![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/js_tennis_pros_mike_halisky_mike_johns_6-_jsp5743.jpg\" "\\"Tennis")
<\/a> <\/p>\n\n Tennis dads reflect on their daughters’ path to the state championship.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jeanna Shepard <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were able to keep more of these kids involved, and now we\u2019re finally seeing them come through with a healthy sort of bullpen behind them,\u201d said Mr. Johns.<\/p>\n
When the Vineyard faced Dover-Sherborn in April, Laina lost her match in the third set tiebreaker, giving up a lead after fumbling a floating volley and an overhead shot. After the match, Mr. Halisky and Laina practiced on the court for almost three hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want her to dwell on it, I wanted to forget about it,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s get right back on the horse and go out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laina is a go-getter, said Mr. Halisky. She\u2019s not satisfied with the status quo, and she\u2019s extremely coachable.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s also amazing under pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s laughing off that last 10-minute point that she lost,\u201d said Mr. Halisky. \u201cThat\u2019s taken me and my wife a long time to get used to \u2014 especially [my wife]. She\u2019s like, \u2018What is she doing? She just lost that one, but she\u2019s smiling?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Josey likes the problem solving part of tennis, said Mr. Johns. As he paces with nervous energy on the sidelines, Josey keeps her calm, never getting too high or too low.<\/p>\n
Mr. Halisky calls Josey \u201cice girl\u201d after Swedish tennis player Bj\u00f6rn Borg, nicknamed \u201cice man\u201d because he never showed any emotion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes her so smooth, she doesn\u2019t overdo it, it\u2019s just enough to get another ball back,\u201d said Mr. Halisky.<\/p>\n
Josey, a freshman, only lost one match this season, against Monomoy. Mr. Johns said he \u201ctiptoed\u201d into the conversation after the loss, but Josey was quick to explain where she fell short. It was not excuses, but analysis.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gives me this analysis, and I\u2019m kind of thinking, where\u2019s this coming from?\u201d said Mr. Johns. \u201cAnd then I\u2019m thinking, oh yeah, because I parked her in that stroller over there for so many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Johns got onto the court with Josey afterwards, hitting some heavy serves to her like she faced in the match. The next time Josey met the Monomoy opponent, she won.<\/p>\n
Both girls reached another level in their tennis this season, Mr. Halisky and Mr. Johns agreed.<\/p>\n
Laina\u2019s state final opponent was a pusher, a style of patient, high-balling tennis that is extremely challenging to face. When Laina was down early in the third set, all Mr. Halisky could think about was the pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the sign of a true champion, is you find a way under the worst circumstances,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The morning after the match, Mr. Halisky slept in until 8 in the morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s wild if you know him,\u201d said Mr. Johns.<\/p>\n
Usually, there\u2019s no sleeping in with Mr. Halisky: he\u2019s been up at 5 a.m. for 20 years.<\/p>\n
Mr. Halisky admitted he can be a tough coach and an intense, protective spectator. But watching his stepdaughter, and feeling the pressure from the sidelines, has had a good effect on him, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s made me a better tennis pro, working with all the girls and especially Laina,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s made me a little more compassionate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Johns said that playing tennis with his daughter is part of their hang time, a natural part of their relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s an easy balance,\u201d he said, reflecting on his position as coach and dad. \u201cIt\u2019s part of dadding.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the girls tennis Division 3 state finals, all eyes were on the Vineyard athletes competing for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":745468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-745467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}