Matthew Lauritsen leads boys’ tennis as head coach

Being a Geometry teacher and father of 4 girls, Matthew Lauritsen has a lot on his plate. That didn’t stop him, however, from taking on the role of Bellevue West’s Varsity and JV tennis coach. 

With a relatively new team, Lauritsen said he hopes to help the team grow both mentally and physically.

“We have a young team, which means a lot of inexperienced players,” said Lauritzen. “But which also means there could be a ton of growth for a lot of our guys, and so I just want to be almost unrecognizable…  because of the improvement that they made.”

Lauritsen said he plans to balance both his teaching and coaching life by organizing his time and getting work done efficiently. In doing this, he plans to give his team the best possible season.

“I want guys to be good thinkers and be good competitors and be good teammates no matter who we’re playing,” said Lauritsen.

Sophomore Owen Arko has been part of the varsity tennis team for 2 years now. Arko said he “got to know [Lauritsen] well” the previous season through tennis practices and duels.

“He would help my morale usually, which is when I’m playing bad,” Arko said. 

Lauritsen said his new coaching job is a “responsibility” and “privilege” and hopes his players use this season to improve. 

“My goal is to remain committed to just being obsessed with getting better at every match and every day is a chance to get better,” Lauritsen said.