Family Ties Run Deep in Blue Pony Tennis

When it comes to the sport of tennis Havre High head coach George Ferguson's family tree is a big one. After all, Ferguson's older brother Dan was the first Blue Pony to ever win an individual state championship in tennis at HHS.

Later, Ferguson himself, as a Blue Pony freshman, was part of the first HHS team to earn a trophy at the Class A state tournament, and later, Ferguson's cousins were part of the first HHS teams to win Class A state team titles for Havre High.

So it goes without saying, family has been an important part of Ferguson's tennis experience as a Blue Pony.

And in his 17 seasons as head coach at Havre High, family continues to be a big part of the Blue Ponies' success - and not just his own.

While Ferguson has coached with three of his cousins in his 17 season, he's also coached to individual state titles two cousins, Kyle Miller (2009) and Jeff Miller (2014), now an assistant coach at HHS. But he's also coached countless Blue Ponies who have their own family ties to the HHS tennis program.

"In my time as head coach, and well before that, siblings or, even now, children of former players, have always played an important role in our program, and it's really special," Ferguson said. "It's been special for me to coach with now three of my cousins, Nick (Heninger), Jeremy (Heninger) and Jeff, and to get to coach two of them (Kyle and Jeff), that was awesome. But, it's also been really cool to see how playing tennis gets kind of handed down through the generations in our program. I was trying to think of all of the kids I've coached who have played with a family member or sibling, or who have had one come before them, and honestly, it's too many to remember. So it's really neat that way.

"That's not to say that it's the only way we get kids to be in our program," he continued. "One of the really amazing things about our program is it's so diverse. We have three-sport athletes, kids from drama and music, or kids that this is their only sport. We have a great mix of kids and that's one of the really neat things about our teams. But our program has certainly had it's share of sibling pairs and a lot of kids who have had their parents or older siblings play before them, and I think that's been really special."

This season alone, Ferguson has as many as 15 players with family ties to HHS tennis, including sibling pairs Trey and Marcee Murphy, Alex and Katie Donaldson, who also had an older sister play on the team, and Cassidy and Kadyn Acor. Paige Nelson, Tommy Brown, Tiffany Ralph, Kendall Holden, Megan Lindbloom, Mick Chagnon and Carsyn Vogel are among players who have had older siblings come through Ferguson's program, while Kennedy McKay's mother Karley was a standout tennis player, ironically, at the same time Ferguson was also playing tennis at HHS, while junior Brynn Nault's dad, John, was a former player, and her uncle Bill was part of the first-ever team to win a boys doubles state title for the Ponies.

"I messed around with tennis a little when I was younger. I started to play it more in the seventh grade and was a little more serious about it, but not as serious as I have been in high school," McKay said. "I think having that background (with my mom) has helped. It helps to know that I have a little something to live up to. She placed at state so I am trying to follow in her footsteps. The goal obviously is to win a state championship but she played singles and she played doubles in college at the University of Mary."

While, McKay is following in his moms footsteps, others on the squad are following older siblings into the sport, like freshman Mick Chagnon, whose sister Lainey was an All-Conference doubles player for the Blue Ponies several years ago.

"She always brought me to the practices to watch and I always thought that it was pretty fun," Chagnon said. "She seemed to do pretty well at it and I thought that I could do well, also. I went to a couple camps when I was younger and used to hit the ball around with my sister."

And there's something really unique with the program currently - all of the sibling pairs, including twins Alex and Katie Donaldson. Ferguson noted he can't remember a time when he had so many siblings on the team at the same time, and while he says there can be a bit of family tension at times, he says that aspect is extremely special as well.

"It's great," Ferguson said. "Kids probably take it for granted in the moment, getting to do something like this with their brother or sister, but I know, when they're older, they'll look back on it and realize how much fun it was and what a special experience it was to go through playing tennis with each other. It really adds another cool dynamic to our program, having so many sets of brothers and sisters on the team at one time."

The dynamic is especially cool for the Donaldson twins, who play doubles together.

"I went to one of my sister's meets and I realized how fun it was and that I wanted to try it," Katie, who didn't come out until her sophomore year said. "She helped me out in the summer and then I started to play the next season. It's pretty cool to get to play together. You get to learn how to adjust to everything and have another bond with her. It's a lot of fun because you can share that challenge and that motivation to push each other off and on the court. My older sister Taylor played in high school, too. I remember going to her meets when we were little and we played a little with her before high school. It's definitely a family sport that you can carry on and play with anybody."

Another part of the family tree legacy that Ferguson said is unique involves his mother, Linda. While she didn't play tennis for the Blue Ponies, she did teach him and his brother Dan the game, and years later, she, too, is having an impact on the Pony program.

"My mom has taught at St. Jude's for a long time," Ferguson said. "So at this point, I couldn't even count anymore how many kids I've coached that she's taught. Right now, Kennedy, Tiff and Tommy are three that went through her fourth-grade class. But the number of kids I've coached that she's taught, it's a lot. So I guess I owe her for not just being a great mom, and for helping me learn tennis, but for recruiting for my program, too. I have to say, it's pretty cool for me, when I hear kids talk about when they were in her class way back when and how much they loved having her as a teacher."

No doubt, in so many ways, family is a big part of Havre High tennis. It's something Ferguson really sees as special, and it's something he hopes continues, while he's still coaching, and long after he's gone.

"It's cool to think about all of the kids I've coached that have family ties to our program," Ferguson said. "It's a really special aspect of my 17 years coaching this program. It's created a lot of great memories, and hopefully, we have some siblings of current players who are in grade school and middle school, who will become HHS tennis player one day. I hope to see that continue. It's crazy, I now have former players who are married and having kids of their own, and hopefully one day, they'll be Blue Ponies ,too.

"But, one thing about our program that I feel strongly about is, no matter if you have family ties to the program or not, once you're in the program, you part of the family anyway. Our teams are very bonded. They really come together each spring, and they really do become one big family. That's something I'm proud of and it's special."