He's Back

 Successful Tennis Programs - Lawrence Eyre.

Eyre returns to guide Maharishi tennis

• Scott Jackson
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FAIRFIELD — It had seven years since Lawrence Eyre had been the head coach of the program he had turned into a statewide high school tennis powerhouse. 

In those seven years since Eyre's retirement, the Fairfield Maharishi tennis program had gone from a program that won the Class 1A boys state tennis triple crown (state champions in singles, doubles and as a team in the same year) to a program that could not produce a girls team in 2018 or a boys tennis team this spring.

Eyre returned after seven years away from the program he established back in 1988 this past spring, taking over as the head coach of the girls tennis team. The Pioneers returned to competition with enough athletes to put together a team that went 4-2 in duals and had its top player, Olivia Goodale, coming within one win of a spot in the Class 1A girls state single tournament.

For Eyre, a return as Fairfield Maharishi head girls tennis coach is chance to grow the love of the sport for generations to come.

"By the time I got back, it was pretty clear that we didn't have a lot of kids that were learning the sport. I'm really committed to teaching the next wave of kids," Eyre said. "We didn't have enough kids for a girls team last year. We didn't have enough kids for a boys team this year. We should have enough for both teams to compete next year, even if they're small squads. That's our goal to start and we want to keep the pipeline flowing from now on."

While the numbers have been down, there were kids that Eyre found willing to stick with the sport. Goodale, for one, refused to give up playing Pioneer tennis despite going through a pair of winless seasons as a sophomore and junior, including last year spent competing with the boys program.

"I was terrible when I started out. I got beat every single time as the fifth player in singles as a freshman, then had to go through even more setbacks playing for the guys last year," Goodale said. "It's all about having the breakthrough on the court. That moment this year when I got that first win is by far the best moment I've had.

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 Lawrence and Laurie Eyre