For Steve Kolkka, the 2010 high school tennis season was a great experience. In fact, it was perfect.

Kolkka, who lives in Forsyth County, was head coach of Alpharetta’s undefeated Class AAAAA state champion boys team during the spring. The Raiders tallied a 23-0 record to win their first state title in school history.

“The nucleus of this team has been together for the past three years,” Kolkka said.

The run to the championship was especially nice, since the Raiders knocked off four-time defending state champion Northview in the quarterfinals. The Titans had eliminated Alpharetta in the quarters the previous two seasons.

For Kolkka, it wasn’t the first trip to the mountaintop. The 52-year-old relocated to Georgia from New Jersey in 1982.
Although he’s also coached football and basketball, it’s been tennis where he’s found real success here, also coaching North Springs to a Class AAA boys title in 1993 and Milton to a Class AAAAA boys championship in 2003.

“All three of those teams just had a great, great group of players that enjoyed playing with each other and enjoy high school tennis because it’s so different from their individual tennis careers,” he said.

Kolkka teaches health and physical education at Webb Bridge Middle School in the Fulton County system, which feeds into Alpharetta High.

He said one key to his success at different schools has been always teaching at a middle school that feeds his high school program, giving him more time to build relationships with his players.

“I know the students all through middle school, and I have high standards and expectations and they know that from the get go,” he said.

Turning a group of players who all play what is essentially an individual sport into a coherent team is the biggest challenge of a tennis coach, Kolkka said. He can encourage group bonding with social outings and dinners, but
ultimately it’s up to the players to choose to come together.

“That is the tricky part because these are all ... tournament players and they’ve got to have a good chemistry together. They do have to want to be together. ... The key is to try to form that key bond,” he said.

Kolkka has been a Forsyth County resident for 13 years, he said. His wife Cheryl teaches social studies at South Forsyth Middle School.