Start with nothing. That's what Stacy Haines did.
Five years ago, he inherited a Desert View High School girls tennis team that had failed to win a match the previous season. Of the 27 players on this year's Jaguars roster, not one had played tennis before entering high school..
Even what Haines had, he lost. The tennis courts at Desert View - cracked and littered with potholes - were deemed unusable this season.
Yet the Jaguars posted a school record 13 wins this season and emerged as one of the premier 4A teams in Southern Arizona.
"We have a tradition of winning now, and that makes a difference," Haines said.
It is a rapidly developing tradition. When Haines took over the program, the Jaguars were coming off an 0-16 season.
But this year's trio of seniors - Claudia Meza, Tenecia Wilkins and Lisa Rojas - have formed a foundation. Their four-year run has included Desert View's first winning season (8-7 in 1996) and last year's 11-5 second-place finish in the 4A Kino.
This year, only undefeated Sabino had a better record in team competition.
Meza qualified for the state tournament in singles yesterday.
Most high school players are content to sit along the baseline and exchange one safe, secure shot after another. So when the Desert View players are consistently storming the net, seeking to end points quickly, it is a style that opponents are unaccustomed to facing.
"They're not comfortable against a good player at the net," Haines said. "So we teach our players to look for the approach shot, get to the net and volley. We do a lot of overhead drills and those get pretty ugly. A lot of frame shots."
But it's paid off.
"It sort of feeds on itself," Haines said. "When a girl is successful at the net, it gives her a lot of confidence. And because our girls are so confident at the net, our doubles teams almost a lways win. We trailed Douglas 4-2 after the singles matches but beat them 5-4. And until that point, they had the best doubles teams in the region."
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