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FINAL WEEK
Coach Of
The Year
“ A
+++++
HEARTWARMING FILM
FULL OF ’ LAUGH OUT LOUD
.” FUNNY MOMENTS .”
Judith Raymer, FLICK DIRECT
Steve Stein | Contributing Writer
A
l Must still can’t believe it.
But it’s true. He’s the
National High School Coaches
Association’s 2016 Boys Tennis Coach of
the Year.
Must has been the boys tennis coach
at Rochester Adams for 32 years, and he’s
compiled an outstanding record of team
and individual successes. For example,
the Highlanders have won more than
400 dual matches during his watch.
Just before the start of the boys ten-
nis season, at an August meeting of
Adams fall coaches, Must learned about
his award from Adams athletic director
Jason Rapp.
It took a while for the reality to set in.
“Jason said someone at our school
won a national coach of the year award.
I wondered who that was,” Must said.
“When he said my name, I said, ‘Who
me?’ I had no clue. No idea. I was
stunned.
“I never dreamed I’d be in the con-
sideration to be a national coach of the
year, much less win it,” he said. “I’m
humbled.”
The more he thought about the
award, Must said, the more humbled he
became.
“There are so many great high school
boys tennis coaches in Oakland County
and in the state,” he said. “Multiply that
by all the states. It’s mind-boggling to
win a national award.”
Must was honored for winning the
award Oct. 27 at an event in the Adams
media center. Current and former play-
ers, relatives and friends were among
those in attendance. There were several
speeches.
“It was like, This Is Your Life,” Must
said. “One of my current players sang,
‘Al’s Way’ to the tune of ‘My Way.’ I’ve
gotten congratulations from so many
people the last several weeks. It’s just
awesome.”
Rapp called Must “an excellent guy”
in a story about the award that appeared
on MiPrepZone.com.
“You can talk about 400 wins, region-
al titles or league titles, but it’s the words
of the young men who spoke Oct. 27
about what Al means to them on and
off the tennis court that speaks volumes
about what he’s all about,” Rapp said.
Must retired five years ago as a social
worker at Van Hoosen Middle School in
the Rochester School District. He hasn’t
Al Must holds his 2016 national high
school boys tennis coach of the year
plaque.
left his social work skills behind him.
“I consider coaching and social work
to be blended,” he said. “I use social
work philosophies and techniques like
coping skills with my players to help
them succeed. I feel I can communicate
with them, get through to them and get
them to respond.
“It’s important to make their experi-
ence on our team a memorable one.
Many of the best things in life happen
when you’re part of a team.”
Must is the 16th winner of the
NSHCA’s Boys Tennis Coach of the Year
award and the third from Michigan.
The others are Bob Wood from Grosse
Pointe University-Liggett and Tom
Pullen from Ann Arbor Pioneer.
This isn’t Must’s first huge coach-
ing honor. He was inducted into the
Michigan High School Tennis Coaches
Association Hall of Fame in 2010.
Must, 63, doesn’t intend to stop
coaching anytime soon.
“I’ll keep going until I’m no longer
effective,” he said. “I still have a lot of
energy.”
He sure does. The 22-year-certified
tennis professional plays and coaches
the sport yearround in Michigan and
in Florida — where he lives during the
winter months — and he’s been the
head tennis professional for 32 years at
Bloomfield Hills Swim and Tennis Club.
Must grew up in Huntington Woods
and graduated from North Farmington
High School and Michigan State
University before attending graduate
school at the University of Denver.
He began his high school tennis
coaching career at Delta (Colo.), coach-
ing successful boys and girls teams
before coming back to Michigan and
starting at Adams in 1984.
He coached the Adams girls tennis
team from 1984-1993, winning a state
championship in 1987.
Must lives in Waterford. He has
four grown children and two grand-
children.
*
Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
JON
DORE
and
LYNN
COHEN
with
ACADEMY AWARD ®
Nominee
DAVID
PAYMER
It’s not grandma’s money they’re after.
thepicklerecipe.com
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