coach like her dad is one of the reasons she is heading to Ferris State University to continue her tennis career as well as enroll into that school's Professional Tennis Management program.
"I want to be a coach. I want to be a person who can make an impact on other people's lives. Like all of my coaches have with me," Vivian said . "I have seen my dad out on the court, how much he loves the sport, loves what he does, loves interacting with his players.
"One day, it was like I said, 'Wow, that's really cool. I want to do that.'"
Vivian is in her fourth year as a senior captain for the Pennfield tennis team and is starting her third season at No. 1 singles for the Panthers. She has had a great start to her final campaign in high school, winning the Lakewood Invitational at No. 1 singles as well as the Vicksburg Tournament - with a 7-0 record heading into a dual meet with Hastings on Monday. She was 15-9 last year at No. 1 singles as a junior. Her and her teammates will try to improve on their early start at the annual All-City girls tennis tournament, being hosted at Pennfield High School on Saturday.
In the offseason, Vivian committed to join the Ferris State University women's team as a walk-on and will get the chance to play collegiate tennis while chasing her dream of a post-collegiate career in the sport.
"The program at Ferris is something I have been thinking about my entire high school career," Vivian said. "I wanted to also play tennis in college and Ferris said I could do that there, while being in that program. So it was a great fit."
First-year girls tennis coach at Pennfield Alex Hubbard said he sees a lot of potential in Burns from observing her with the team - as she has been a good mentor for the young squad. Something that is a bonus with this team as he gets good leadership from all of the Panther captains, including Burns, Anna Keown and Sarah Grettenberger.
"It's great that she is going to Ferris. People that go to that program there want to be coaches one day, or to work at something in the business aspect of the sport," Hubbard said. "She really wants to be a coach one day. She is very driven, very motivated and she has been a great leader for the other players on the team. So, 100 percent, I really see a lot of attributes that lend themselves to being a good coach."
And, as mentioned before, coaching runs in the family.
"My son Keegan has been with me the last three years on the sidelines helping coach basketball at Pennfield. All of my kids have a passion for sports. Gavin is working as an official, Aiden is still playing. Vivian wants to be a coach one day and I think she will do a great job at that.
"It's great that they have each found their niche to stay in the game, post high school, and get to follow their passion."
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Pennfield tennis standout Vivian Burns seeks a career in coaching
