Mr. & Mrs. Coach: Placer's Isaac has a new assistant in tennis program

In the 19 years Tom Isaac has been at the helm of the Placer High School tennis program, it has thrived. Placer has claimed 18 league championships, 10 Sac-Joaquin Section titles and two section runner-up finishes. Now joining Isaac in the green and gold is his wife, Jen, who has an impressive coaching résumé herself. During her time at Del Oro, she led the Golden Eagles to five section championships and was named United States Professional Tennis Association High School Coach of the Year. "As my career winds down, we're wanting to do more things together. We used to coach together all the time," Tom Isaac said. "I was at Del Oro for 13 years as their assistant coach. And so we're just headed back to the good old days when we were both coaching the same team." "It was just time for the both of us," Jen Isaac said. "I was lucky at Del Oro to have somebody that is taking over the reins and doing a great job already. I'm excited to hang out with my husband and coach a great bunch of kids." The Lady Hillmen only graduated two seniors from last season's section runner-up squad and are poised to make a run at another championship appearance. Leading the way is No. 1 singles player Michelle Schwarzenberg, who was one of the top players in the Foothill Valley League last season. Tom Isaac said while this year's team has many similarities to the 2021 squad, there are distinct differences that he feels make the team better. "The bonding has been better with this team," he said. "And I'm gonna credit Coach Jen with that. We have 10 seniors on the team and she does a lot of team building things for these girls." "I gotta tell you that we have a really fun group of girls," Jen Isaac said. "The athletes are the same as last year. The girls will work hard for you and they all are working toward a common goal." The first step toward that common goal is an FVL title, which Placer split with Oakmont last season. The Lady Hillmen expect themselves and Oakmont to be the top two again but plan to keep the league title to themselves. Placer is 4-2 this season but has shown tremendous growth from its first match. Placer lost to Woodcreek 8-1 to open the season, going 0-5 in tiebreakers. Since then, the Lady Hillmen are 16-2 in tiebreakers and picked up convincing wins over Antelope, Bella Vista, Folsom and Del Campo. "The winning is gonna take care of itself," Tom Isaac said. "And I mean, not just winning in terms of the score with the teams but life-changing things with the players. We pride ourselves in doing a lot of stuff with life skills and making our athletes better people." Placer opens FVL play Tuesday at home against Ponderosa.