Greene Central's Medlin earns USTA coaching accolade

Greene Central head girls’ tennis coach Tim Medlin holds the Wilson Cup his team won earlier this year. Submitted photo

SNOW HILL - Tim Medlin doesn't like emails.

He deletes them throughout the day - spam, trash - anything that doesn't immediately grab his attention.

One message from the United States Tennis Association caught his eye.

"As I was about to hit the delete button, I saw 'Congrats, Tim' and figured it was something specific," Medlin said.

Oh, it was.

Medlin, who coaches girls' and boys' tennis at Greene Central, has been named the 2019 USTA North Carolina High School Coach of the Year. The award is given in memory of Ron Lee, a former tennis professional and coach.

"Totally blindsided by it, but thrilled, of course," Medlin said.

Since he took over the Rams' programs in 2014, he's instilled a competitive spirit into his players and put his stamp on both ends of the spectrum.

The girls continued a tradition started by former coach Donald Clark and claimed their 26th consecutive regular-season conference championship this past fall. They concluded the year 19-1 after a heartbreaking opening-loss to Carrboro (east runner-up) in the dual-team playoffs.

Last spring, the boys claimed the league crown and fell to eventual state champion Clinton in the dual-team playoffs.

"In my mind, both of the boys' and girls' programs were a hair away from being state champions, so I was happy with the progress," Medlin said. "I'm extremely proud of the program and the dedication of the players to have us in that kind of position."

Three starters departed the boys' team upon graduation and the girls will return their entire lineup in 2020. Medlin said the success is based on trust from the administration, the players and the parents.

"They make sacrifices of their time," Medlin said. "There are things they could alternately be doing because they believe in what I am telling them. I see that from the way they work in season, from the way they take instruction from me in the match.

"That might sound obvious because you are the coach and player, but it does not always happen. It's difficult to find success if players and parents don’t buy-in. That trust I'm trying to set is all the difference in the world."