Fisher in charge of Estancia girls’ tennis

If there is one word that people might use to describe Kendra Fisher, it’s “energetic.”

Now some more words can describe Fisher. She is the new girls’ tennis coach at Estancia High, her alma mater.

Fisher takes over for Rachel de los Santos, who resigned in November after 14 years to spend more time with her family.

De los Santos coached Fisher, a four-year varsity starter in tennis who also played softball at Estancia before graduating in 2010. Her senior year, Fisher played at No. 1 singles and was team captain, earning Orange Coast League singles runner-up accolades and advancing to CIF Individuals.

De los Santos said in a text message that she believes she’s leaving the program in good hands with Fisher, calling her “a great fit.”

“When I stepped down after 14 years of coaching, I was nervous about what might happen to the program,” de los Santos said. “But with the hiring of Kendra, I am confident that it will remain the positive and popular program that it has grown to be.”

Fisher, 23, was the junior varsity coach for both the Eagles girls’ and boys’ tennis programs this school year. After graduating from Estancia she attended Fresno State, where she graduated with a degree in liberal studies (child development emphasis) in May, 2014.

Fisher said she plans to get her teaching credential at Long Beach State. For now, she’s a walk-on coach at Estancia.

“I think it’s really cool,” said Fisher, whose older brother, Bradley, was also a standout tennis player at Estancia before graduating in 2008. “The school is obviously really special to me. Obviously, I care about it. I know I have big shoes to fill.”

Fisher already is a fixture in the Mesa Verde tennis community. She’s been coaching tennis at Mesa Verde Country Club since she was a freshman at Estancia in 2007.

“I have a bunch of kids on this [Estancia] team that I’ve been coaching since they were like 8 years old,” Kendra Fisher said. “It’s really come back full circle.”

Fisher certainly does enjoy the idea of community. She said she wants to take her student-athletes to big tournaments, like the BNP Paribas Open pro tournament every spring at Indian Wells and the prestigious Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament.

This Saturday, she has organized a round-robin doubles tournament at Estancia from 9 a.m. to noon. All proceeds will benefit the tennis program at Estancia.

So it would be fair to say that she has hit the ground running as head coach.

“She’s such a great addition to the program,” Estancia girls’ Athletic Director Jessica Perry said in a text message. “We loved Rachel, and Kendra has been groomed by Rachel.”

Estancia’s girls are coming off a season where they placed third in the Orange Coast League, advancing to the wild-card round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs. Fisher said the program will have several standouts returning this fall.

She said she wants the players to graduate from Estancia loving tennis.

“Tennis is more than just a sport for me,” she said. “I think it’s a way of life.”